Mastercard Scholar Shares Essay Secrets For Mastercard Edinburgh Scholarship Part 2 | How To Write

Summary

In this video, Cara de Alabi guides viewers on how to approach the MasterCard Foundation scholarship program essay questions, focusing on the last question about promoting social inclusion. She suggests using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Results) and incorporating personal experiences to demonstrate commitment to inclusion. Cara emphasizes the importance of reflecting on one's own experiences with exclusion and inclusion, and how these have shaped one's approach to promoting social inclusion, whether through personal stories or transformative leadership.

Takeaways

• 🎓 The MasterCard Foundation scholarship program is focused on fostering a network of scholars committed to inclusion.
• 📝 The final essay question asks applicants to reflect on their experiences promoting social inclusion and what they've learned from those experiences.
• 🌟 The STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Results) is suggested as a framework for structuring the essay response.
• 🤔 Applicants are encouraged to consider their personal experiences with exclusion and how they've overcome or addressed these challenges.
• 🗣️ The importance of storytelling and personal narrative is emphasized, particularly in illustrating one's commitment to social inclusion.
• 💡 The video suggests using the CCO model (Challenge, Choice, Outcome) as a storytelling technique to structure the essay.
• 👥 The essay should demonstrate how the applicant's experiences have shaped their understanding of and actions towards social inclusion.
• 🔍 The video advises researching the MasterCard Foundation's values and speaking with alumni to gain insight into the program's expectations.
• 💭 Reflection is key; applicants should think deeply about why the question is asked and how their personal story aligns with the scholarship's goals.
• 🌈 The video highlights the uniqueness of each applicant's story and the importance of authenticity in the essay response.

Q & A

What is the main topic discussed in the video script?

The main topic discussed in the video script is the MasterCard Foundation scholarship program essay questions, with a focus on the last question about promoting social inclusion.

What is the STAR approach mentioned in the script?

The STAR approach stands for Situation, Task, Action, Results, and Lessons. It is a method used to structure responses to behavioral and situational interview questions.

Why is the MasterCard Foundation's commitment to inclusion important?

The MasterCard Foundation's commitment to inclusion is important because it reflects the organization's values and goals of fostering a diverse and supportive network of scholars.

How does the speaker suggest one should reflect on their experience with social inclusion?

The speaker suggests reflecting on personal experiences of exclusion or inclusion, actions taken to be included or to include others, and the lessons learned from these experiences.

What does the speaker mean by 'lived experience' in the context of the essay question?

The speaker refers to 'lived experience' as personal stories or situations where one has directly faced exclusion or inclusion, which can be used to illustrate one's understanding and approach to social inclusion.

Why is it beneficial to share personal stories in answering the essay question?

Sharing personal stories can provide a unique perspective and demonstrate the applicant's personal growth, empathy, and commitment to promoting social inclusion.

What is the CCO model mentioned by the speaker?

The CCO model stands for Challenge, Choice, and Outcome. It is a storytelling framework used to structure narratives around overcoming challenges and making impactful choices.

How does the speaker suggest using the CCO model to answer the essay question?

The speaker suggests using the CCO model to structure the essay by identifying a personal challenge related to social inclusion, the choices made in response, and the outcomes and lessons learned.

What does the speaker mean by 'courage is not just internal but also external'?

The speaker implies that courage is demonstrated not only through personal convictions but also through the act of speaking up and advocating for others, which can inspire and empower others to do the same.

Why is it important to understand the question thoroughly before answering?

Understanding the question thoroughly ensures that the response is relevant and targeted, allowing the applicant to effectively communicate their experiences and insights related to social inclusion.

What resources does the speaker recommend for gaining insights into the MasterCard Foundation's values?

The speaker recommends reading through the program's website, the MasterCard Foundation's website, and speaking to alumni or current scholars to gain a deeper understanding of the organization's values and expectations.

Outlines

00:00

📚 MasterCard Foundation Scholarship Essay Guidance

Carmen de Alba introduces the MasterCard Foundation scholarship program essay questions, focusing on the last question which asks about experiences promoting social inclusion and the lessons learned. She suggests using the STAR approach (Situation, Task, Action, Results, and Lessons) to structure the response. Carmen emphasizes reflecting on personal experiences, such as being excluded or included in opportunities, and how those experiences align with the values of the MasterCard Foundation. She also encourages applicants to consider their family stories or personal challenges and how they have overcome them to promote social inclusion.

