college essay about core values

Essays About Values: 5 Essay Examples Plus 10 Prompts

Similar to how our values guide us, let this guide with essays about values and writing prompts help you write your essay.

Values are the core principles that guide the actions we take and the choices we make. They are the cornerstones of our identity. On a community or organizational level, values are the moral code that every member must embrace to live harmoniously and work together towards shared goals. 

We acquire our values from different sources such as parents, mentors, friends, cultures, and experiences. All of these build on one another — some rejected as we see fit — for us to form our perception of our values and what will lead us to a happy and fulfilled life.

5 Essay Examples

1. what today’s classrooms can learn from ancient cultures by linda flanagan, 2. stand out to your hiring panel with a personal value statement by maggie wooll, 3. make your values mean something by patrick m. lencioni, 4. how greed outstripped need by beth azar, 5. a shift in american family values is fueling estrangement by joshua coleman, 1. my core values, 2. how my upbringing shaped my values, 3. values of today’s youth, 4. values of a good friend, 5. an experience that shaped your values, 6. remembering our values when innovating, 7. important values of school culture, 8. books that influenced your values, 9. religious faith and moral values, 10. schwartz’s theory of basic values.

“Connectedness is another core value among Maya families, and teachers seek to cultivate it… While many American teachers also value relationships with their students, that effort is undermined by the competitive environment seen in many Western classrooms.”

Ancient communities keep their traditions and values of a hands-off approach to raising their kids. They also preserve their hunter-gatherer mindsets and others that help their kids gain patience, initiative, a sense of connectedness, and other qualities that make a helpful child.

“How do you align with the company’s mission and add to its culture? Because it contains such vital information, your personal value statement should stand out on your resume or in your application package.”

Want to rise above other candidates in the jobs market? Then always highlight your value statement. A personal value statement should be short but still, capture the aspirations and values of the company. The essay provides an example of a captivating value statement and tips for crafting one.

“Values can set a company apart from the competition by clarifying its identity and serving as a rallying point for employees. But coming up with strong values—and sticking to them—requires real guts.”

Along with the mission and vision, clear values should dictate a company’s strategic goals. However, several CEOs still needed help to grasp organizational values fully. The essay offers a direction in setting these values and impresses on readers the necessity to preserve them at all costs. 

“‘He compared the values held by people in countries with more competitive forms of capitalism with the values of folks in countries that have a more cooperative style of capitalism… These countries rely more on strategic cooperation… rather than relying mostly on free-market competition as the United States does.”

The form of capitalism we have created today has shaped our high value for material happiness. In this process, psychologists said we have allowed our moral and ethical values to drift away from us for greed to take over. You can also check out these essays about utopia .

“From the adult child’s perspective, there might be much to gain from an estrangement: the liberation from those perceived as hurtful or oppressive, the claiming of authority in a relationship, and the sense of control over which people to keep in one’s life. For the mother or father, there is little benefit when their child cuts off contact.”

It is most challenging when the bonds between parent and child weaken in later years. Psychologists have been navigating this problem among modern families, which is not an easy conflict to resolve. It requires both parties to give their best in humbling themselves and understanding their loved ones, no matter how divergent their values are. 

10 Writing  Prompts On Essays About Values

For this topic prompt, contemplate your non-negotiable core values and why you strive to observe them at all costs. For example, you might value honesty and integrity above all else. Expound on why cultivating fundamental values leads to a happy and meaningful life. Finally, ponder other values you would like to gain for your future self. Write down how you have been practicing to adopt these aspired values. 

Many of our values may have been instilled in us during childhood. This essay discusses the essential values you gained from your parents or teachers while growing up. Expound on their importance in helping you flourish in your adult years. Then, offer recommendations on what households, schools, or communities can do to ensure that more young people adopt these values.

Is today’s youth lacking essential values, or is there simply a shift in what values generations uphold? Strive to answer this and write down the healthy values that are emerging and dying. Then think of ways society can preserve healthy values while doing away with bad ones. Of course, this change will always start at home, so also encourage parents, as role models, to be mindful of their words, actions and behavior.  

The greatest gift in life is friendship. In this essay, enumerate the top values a friend should have. You may use your best friend as an example. Then, cite the best traits your best friend has that have influenced you to be a better version of yourself. Finally, expound on how these values can effectively sustain a healthy friendship in the long term. 

