Personal Statement 7

Personal Statement
For as long as I can recall, passion has always driven me. It is passion that made chose Chinese as a major in college. It is passion that drove me to participate in debate and even be involved in volunteer work. My mantra in life is that if you have a passion for it, you will never regret it. It has also worked for me, as all, through the years I have never once regretted doing anything purely out of passion. Ever since I can remember, I have always been fascinated by statistics. The passion coupled with my fascination for statistics drove me to work for Tencent Company immediately after completing my undergraduate degree. I also had the option of continuing with my post graduate degree, but I shelved those plans until a later date. I had a desire to do better and be the best at what I did. Even during my junior year at the company, my hard work and self-drive were noticed by my superiors. This earned me promotion after promotion and at one point, I served in two positions. One was the editor of international meetings and the other, a host for the annual meetings.
In today’s world, education plays a significant part in any individual’s development. It might not always be the key to success, but it makes going through life and achieving dreams easier. With this in mind, I enrolled at Xi’an University in 2008 and majored in Chinese language and literature with English as my double major. During my four years at the school, I also managed to receive a national scholarship.

I discovered that I had too much free time and chose to some extra-curricular activities, which would help me in my studies. To this end, I began to organize debate contests and took part in different volunteer activities. Perhaps my fascination for statistics began while I was pursuing my undergraduate. This fascination led me to collect data involving opponents and even team members. This data was of a general kind and never specific about anything. I also began analyzing things such as what the win-lose ratio in debate contests was and the inclination that judges had for the so-called ‘best debater.’ Once I was able to collect the data of my opponents, I rearranged my team according to the data I had collected and discovered what motions I was best suited to handle. My data collection efforts were not in vain, as my team continually won debates. One of the most significant accolades that we won was the 2010 Shanghai World Expo Championship Debate Competition for College and University Students from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. I was particularly proud of this achievement because it was a first of its kind and we had won it under my tenure as the head of the debate team. I completed my undergraduate degree in 2012. Then, I took a two-year hiatus from studies and resumed in 2014 to pursue my postgraduate degree. For my postgraduate, I specialized in communications and studied part time. My love affair with statistics continued even at this level. One of the compulsory units required that a study is conducted in a group. Our team carried out research that focused on the effect of social media advertisement on the sale of women’s clothing. It was a demanding task that needed proper statistical methods such as questionnaires, interviews, and independent analysis to be used. Postgraduate studies was a notch higher when compared to my undergraduate. It required critical analysis of different problems and needed personal knowledge to solve practical problems. It was challenging but at the same time exciting. I also gained practices that encouraged me to do more data analysis. I discovered that learning is a continuous process that never ends.
My work experience is as diverse as they come. I have worked for Tencent Company for an extended period but have worked in a variety of departments. I began working at the company during my junior year while I was still an undergraduate. When I first commenced in 2011, I mainly dealt with the overseas release of games that included web games, game clients, and mobile games. Throughout my career at the company, I have served in different positions that include media manager, business development manager, and senior market manager. In that time, I have also managed to promote about 12 products, two of which were recommended by Google Play and Apple Store. This was a tremendous achievement for both the company and me. Tencent is by far the largest company in mainland China and its usage is only comparable to that of Facebook. My job was vital, as the company had no overseas advantage. As a member of the foreign team, I was to analyze that market and follow the return of investment. I would do this by looking at reports from the third parties and then use the report to streamline strategy and performance. Once the cycle was complete, I would then take the time to review the game through promotion and data analysis. Game development would typically take place as follows. Before releasing any game, it is important that market information reports of the third-party mobile games such as the annual reports issued by NewZoo and Nielson be integrated into the game. I would then release competitor and market information as provided by App Annie. This application proved crucial in assessing the costs of releasing games in different regions. During my time at the company, I also spearheaded efforts that saw the company’s ranking reach the top 3 companies the world over. Although the aim was to get it into the top 10, we used online and offline advertising to boost our sales. In the end, the company used only 30% of its initial budget and made profits within two months.
My career ambitions have not waned because of my achievements. I still want to achieve more and be even better at what I do. My time at Tencent has brought much satisfaction. However, I seek a new challenge, and it is my opinion that this new challenge can only be found in a different environment. For this reason, I desire to work in a data analysis company. I am also hoping to achieve this within the next five years. Equipped with a vast knowledge of data analysis, I will be able to help decision makers make informed choices regarding different products. It is also my desire to help clients along the way through improved user data information. This will, in turn, assist the firm to maintain a stable relationship with the customer. The second part of my career goals which I hope to have achieved in the next six to ten years is to improve managerial platforms for marketing resources. I desire to change the status quo where management of marketing resources mainly lies inside companies. Changing this system is primarily aimed at helping those businesses that do not have a lot of resources at their disposal and largely depend on the workforce.
My quest for education is still on. I wish to further my studies at the University of Washington for a variety of reasons. The school motto, ‘Be Boundless’ CITATION Uni16 l 1033 (University of Washington, 2016) I understand and appreciate the fact that in today’s world, Information Technology (IT) is part of any business. It is a requirement if any company desires to be known and thrive in the existing economy. It is important for marketing and sales. I am convinced that the curriculum the university provides will not only deepen my accumulated knowledge and structure it, but I will also be highly trained in the technological arena. I will also play my part and do all that is necessary to make the learning process as smooth as possible. I have already started taking other smaller courses such as learning Excel and Python programs to make it easier. I also want to learn at your institution because many of those who are enrolled are my peers and I believe I can learn so much from them and I can teach them a thing or two. I think my working experience will make class discussions more lively and entertaining for both the lecturer and the other students. The location of the university also makes it an ideal learning institution. The area on which it is based is a hub of business activities. This makes it easier to put what I have learned in class to use.
I have also contributed in other areas of society. I am good at communication and worked as a teacher for the Hanbridge Group, which was mostly comprised of French nationals. It gave me great pleasure to watch a group that initially had no regard for the Chinese culture do all sorts of activities while speaking Chinese. It is important to be tolerant of others and have the ability to understand different cultures and how they work. It is a skill that is not only necessary in life but also in business. Working as a teacher was hugely satisfying and in the end, I could barely remember all the hard work that I put into it. I am also well-equipped at managing myself with the help of data. I rely on data to help me with managing things such as what time I sleep, what I eat, the amount of exercise I do and my heart and blood pressure. I desire to live a life that is satisfying, and to this end, I make time to do the things I consider the most important. Perhaps this is due to my passion in life. I ensure I do things like cook for myself, exercise and maintain my body. Although some would say those are ordinary activities, I see it differently. I understand that to work optimally; you have to eat right and stay fit. After exploring various universities in New York, I am convinced that I am ready for a change. The best place to spur this change is at your institution.

References
BIBLIOGRAPHY The university of Washington. (2016, May 2). About UW. Retrieved from Univerity of Washington: http://www.washington.edu/