What is a Diversity Essay?

The process of writing a diversity essay is highly important for all, who have the intention to become a student. One has to understand the significance of this type of essay and does his best to create a truthful statement. This article can help you to learn more about a diversity essay and how to write it successfully.

Diversity essays are personal experience papers that can not be longer than 500 words. This essay can determine whether you will be admitted to a college or not. Through this essay, you have an opportunity to show admissions officers what makes you unique and how you can work for their college.

Usually, applicants are a little bit confused about how to approach an essay for diversity. Some can feel that they do not have enough experience to note in the essay, or they can be scared of not been quite «diverse» for a college.

This is an unsound opinion! You must not be a hero who can boast of unbelievable achievements to write a diversity essay. Your aim is to reveal your personality through the knowledge you have got during your education in a school or during self-education. You have to demonstrate in your essay how your skills can be useful for a college. Let’s figure out how you can successfully present yourself.

First of all, we should understand the definition of the term «diversity» in this context. A diversity essay has to reveal to readers what makes you different from other applicants. So, you can include quite many details about your life. For example, you can discuss your values and opinions, religion, cultural group, gender identity, organizations of which you are a member, academic background, and employment experience.

1. Do not forget to speak only about yourself. For example, if you are a member of an organization, do not speak a lot about its ideology and members. Speak about your own merits, answer the questions «What have I done to help with the development of this organization?», «How does it influence me?».
2. Try to illustrate, do not just number all your skills and qualities. Your essay should not look like a checklist. If you want to emphasize a specific skill, describe the situation where you have used your abilities. It should be short but bright and memorable.
3. Think about writing this essay as about selling a product. If you want to sell something and obtain a reward for it, you have to present it in the best possible way. It should be free of the lie as no one can stand the lie. A good description of your personality will bear fruits.

There is a diversity essay example:

I would like to use this space to provide contextual information that will assist the Admissions Committee in evaluating my application. I was born in Manitoba but moved with my parents to the Northwest Territories (Nunavut) in 1993 at the age of 11. I consider myself to be both a Northerner and Manitoban as I am currently a resident of Manitoba. While the high cost of living and geographical remoteness of our remote Arctic village had meant that life was often difficult, it was also very rewarding. In retrospect, I do not feel as though I was disadvantaged by my unusual childhood, where dogsledding was a favorite pastime. Instead, I believe strongly that Northerners make an important contribution to a diverse Canada; especially with respect to advancing the cause of environmental protection.

As I indicated in my form, I am a proud descendant of an original Red River Metis family. My family’s oral history tells of our participation in the resistance and our role in the burial of Louis Riel. My family had experienced first-hand the negative health consequences caused by social and economic marginalization. However, my great-grandmother’s stories have proven to be an inspiration to me. What I recall of her is that in spite of the bitter suffering and neglect she endured in her life, she was always cheerful. Rather than dwell on the difficulties, she loved to tell of how our family was close friends of the Riel family and how we received his remains after his death.

In death as in life, her grandfather had trimmed his hair. Riel’s interment in the St. Boniface cemetery was only a few city blocks away from where he ran a smithing business and watermill. Riel often took shelter at their family home, especially when he fell ill. The memory of Riel’s innocence and their sadness over his death was poignantly remembered with astonishing clarity a hundred years after the event occurred. Being given this history was a significant rite of passage for me, and I am happy to share it with you. Although our history is tragic at times, we have many inspirational.

Canadians to be proud of who have defended the rights of the disenfranchised and strengthen the rights of all citizens. I believe that Riel’s fight to achieve practical results for the Metis is a cornerstone of Canadian legal history as well as our own history.

In a much smaller way I have sought to achieve practical results for indigenous people. In the year 2000 I was honoured to receive a Millennium Scholarship awarded on the basis of academic ability and proven community leadership skills. It was a great honour to have received a national award, but I believe that it has given me an even greater responsibility to continue working to improve the lives of Canadians and especially of indigenous people. If I am given the opportunity to study at the University of Toronto, I will continue to find ways to achieve practical results for indigenous people that will only strengthen the fabric of our diverse society. One way I would like to do this is by working to provide affordable legal services to people in remote arctic communities to help reduce the barrier to adequate legal representation that exists there. I see great potential for intellectual growth, challenge and the cultivation of leadership qualities in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto, and I hope that you see this potential in me.