Please help me with my motivation-letter

Dear all,

I want to apply at a Business School in Denmark. There they ask me to send a motivation letter explaining.

-why I consider myself a suitable candidate for studying at that faculty with the unique Problem Based Learning method, the important role of skills training in the programmes and the international character of both the programmes and the student population. Convince the Board of Admission of the fact that you have the intellectual capacities and personal skills to successfully complete an academic masters programme at that faculty.

Above you will find my letter.

Please check my letter and correct my mistakes. If possible I would also appreciate very much if you could have a look at the structure.

Thank you very much for your support,

Astra




Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Lao-Tzu

The greatest lesson I learned at university is that the more I tried to deepen my knowledge, the further I was from succeeding. So, why did I study for so many years? Well, those years were meaningful in the sense that I learned how to think critically about issues. There is no need to run to accumulate more and more information, but the sense is to be able to find the right information, which serves me for the particular moment I encounter. I interpret Lao-Tzu`s quote, I see knowledge as a fish, all information we accumulate in lectures, books and the like will feed us for a day, to pass an exam for instance. But once we are able to interpret information, combine them and accept new insights, we become active actors and we are able to fish even when the circumstances are changing.

I first found myself fishing when I was volunteering at a non-governmental organization teaching English for low-income youth students. I became aware of a shocking reality: they were suffering from domestic violence. Together with a group of friends, a psychologist, an architect, and a lawyer, I initiated a project to minimize violence in the residences. We were researching and analysing different sources. We made use of our personal experience, our knowledge, intuition and our wildest ideas to look for a solution. Without a teacher telling me what is right or wrong, good or bad I was put in the driver’s seat. I learned how to defend my position, understand other points of view, slip into other perspectives and could be supportive to others. We were fishing together and finally won a prize awarded to the best project to improve the quality of life in Sao Paulo State by CIEE, the Brazilian Center for Companies Integration, and TV Globo, the largest and most important TV Channel in Brazil. Seeing how different views come together and being actively involved in creating the outcome I learned that fishing is effective, fun and rewarding. I wanted to have more, to challenge myself further in an international experience.

Last year I applied for trainee-positions in Marketing at various companies within Europe. Aaa, a pharmaceutical company in Germany, soon invited me for an interview along with 30 other international applicants. In February 2004 I left my parents, my home, my friends, and my culture in order to experience a foreign culture and broaden the scope of my view of life. I found the right atmosphere for fishing, where learning on-the-job is essential and I am encouraged to take responsibility for my own advancement. Here, I have the chance to work on an international level for different products in the field of analgesics. It also gives me the chance to experience yet another culture, learn another language and improve my intercultural skills. Within an international team, I work on Competitive Intelligence projects and I closely monitor four of our main competitors. I write reports about their strategy and their development in the market. I also worked on the concept and on the implementation of a web-guide, where the competitive information is organized and available on-line. My working experience as a trainee in Germany has showed me that I am still in a run, I run for experience. My career ambition is to become a Product Manager in Strategic Marketing at Aaa in four years time.

My academic background is based on a Bachelor of International Relations at YYY and three years of study in Social Sciences at USP. I studied in two areas because I believed that at YYY I would be preparing myself to pursue a business career and become a person of action. There the curriculum was based in International Business. I was involved in various presentations, brainstorming, group discussions, and training my interpersonal skills. I was inspired to think, reflect and put forward my ideas. At the same time, at USP I would be preparing myself for an academic career, where I worked scientifically, independently and produced several scientific reports. Today, I am a fruit of this practical and scientific tree. I think critically and go beyond the surface as well as being able to apply what I have learned to solve real life problems. By studying two different programs at two different universities at once, I learned excellent time-management and organisational skills. The sum of all those makes me suitable to pursue an academic Master in International Business.

Anyone who has ever crossed the globe to live in a foreign country has had some amount of cultural shock and it is both jarring and exhilarating to find yourself growing in such a new environment. When I spent three months in England I made friends from all over the world. As a student at an inter-cultural institute I met people from all over the world bringing with them different values and ideas. I had the chance to backpack throughout Europe and improve my English at an intercultural institute. My new location had brought about an awareness that I don’t think would have appeared if I had stayed at home. Through the contrasts and differences I had observed and felt in my environmental switch, I had become very interested in living and studying in *** and hoped to benefit from its international character.

During the past year, while I was living in Germany, I seized the opportunity to join the Open House Day and the subsequent information meeting. I have seen lectures, talked to students, and have become fascinated about the environment-in particular the problem-based-learning method. I also met some graduates from the university, for instance Natou Konteye, who answered my questions from a student’s point of view. Having spoken to students and professors, I am excited about my decision to pursue my Master’s of Science in International Business at Universiteit ***. In conclusion, I ask for your faith, confidence and trust by letting me do what I do best. I know in my heart I have the love, hope, and conviction to succeed in anything to which I turn my energies. See you on the fishing boat. I look for fishing together.