We all have that one defining experience that has forever changed how we see life and the values we hold dear. Describe yours through storytelling with the help of our storytelling guide . This experience may involve a decision, a conversation you had with someone, or a speech you heard at an event.  

With today’s innovation, scientists can make positive changes happen. But can we truly exercise our values when we fiddle with new technologies whose full extent of positive and adverse effects we do not yet understand such as AI? Contemplate this question and look into existing regulations on how we curb the creation or use of technologies that go against our values. Finally, assess these rules’ effectiveness and other options society has. 

Highlight a school’s role in honing a person’s values. Then, look into the different aspects of your school’s culture. Identify which best practices distinct in your school are helping students develop their values. You could consider whether your teachers exhibit themselves as admirable role models or specific parts of the curriculum that help you build good character. 

In this essay, recommend your readers to pick up your favorite books, particularly those that served as pathways to enlightening insights and values. To start, provide a summary of the book’s story. It would be better if you could do so without revealing too much to avoid spoiling your readers’ experience. Then, elaborate on how you have applied the values you learned from the book.

For many, religious faith is the underlying reason for their values. For this prompt, explore further the inextricable links between religion and values. If you identify with a certain religion, share your thoughts on the values your sector subscribes to. You can also tread the more controversial path on the conflicts of religious values with socially accepted beliefs or practices, such as abortion. 

Dive deeper into the ten universal values that social psychologist Shalom Schwartz came up with: power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence, tradition, conformity, and security. Look into their connections and conflicts against each other. Then, pick your favorite value and explain how you relate to it the most. Also, find if value conflicts within you, as theorized by Schwartz.

Make sure to check out our round-up of the best essay checkers . If you want to use the latest grammar software, read our guide on using an AI grammar checker .

Yna Lim is a communications specialist currently focused on policy advocacy. In her eight years of writing, she has been exposed to a variety of topics, including cryptocurrency, web hosting, agriculture, marketing, intellectual property, data privacy and international trade. A former journalist in one of the top business papers in the Philippines, Yna is currently pursuing her master's degree in economics and business.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Values — My Core Values: A Personal Reflection on What Matters Most

My Core Values: a Personal Reflection on What Matters Most

• Categories: Values

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Words: 676 |

Published: Jan 28, 2021

Words: 676 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Works Cited:

• Evans, R. J. (2005). The Third Reich in Power. Penguin.
• Gao, P. (2007). How Japan Plans to Win the War. Journal of Contemporary China, 16(50), 613-625.
• Henig, R. M. (1995). Versailles and After: 1919-1933. Routledge.
• Johnston, M. (Ed.). (2011). The Cambridge Handbook of Japanese Foreign Policy. Cambridge University Press.
• Kershaw, I. (2000). Hitler, 1936-1945: Nemesis. Penguin.
• Mommsen, W. J., & Kettenacker, L. (Eds.). (1996). The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement. Routledge.
• Paxton, R. O. (2005). The Anatomy of Fascism. Vintage.
• Shirer, W. L. (2011). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. Simon & Schuster.
• Weinberg, G. L. (1994). A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II. Cambridge University Press.
• Dower, J. W. (1999). Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. W. W. Norton & Company.

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Essay on My Values in Life

Introduction.

Personal values are qualities that one considers to be worthwhile and, as such, act as the driving force in their life. They take precedence over other qualities and therefore dictate the manner in which an individual may behave in particular instances. When it comes to my values in life, I have a few that I hold dear.

These values are a result of my upbringing, development, my principles, as well as my socialization and the culture around me. In this “my values in life” essay, I shall identify the core beliefs that I hold and how they influence my everyday choices, actions, and plans that I make.

My Values in Life

One of the educational values that are fundamental to me is achievement. This is a result of my belief that what defines me most as a person is my determination to succeed and my desire to make a positive contribution to society through my career. Achievement is, therefore, one of the values that are most important to me since, in today’s world, achievement and success are mostly tied together with educational success. As a result of this, I hold my educational exploits in high esteem since education is one of the avenues where one’s determination leads to quantifiable success.

I greatly value close relationships with my friends and constantly seek to cement the same. This is because good friends can assist one in achieving his/her goals in life and can sometimes even be closer than family. For this reason, I invest a lot of time and effort in my close friends. I make it a priority to be a part of the significant moments in my friends’ lives, such as their birthdays, wedding days, and even baby christening ceremonies. In addition to this, I always ensure that I inquire as to their well beings periodically.

