College Admission Essay: Sanjeev Jain, Freedom High School

This college admission essay by Sanjeev Jain reflects on a pivotal moment of personal growth and the transformative power of teamwork. The essay begins with the author's experience of moving from India to the US and struggling with group work assignments, contrasting his previous independent work style. A turning point arrives when observing a basketball game where injured player's teammates rallied around him, inspiring the author to embrace collaboration. This experience led to a change in perspective, influencing his ability to make friends, join AP classes, and engage in volunteering, ultimately discovering the satisfaction of contributing positively to society and adapting to new cultures. The essay showcases the evolution of the author's understanding of the world and the importance of teamwork.

Running head: COLLEGE ADMISSION ESSAY
College Admission Essay
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors note

1
COLLEGE ADMISSION ESSAY
The voice of the teacher reached my ears, “You all need to build your own group of
five and work together to complete this assignment. The submission is after 10 days. All the
best students.” Most of my classmates were happy with the announcement unlike me. I had
just moved to US after completing my fifth grade in India. Back there I was one of the best
students of the class and used to secure good grades. There I never felt the necessity to work
in groups for our projects. Rather the scene was completely different as I used to work alone
in my assignments and surpass others in result. And then I was here, in my new school at
California. I had heard my parents saying that adjusting in a new place that has a completely
different culture, is hard. Yet, I was too confident that it is not a big deal and I will do well in
the new education system as well. But these group works were irrelevant for me as I do not
understand the point of working with others for any assignment whatsoever.
Interacting with people and working together towards a set goal was never my thing
till then. I was tensed about my assignment and went to watch my favourite basketball match
at the school playground. I have enjoyed the game from the very first day I started playing it.
That day I was watching the game when I saw a player injured himself during the match. The
team members helped him to come out of the ground and helped him with some first aid and
exercises. The player then go back to the ground with his teammates and to my utter surprise,
the team played in a different way after that. The other players were juggling the ball from
one part to their hoop and passing the ball to the injured player standing at the point shooting
position. They were helping the player to score points and working as a team.
I was immensely inspired by this particular game sight as a child. Later, we moved to
Orlando from California. The lessons of group works from my previous school influenced me
in many ways. This time I did not felt any problem coping in my new school and making
friends. I started working on my communication skills and was able to join the AP classes.

2
COLLEGE ADMISSION ESSAY
Things changed afterwards as I eagerly started to help others and work for them. I joined the
voluntary group that was built in our school for the differently abled children. We visited and
worked at Give Kids the World which was an amusement park for the differently abled
children. The perks of working with people were now felt by me as these voluntary works
gave me immense satisfaction and happiness. I was able to explore a completely new part of
myself that is enthusiastic to contribute something positive towards the society. A child’s
experience in a basketball playground lead him to a lesson that he will nurture throughout his
lifetime.