05:01

🗣️ The Power of Voice and Inclusion in Scholarship Essays

In the second paragraph, Carmen de Alba continues to discuss the MasterCard Foundation scholarship essay, focusing on the importance of voice and open conversation in promoting social inclusion. She suggests starting the essay with a quote about the power of voice and then sharing personal stories of being unheard or silenced. Carmen advises applicants to be creative and personal in their responses, reflecting on why the MasterCard Foundation values inclusion and how their experiences and learnings can contribute to that value. She also recommends researching the program, reading through the website, and speaking with alumni or current scholars to gain insights and inspiration for their essays.

Keywords

💡MasterCard Foundation

The MasterCard Foundation is a charitable organization that provides scholarships to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. In the video, the speaker discusses the scholarship program's essay questions, indicating that the Foundation is central to the video's theme of promoting education and social inclusion.

💡Scholarship program

A scholarship program is a system of financial aid provided to students based on academic or other achievements. The video's focus is on the MasterCard Foundation's scholarship program, which is designed to support and empower students, particularly those from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.

💡Inclusion

Inclusion refers to the act of involving people from different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives in a process or activity. The video emphasizes the importance of promoting social inclusion, as it is one of the key attributes of the MasterCard Foundation's network of scholars.

💡STAR approach

The STAR approach stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Results, a method used to structure responses to behavioral interview questions. The speaker suggests using this approach to answer the essay question about promoting social inclusion, indicating its relevance in crafting a compelling narrative.

💡Situation

In the context of the STAR approach, 'situation' refers to the context or background in which an event or action takes place. The speaker encourages applicants to reflect on their personal situations where they have experienced or promoted social inclusion.

💡Task

In the STAR method, 'task' refers to the specific goal or challenge that one was trying to address. The video script mentions identifying the task as part of the process of answering the essay question, which in this case is promoting social inclusion.

💡Action

Action, within the STAR framework, denotes the steps taken to address the task or challenge. The speaker prompts viewers to consider the actions they have taken to promote social inclusion, which is crucial for the essay's narrative.

💡Results

Results in the STAR approach are the outcomes or consequences of the actions taken. The video script encourages applicants to think about the results of their actions in promoting social inclusion, which can serve as evidence of their commitment to the cause.

💡Lessons

Lessons refer to the insights or knowledge gained from an experience. The speaker advises applicants to reflect on the lessons they have learned from their experiences with social inclusion, which can provide depth to their essay responses.

💡Transformative leader

A transformative leader is someone who inspires and motivates others to achieve change. The video mentions the attributes of a MasterCard Foundation scholar, including being a transformative leader, which implies the importance of leadership in promoting social inclusion.

💡Personal story

A personal story is an individual's account of their experiences. The video script highlights the value of sharing one's personal story, especially if it involves overcoming exclusion or promoting inclusion, as it can inspire and resonate with others.

Highlights

Introduction to the MasterCard Foundation scholarship program essay questions

Emphasis on the importance of answering the questions from a personal perspective

Explanation of the STAR approach for essay writing: Situation, Task, Action, Results, and Lessons

The significance of the MasterCard Foundation's commitment to inclusion

Guidance on reflecting on personal experiences related to social inclusion

Advice on considering one's own experiences of exclusion and inclusion

Encouragement to share personal stories, especially for those who have faced exclusion

Discussion on the attributes of a MasterCard Foundation scholar and a transformative leader

The importance of understanding the question and its relevance to the scholarship program

Suggestion to use the CCO model (Challenge, Choice, Outcome) for storytelling in essays

Example of using personal challenges faced in childhood to demonstrate social inclusion efforts

The value of learning from the process of standing up for others and promoting inclusion

Insight on the importance of courage in driving social inclusion

The role of open conversation and speaking up in fostering inclusion

The idea that there's no such thing as a voiceless person, only those who are unheard or silenced

Reflection on the difficulty of answering the essay question and the need for personal reflection

Advice on researching and understanding the scholarship program to answer the essay question effectively