Growth and personal development for me is a very fundamental value, and its importance in my life cannot be understated. It is my belief that my life is not worth much if I do not strive to constantly improve on my achievements as well as in becoming a better person. This value of personal growth and development greatly impacts my daily living, especially when establishing new relations. It is generally my rule that if a new relationship does not add any value to my life, then I should not waste my time exploring it.

One of the constant realities in human life is that we will always be surrounded by needy people. As such, on a social level, I always strive to give my services to the less fortunate. In my opinion, a life well lived is one that is lived in such a way that it makes a difference to someone else’s life. This is the philosophy with which I have led my life up to this point, and at all times, I try to make a difference in the lives of the people that surround me. Helping other people is, therefore, a value that I value not only in myself but also in other people.

While modern-day living has somewhat led to a degradation of the value of family from what it used to be in gone years, I still hold the value of family to be very important in my life. To me, one’s family members are the ones who will stand by you no matter the situation and encourage you through life’s troubles.

While I reckon that family may not always be supportive or as ideal as I envision it, in my experience, my family is closely knit and always stands up for me. I, therefore, always have my family in mind when making my decisions and consider how my actions will affect them. In addition, I try to seek guidance from members of the family who are more experienced than I am before making monumental decisions in my life.

It has been argued that honest men and women are a dying breed. This statement holds true in our capitalistic society, where profits and personal gains are the primary objectives. The means by which one achieves success is often overlooked, and as such, the ends justify the means.

Even in the midst of such an environment, I still hold honesty as one of my core values. This is mostly a result of my upbringing, whereby honesty was applauded and dishonesty shunned. Also, I have come to realize that when one achieves success through honesty, the level of satisfaction that comes with it is truly unrivaled by any other feeling.

Owing to my upbringing, I have a huge regard for religion. As such, one of my spiritual values is engaging myself in some religious organizations. While it is true that most of my religious values are a result of my upbringing, I have, over time, come to embrace them as my own and therefore make it my personal duty to be actively involved in my religious organization.

To me, this brings about a sense of balance and helps me be more reflective and appreciative in my life. My religious values impact my decision-making since I try not to make choices that are contrary to my religious beliefs.

In this paper, I have identified some of the values that I hold dear to me. I have also identified how these values impact the choices that I make as well as the actions that I take. From this deep exploration of my values, I have come to the realization that my values greatly dictate how I treat the people around me as well as how I prioritize matters. I believe that as a result of my values, I strive harder to achieve the things that I want in life, and as such, I am a better person as a result of them.

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7 Qualities of a Successful College Essay

Bonus Material:  30 College Essays That Worked

The college essay is one of the most important aspects of a student’s application.

It gives applicants an opportunity to articulate their personal values, character traits, and perspectives. It’s also a chance to add more value to your application, simply by demonstrating who you are outside of your resume and transcript.

A “successful” college essay is one that makes the most of these opportunities and, in many cases, earns an acceptance.

We’ve demystified what most admissions officers look for in college applications . But what are these officers looking for in the college essay itself? What are the top qualities of a successful application essay?

In analyzing various essays of admitted applicants, we’ve come up with a list of the characteristics that most of these pieces have in common. We’ll be referring to some of these pieces throughout the post.

Plus, we give you access to 30 college essays that earned their writers acceptance into Ivy League schools. Grab these below.

Download 30 College Essays That Worked

Here’s what we cover:

• What is The College Application Essay (in a nutshell)?
• 7 Qualities of a Successful Essay
• Bonus: 30 College Essays That Worked

The College Application Essay In a Nutshell

Most students applying to a college or university in the U.S. must submit an application essay (or “personal statement”) with their application.

Depending on the application platform the college uses (typically either Coalition or the Common App ), students have 500-650 words to craft a response. While each of these platforms has college essay prompts, it’s helpful to view these prompts as general guidelines as to what colleges are looking for in a response.

Based on these prompts and our own experience coaching college essay students , the application essay is:

• the chance to say what the rest of your application doesn’t say
• a demonstration of your character, values, and/or voice
• the platform to show who you are outside of a resume/transcript
• an introspective personal essay

The college essay is NOT :

• a rehashing of your resume
• an excuse or explanation of other components of your application
• a formal, five-paragraph essay
• what you think “colleges want to hear”

A standard college application includes an academic transcript, recommendation letters, extracurricular / activities section, an optional resume, and standardized test scores. The essay is an addition  to these 4 general components, so it makes sense that it should complement them by saying something new.

