Grad's guide to graduate admissions essays - Colleen Reding 2015
University of California, Los Angeles - Anderson school of management
Business
What event or life experience has had the greatest influence in shaping your character and why?
Route 404 is a nondescript 75-mile expanse of rural highway from central Maryland, across the state of Delaware, stretching to the Atlantic shore. I first encountered Route 404 shortly after my 16th birthday. I accepted a dare from my older brother—“Can you bike to the beach?”—got on a rusty mountain bike, and started pedaling alongside him. The trek was 100 miles, but my journey was just beginning. The trek down Route 404, more than any other event in my life, has shaped my character.
The journey down Route 404 has given me the confidence and determination to take risks and face daunting challenges head-on. It has taught me the essence and value of teamwork. Most importantly, Route 404 has given me the perspective and purpose to recognize my own responsibility to society. The trek down Route 404 has shaped my life, and is embodied by my nonprofit, Bike to the Beach, Inc. (B2B): an organization that empowers and inspires others to dare greatly, to work as a team, and to change the world.
Challenges
That first year in 1999, fueled by adrenaline, I breezed through the first 25 miles. Then, as we rode onto Route 404, the ride shifted gears; the adrenaline wore off, the August heat beat down, and it seemed as if it was just me, my bike, and Route 404 stretching interminably eastward toward the glaring sunrise on the horizon. I have never endured more intense pain—physical or mental—than I did over those ensuing 8 hours. Determined to reach my goal, I exhausted every ounce of energy, willpower, and perseverance I could muster, and eventually, I arrived at the beach, delirious and beaten. I stumbled off the bike, collapsed into the salty ocean, and realized … I could not wait to do it again the next year!
On Route 404, at age 16, I learned that challenges allow us to tap into deep reservoirs of potential (physical, mental, and emotional) and attain lofty goals in the face of impossible odds. I learned that with initiative, vision, and resilience, I can overcome any challenge and find inspiration and true fulfillment in the process.
Teamwork
Each year since that first ride, my brother and I have invited friends, relatives, and strangers to join our annual “Bike to the Beach” challenge. Each summer, as riders face the challenge of Route 404, exhaustion sets in, and a genuine team is forged. Energetic riders sacrifice their personal goals, selflessly decelerate to allow struggling riders to draft behind them, shielded from the brutal headwind. The struggling riders are empowered, and the chain reaction extends from one rider to the next. This is no ordinary bike race; there is an undeniable team atmosphere. At the finish line, there is no personal glory; the struggle and the triumph are shared by the team as a whole.
On Route 404, I’ve witnessed genuine teamwork: miraculous moments, when individuals work selflessly, tirelessly, side-by-side, and the potential of the whole expands well beyond the sum of its parts.
Community
In 2006, while I was a senior at Georgetown University, my cousin was diagnosed with autism. Determined to join the fight against autism, I looked no further than Route 404. I transformed what had been an annual bike ride into a nonprofit organization, Bike to the Beach, Inc. (B2B), to raise awareness and money for autism. B2B’s efforts culminate annually with the Bike to the Beach for autism century ride, and Route 404 is its centerpiece. For 4 years, I have built B2B into a thriving organization, as B2B has raised more than $750,000 for autism awareness and research. More importantly, B2B has recruited and empowered more than 1,000 riders and volunteers to become involved in the fight against autism.
In life, everyone faces their own personal Route 404, whatever it may be. In moments of great struggle B2B riders find inspiration and empowerment both in each other and in the knowledge that they are supporting families around the country as those families face their own metaphoric Route 404: autism.
As an unpaid nonprofit entrepreneur, Route 404 has taught me the value of sacrifice to a cause and an organization. There have been moments of doubt, when I’ve considered that it wasn’t worth the time and effort. In those moments, I remember my treks down Route 404, and I find strength, determination, inspiration, perspective, and purpose. Route 404 has deeply shaped my character, and in turn, I have characterized B2B as an organization that inspires and empowers others to dare greatly, to work as a team, and to change the world.