Transcripts

yeah hi everybody uh it's me again I'm

at cara de alabi and I'm here to take

you through the MasterCard Foundation

scholarship program essay questions

um our phones asked the question already

so if you haven't seen the video you can

go back to the channel and look at the

video where I answered four of the

questions and now I'll be looking at the

last question and also if you haven't

clicked the Subscribe button please do

so

um yeah so now I'm looking at the last

question and um

uh is uh yeah you leave the best for the

last that's what they say uh the

MasterCard Foundation is a growing

network of diverse Scholars one of the

key attributes of this network is a

commitment to inclusion what experience

do you have promoting social inclusion

what have you learned

um so again this question is also a

question that I'll answer with star

approach but now with an element of hell

so uh star so situation task action

results and lessons

so what is the situation what's the task

what's the action what is the result and

what are the lessons you know what did

you learn from it you know it's good

that you answer a question from a

particular point of view or from a

particular you know approach

um so you know it's a great network of a

device called one of the key attributes

of this network is commitment to

inclusion right what experience do you

have for multinational inclusion so I

could look at you know

um what's in my work you know in my

day-to-day work in my office in whatever

I'm doing you know

uh how am I promoting social inclusion

right so I think that's the first thing

you need to ask yourself

and then you look at the situation in

your work where you've been able to do

that in practice

uh where you've been able to do that and

what did you learn from that you know

were there people like kind of like

rebel against you uh did you practice

more listening you know you need to look

at the attributes of what it means to be

a MasterCard Foundation scholar so the

attributes of what it means to become a

transformative leader and how you're

able to like include others you know is

even your story so the first thing you

need to understand do I have a lived

experience you know where you know I've

been excluded from things or I've been

excluded from opportunities how did I

how was I included you know what did I

do to be included what were the things

that I did what were the steps that I

take you know and

and what have I learned from that

process right

um so if you have little experience it's

good to share you know of how you've

been you've been excluded from

opportunities uh for example uh if

you're a refugee this is an opportunity

to tell your story as well or if you're

displaced or if you have this ability

this is where you then shining your

personal story and how your story has

inspired you to like promote that

particular you know uh social inclusion

and what you've learned from standing up

for others right

um so if I were to answer this question

I would be like you know

um uh you know sometimes because for

example for me in my case like because I

grew up in a rural and in the South

communities uh uh I don't have access to

uh the right education the right

mentoring the right tools to succeed you

know and

um and how you know I felt like I could

do something about that and I started

teaching and as I was teaching I also

saw these problems happening in my

classroom right so you could use

different kind of examples like there's

no right or wrong answer to this

particular question I feel like it's the

most hardest question to tackle but I

think it's very important that you look

at the question carefully you look at

the elements of the question

it could even be your family story right

so I could remember like they see method

I used to use to answer this particular

question that you could use to answer

this particular question and I used to

answer my essay question

uh it's a a mood a model of Storytelling

by martial guns and it's like the CCO

model you know the challenge the choice

is an outcome model

um so for example you know what

challenge were you facing growing up

like if you're hitting on let's say for

example you're a girl child and maybe

before they serve everybody they have to

serve the Boy Child before they serve

you in the dining table

or because you're a girl child you're

not being paid attention to and how that

affected you basically

and how you've seen that problem and you

spoke about it as a young person as a

young teenager and now that as party

movements in the work that you do blah

blah blah and how you know now everybody

is finding courage to speak up about

issues as that to include a girl child

maybe in education so again you need to

think you know so that's a challenge you

face as a child you know what were the

choices that you make so the choices

could be speaking up at home and I was

picking up as up to you right you know

to do social and so

and how now you're running social and so

on you're giving other courage and what

you've learned is that for example I

could say that what I've learned in that

process is that courage is not just

internal college is external college is

when people speak up about this

particular issue that if you want to

drive you know social inclusion there's

enough for people to have open

conversation and speak up about these

issues and that's what you know give

other people quality also speak up and

that's how other people are including

other people have had in fact I could

even start this particular question with

the codes you know I know that you write

says something that there's no such

thing as a voiceless they solo the

people there's only people who are

preferably on unheard or deliberately

silenced

I have been silenced you know like

there's a way you could

change like just be crazy basically

that's what I'm trying to say like

there's a way you could answer this

question and be creative about it is for

me I feel like I didn't answer this

question during my time so I feel like

it's the most hardest question to answer

but again it's personal to you it's

Unique to you and then all you have to

do is to think and reflect and answer

the question

again reflect on this question why are

they asking this question in the first

place

read through the program you know read

through the website read through

everything you know speak to Anonymous

or alumni if you can speak to them

uh you know

get everything you can you know learn

like research reflect you know on each

question