That’s why we like to define the essay as a “demonstration of character, values, and/or voice.” True, these elements can be inferred from other components of the application. But the essay is your opportunity to clearly and personally demonstrate what matters to you, who you are at the core, and/or your essential perspectives of the world.

For this reason, the college essay is introspective and personal. Colleges want to hear that “I” voice in the application essay, loud and clear, and they want active, intelligent reflection.

You can see this in action in the 30 college essays that worked, which you can download below.

( Note: Some colleges might require applicants to submit supplemental essays in addition to their personal statement. These often have very specific prompts and different word lengths. Here are 8 great tips for approaching supplemental essays . )

 7 Qualities of a Successful College Essay

We’ve assessed several college essays of applicants admitted to a wide range of schools, including Ivy League institutions. While extremely diverse, these pieces generally had the following characteristics in common.

1. Introspective and reflective

Many English teachers tell their students not to use the first-person “I” in their essays. While this might be the standard for some academic essays, the college essay  should  include that “I.” What’s more, it should include a  lot  of that “I”!

This can be understandably uncomfortable for students, many of whom may simply not be used to talking about themselves openly and declaratively on a page. It can also feel awkward from a stylistic point of view for students who are not used to writing in the first-person.

Yet colleges want to hear your words in your own voice, and they are especially interested in learning more about your perspectives on the world and insights gleaned from your various life experiences. That’s why many successful college essays are highly introspective, full of the writer’s active reflections on what they’ve learned, how they view the world, and who they are.

We typically see the bulk of such introspection at the  end  of an essay, where the writer summarizes these reflections (although this is by no means standard), as we can see in the conclusion to Erica’s essay here, which describes her earlier attempt to write and publish a novel:

Sometimes, when I’m feeling insecure about my ability as a novelist I open up my first draft again, turn to a random chapter, and read it aloud. Publishing that first draft would have been a horrible embarrassment that would have haunted me for the rest of my life. Over the past half-decade, I’ve been able to explore my own literary voice, and develop a truly original work that I will be proud to display. This experience taught me that “following your dreams” requires more than just wishing upon a star. It takes sacrifice, persistence, and grueling work to turn fantasy into reality.

In her personal statement, Aja reflects deeply on what she specifically learned from an experience described earlier on in the piece:

I found from my experiment and questioning within my mind that my practices distinguished me from others, thereby allowing me to form relationships on the basis of common interest or personality, rather than cultural similarities, that summer. I valued the relationships more, and formed a deep connection with my lab partner, whom I had found was similar to me in many ways. 

Notice how both of these selections contain a lot of that first-person voice, which is critical to elaborating perspectives, learning points, and introspective thoughts. And did we mention that admissions officers are  looking for  those specific perspectives, learning points, and thoughts that compose who you are?

2. Full of a student’s voice

An academic transcript can be revealing to admissions officers. The same goes for recommendation letters and resumes. But it’s hard to convey an individual voice in these application components. The college essay is your prime vehicle for speaking directly to colleges in your own words  about what matters to you.

Successful college essays thus veer away from the formal voice many students employ when writing academic essays. Rather, they showcase a student’s unique way of expressing themselves on a page, which can be, for example, humorous, informal, intimate, lyrical, and/or speculative.

Voice is at the forefront of Elizabeth’s essay about her love for “all that is spicy:”

I am an aspiring hot sauce sommelier. Ever since I was a child, I have been in search for all that is spicy. I began by dabbling in peppers of the jarred variety. Pepperoncini, giardiniera, sports peppers, and jalapeños became not only toppings, but appetizers, complete entrées, and desserts. As my palate matured, I delved into a more aggressive assortment of spicy fare. I’m not referring to Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, the crunchy snack devoured by dilettantes. No, it was bottles of infernal magma that came next in my tasting curriculum.

Notice how Elizabeth’s descriptions of her passion for spice are rich with her voice: playful, intelligent, and humorous. This also gives us insight into a specific aspect of her character–that’s the power of voice when it comes to personal essay writing, and college admissions officers are very interested in applicants’ characters.

3. Descriptive and engaging

You don’t have to be a natural creative writer to compose a successful college essay. Yet competitive essays aren’t afraid to dive deeply into a subject and describe it, whether that description relates to imagery, emotions, perspectives, or insights. A college essay shouldn’t leave the reader guessing in any way–it should be highly specific and it should tell your story in an engaging fashion.

