Please describe a time when you convinced an individual or group to accept one of your ideas.

Sample One

As a tutor for Kids Works, a non-profit in the New York area, I concentrated on helping my mentees with their SAT and Regents exams. One of my students, Anna, was exceptionally bright and had learned the lesson material rapidly. We often spent time chatting about her life after the lesson, and I became an informal mentor for her as she asked me about my life and my career.

One Saturday Anna and I were discussing her classes and friends when she mentioned that there was a fellowship available for an after school program for actors and writers. Acting in plays was Anna’s favorite extra-curricular activity, and she had recently started writing her own dramas.

I was thrilled at the opportunity for Anna. When I immediately suggested that she apply, to my surprise Anna raised several objections. She was concerned that her mother wouldn’t want her to spend the time pursuing an extra-curricular activity at the expense of her schoolwork and family time. She also worried that it would be embarrassing if she submitted an application and was not accepted.

I thought about the best way to convince Anna that she needed to take the risk and try for the fellowship. I considered that Anna’s family was very close knit and she would take her mother’s advice very seriously. I also recalled Anna’s concern about how her peers viewed her and her position in her social circle.

The next time I met with Anna I told her a story about my first year at college. Though I was thrilled to be admitted to Northwestern, it had been incredibly hard for me to leave a small town in Indiana to go to school in Chicago. I was homesick and having a hard time making friends. I struggled academically in my first year and even got a C in one of my best subjects, Economics. As a last ditch attempt, I decided to take a huge risk, face my fears and audition for a play as part of the student drama society. It was an amazing experience for me, and I made several lifelong friendships. Being part of a creative community at school helped me learn more about myself, even though it wasn’t my career path. I told Anna that being in that play was one of my most vivid memories of college, and I was incredibly grateful I took the risk.

“Anna,” I said, “as someone who actually excels at theater, I think you would gain even more from the after school program. I know your family would like to see you live up to your potential, and I think it’s the type of experience you’ll never forget.”

The next day Anna spoke to her mother and decided to apply. Of course she was admitted into the program, and she landed one of the largest parts in their end of season play. Most importantly, Anna told me that she learned to take risks and seek new opportunities from me. Right now she is using that lesson in her college application process as she considers schools far away from home and outside her comfort zone. It’s thrilling to have made a legitimate and positive impact on another person in this way.

Sample Two

I have been a mentor and tutor for years as part of an organization that focuses on children in south Florida. I was recently elected a member of the board of directors and asked to lead a team to raise money for a drive to recruit more mentors.

The team I assembled included two entrepreneurs and five other members from the executive council. While discussing our vision and mission, it became apparent that Luis and David, two prominent entrepreneurs, were willing to donate a considerable amount of money and time to recruiting new mentors. They also pledged hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the implementation phase. The two were passionate and enthusiastic supporters of the project but had completely different approaches to tackle the issue.

Unable to find common ground, the team decided to divide into two subgroups under the leadership of Luis and David. I was asked to track the progress of the two subgroups and find a way to converge their efforts at a later date. Over the next eight months, the two subgroups did not operate effectively, spent most of their time criticizing the other subgroup’s approach, and failed to produce any concrete implementation plans. At the end-of-year review with the entire ACSF organization, we stood before the membership and informed them that no progress had been made in the past eight months on the initiative. As a consequence of our teamwork failure, we lost the momentum we had built earlier in the year.

I was frustrated with the difficulties we had faced working with Luis and David, and decided that the best approach was to gather the team and meet with both entrepreneurs to set a course towards a successful implementation of our mentor drive. We sat in a room for several hours and ultimately came to consensus. The team decided to focus on creating a shared vision and mission and to apply a project management framework. The mentoring project was a success under the newly united leadership of Luis and David, and I was thrilled to see my personal project reach more children.

Sample Three

In Hebrew the word “violence” (ELIMOT) is derived from the root of the word “dumb” (EILEM). Likewise, I have always felt that lack of communication between Israelis and Palestinians leads to violence. I believe that peace must be carried out in the lives of everyone, not just the leaders.

In college I decided to launch an organization aimed at promoting dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian students who would become agents of change within their communities. My objective was to put together a summit for college students where we would share food, culture and stories in an effort to humanize each other.

I faced several challenges while I was working towards this goal. The most difficult was convincing my Palestinian counterparts that I had pure intentions and was simply interested in peace. While I had grown up fairly sheltered, many of the Palestinian students I knew were extremely familiar with violence and had difficulty seeing the opportunity for peace. I decided to change my thinking and try to understand another culture’s point of view before beginning the planning and logistics for the summit.

I befriended a Palestinian student, Mahmoud, at a cooking class, and asked him to help me with my Maqluba (eggplant dish) that I was attempting to perfect. I invited Mahmoud to my apartment to eat with my girlfriend and I, and to sample my Maqluba. We had a great night, and Mahmoud had excellent suggestions to improve my technique. We also realized that we had similar taste in music, and were both interested in studying science and math. Once I had known Mahmoud a bit longer I told him about my vision for the summit. He thought it was an excellent idea, and volunteered to partner with me in order to attract Palestinian representation.

In cooperation with Mahmoud I was able to attract 11 people, both Israeli and Palestinian, to work on the event. Moreover, on the day of our cultural summit we had over 100 participants eating, drinking and socializing together without boundaries. The event was a resounding success, and we were able to form an ongoing committee to create an annual occurrence. I was gratified that I met my objective, and most importantly that the process of getting to know others led to an enriching experience for all.