Cultural Awareness and understanding Essay

PROMPT: What life experiences have exposed you to different cultures? What steps have you taken to increase your cultural awareness? What areas could you work on to improve your cultural awareness and understanding? What have you experienced to become aware and understanding of culture? Include your personal definition of culture. What do you still need to learn about regarding your cultural awareness and understanding? (You may want to visit our Selection Criteria on our website). SELECTION CRITERIA LINK: (https://pharmacy.wisc.edu/education/doctor-pharmacy-program/pharmd-admissions/selection-criteria#cultural)
o Your essay will be evaluated in terms of your insight and ideas, and clarity and correctness of expression. Be as specific as possible; avoid platitudes and generalities. The writing must be yours and yours alone. This essay will constitute an important part of the application review process. The PharmD Admission Committee strongly suggests to provide answers within the expected word count range of a maximum of 350 words
MY ESSAY THUS FAR:
Although I was born and raised in America, I found myself having to learn, understand, and adapt to American culture. As a Korean-American growing up in an all white community, I have had the opportunity to increase my fellow classmates’ awareness and understanding of Korean culture. Sharing parts of my culture and learning the American culture gave me joy and inspired me to indulge in other cultures.
However, being a minority has had its setbacks. One childhood memory that has stayed with me was when a fellow classmate in the 5th grade told me to “go back where you came from.” This made me feel isolated, unequal, like I didn’t belong. As I grew older, I realized this mind set was all too common, and many kids faced the same, if not worse, racial cruelties stemming from the close-minded. This has driven me to make a conscious effort to open my mind and explore new and different cultures. I seek to do this through my involvement in organizations, volunteering and through new friendships.
I first joined GUTS at UW Madison for help in my academics and discovered GUTS had more to offer when I became an English Conversation Tutor. During my 3 years as an English Conversation Tutor, I learned to suspend judgment, learned empathy, and became more observant. I collected as much information as possible before evaluating, and tried to understand others by putting myself in their shoes. I created friendships with students of various international backgrounds, and learned about different customs, food, apparel and beliefs different to mine. One of my most memorable experiences was making authentic Chinese food with Eva, a Chinese tutee.
I am an active member in Korean American Student Association (KASA) and Vietnamese Student Association (VSA). I have learned more about Vietnamese language and culture through VSA.
Opportunity to increase my cultural awareness has also appeared to me in the classroom. I became close friends with an individual of Uzbek background and another from Colombia. Through my two close friends, I have had the opportunity to engage in and experience first hand their experiences regarding social, economic, and religious perspectives.
I have also strived to increase my cultural awareness through the learning of different languages. With 5 years of Spanish, 2 rigorous semesters of Japanese, and 2 years of Korean, I’ve learned that learning a language is a significant stepping stone to the learning of a new culture.
Culture is something that is learned, transmitted, and passed down from generation to generation, through human actions. Culture encompasses the beliefs, values, actions, attitudes, religion, roles, and notions of time of a people. I believe the best way to enrich oneself is to approach with an open mind and immerse in it.
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