Harry’s more intellectual essay presents his views on common values in society. He is careful to be very specific and descriptive in these views, incorporating both a relevant incident from history and his own direct relationship to the issue:

Admittedly, the problem of social integration is one I feel can be widely overstated – for example, when I was looking into some research for a similar topic a couple of years ago, I found numerous surveys indicating that ethnic minorities (especially Islam) identify much more closely with Britain than do the population at large. Still though, I, like many others, find myself constantly troubled by the prospect of the war from within that seems to be developing. This fear is fuelled by events such as the brutal killing of the soldier Lee Rigby at the hands of two British Muslims a couple of years ago.

In her essay, Amanda is extremely detailed in describing her experience as a caretaker for a difficult child. The result is a clear portrait of the challenge itself and Amanda’s relationship to this challenge, told from the perspective of an engaging storyteller:

Then I met Robyn, and I realized how wrong I was. Prone to anger, aggressive, sometimes violent (I have the scar to prove it). Every Sunday with Robyn was a challenge. Yoga, dancing, cooking, art, tennis – none of these activities held her interest for long before she would inevitably throw a tantrum or stalk over to a corner to sulk or fight with the other children. She alternated between wrapping her arms around my neck, declaring to anyone who passed by that she loved me, and clawing at my arms, screaming at me to leave her alone.

The successful college essays we see always  emerge from a place of honesty. Writing with honesty also is more likely to accurately convey a student’s unique voice, inspire reflection and introspection, and result in a descriptive, meaningful piece (all of the qualities listed in this post!).

Sometimes this means adopting a candid or direct voice on the page. James starts his essay frankly in this singular statement:

Simply put, my place of inner peace is the seat of that 50 foot sliver of carbon and kevlar called a rowing shell, cutting through the water in the middle of a race.

Or it might mean describing a challenge, vulnerability, or perspective truthfully, as Martin does in his essay about the experiences that have molded his character over the years:

Looking back, I have never been the “masculine boy” as society says my role to be. I have always thought I do not fit the social definition of a male as one who is “manly” and “sporty” and this alienating feeling of being different still persists today at times. However, I also have become more comfortable with myself, and I see my growth firsthand throughout high school.

Given that many universities value “truth” in their own mission statements and mottos, admissions officers will prioritize those essays that ring with a student’s honest voice.

5. Unconventional & distinct

This is by no means a requirement of a successful college essay. But many of the essays that earn students acceptance at their dream schools veer away from the predictable or expected, as we saw in Elizabeth’s essay above (“I am an aspiring hot sauce sommelier”). They are, in a nutshell, 100% unique.

We’ve seen some essays, for example, that follow more radical structures, such as list formats or experimental narratives. Others focus on unexpected subjects, like Shanaz’s piece on the relevance of Game of Thrones in her life and trajectory of learning.

And, time and again, successful college essays step away from what admissions officers already see in applications–academics, standardized tests, extracurricular activities, and classes. They may focus on something very specific (hot sauce or Game of Thrones ), seemingly ordinary (eating a kosher meal in public or working on a problem set), or personally interesting (a historic murder or wrestling game).

Regardless, the essays that “work” emphasize the unexpected, as opposed to the expected. Distinct essays will also feel as if they could not have been written by anyone else .

6. Well-written

This might also sound like an obvious quality of a successful essay, but it’s still worth mentioning. The most competitive application essays showcase strong writing skills, providing evidence of a student’s ability to tell a specific story artfully and well. 

Essays should also be error-free, grammatically precise, and stylistically on point. Successful pieces also might demonstrate versatility through varied sentence structure, word choice, and rhetorical or literary devices. Lastly, well-written essays typically adhere to a specific storytelling structure.

This excerpt from Justin’s essay about his experience in the California Cadet Corps, for example, displays a high command of language, word choice, and sentence structure:

Through Survival, I learned many things about myself and the way I approach the world. I realized that I take for granted innumerable small privileges and conveniences and that I undervalue what I do have. Now that I had experienced true and sustained hunger, I felt regret for times when I threw away food and behaved with unconscious waste. 

7. Meaningful

Above all, a successful college essay adds value to a student’s holistic college application. It is full of  meaning , in that it

• showcases a student’s unique voice
• elucidates an applicant’s particular perspective(s), character trait(s), and/or belief(s) and
• honestly conveys a significant component of who a student is

It might be difficult to compress the entirety of who you are into 650 words. Yet it is most certainly possible to craft 650 words that add significant meaning to an overall application in terms of a student’s  personal potential for the future. This is exactly what admissions officers are looking for . 

What can you do to ensure that your college essay aligns with these successful qualities? You can check out examples of essays that do!

You can download 30 actual college essays that earned their writers acceptance into Ivy League schools, right now, for free.

Kate is a graduate of Princeton University. Over the last decade, Kate has successfully mentored hundreds of students in all aspects of the college admissions process, including the SAT, ACT, and college application essay. 

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, thoughts on personal values essays.

I've been considering writing about my personal values for one of my college essays. What do you guys think? Have any of you written about this topic or seen essays where it worked out well? Any tips would be really helpful!

Writing about your personal values can definitely be an effective essay topic, as long as you zero in on one or two, to avoid your essay feeling scattered or difficult to follow, and emphasize how these values have shaped your actions, decisions, and growth. Also remember to keep your focus on showing, not telling, the reader about your values: use anecdotes and specific examples to demonstrate how your values play a role in your life and have led you to make meaningful contributions or overcome challenges, as otherwise your essay may come across as generic or impersonal.

For example, if one of your core values is empathy, you could discuss how it has driven you to volunteer at a local community center or initiate a school project focused on inclusivity. By doing so, you're showcasing your personal values while also conveying your skills in leadership, collaboration, and communication.

Additionally, make sure that your essay says something about your overall personality, intellect, and what you can bring to the college community. Remember, this essay is an opportunity for the college admissions committee to get to know you on a personal level, so use your personal values essay to provide insight into who you are.

Lastly, avoid cliches and generic statements. Personal values essays can sometimes fall into the trap of being too general or preachy. Again, to make your essay stand out, incorporate unique stories and specific examples that truly demonstrate your personal values and how they have shaped you. This will help you craft a memorable and engaging essay that resonates with the reader.

If you're not sure whether your essay is working, consider utilizing CollegeVine's free peer essay review service, or submitting it for a paid review by an expert college admissions advisor. Sometimes, getting a more objective set of eyes on your essay is exactly what you need to iron out the last few kinks.

Happy writing!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

Pitzer College Supplemental Essays Guide: 2021-2022

Not sure how to get started on your Pitzer supplement essay? CollegeAdvisor.com’s guide to the Pitzer supplemental essays will provide you with the Pitzer core college values, the Pitzer College ranking, and the Pitzer acceptance rate. We’ll also discuss tips for writing an engaging Pitzer core values essay to maximize your chances of admission. If you need help writing your Pitzer supplemental essays, create your free CollegeAdvisor.com account or schedule a free advising consultation by calling (844) 343-6272.

Pitzer Supplement Essay Guide Quick Facts:

• The Pitzer acceptance rate is 17.0%— U.S. News ranks Pitzer as a most selective school.
• The Pitzer College ranking is #35 in National Liberal Arts Colleges (U.S. News)
• There is only one Pitzer supplemental essay: the Pitzer core values essay.

Does Pitzer College have a Supplemental Essay?

Yes, in addition to your Common App Personal Statement, you will also write one Pitzer supplement essay. The Pitzer supplemental essay is required , so all applicants will need to submit Pitzer supplemental essays. The Pitzer supplemental essay is also known as the Pitzer core values essay.

Need some help writing your Common App essay? Get great tips from our Common App essay guide .

How do I Write a Pitzer College Supplemental Essay?

Your Pitzer supplemental essays let you impress your reader by telling a story about who you are while engaging with the Pitzer core college values. The key to writing a standout Pitzer supplement essay isn’t having a flashy story or being clever. Instead, it’s giving yourself a proper writing process. This means you should brainstorm, draft, revise, and proofread. By investing in every step of the process, you’ll give yourself time for your ideas to develop. Once you reach your final draft, you’ll have written a Pitzer core values essay that expresses your best traits.

If you are looking for Pitzer-approved inspiration before getting started on your brainstorm , check out Pitzer’s Application Advice . On the website, you’ll find tips and tricks to aid you through every part of the application process, including your Pitzer supplement essay. For more information on the Pitzer core college values, check out their Admissions Blog for posts like “Pitzer Core Values as Famous Shakespeare Quotes” and a Buzzfeed quiz, “Which core value are you?”

To get started on your Pitzer supplemental essays, you’ll need to pick which prompt to respond to. We have provided the 2021-2022 Pitzer supplement essay prompts below. You’ll find a breakdown of how to approach the Pitzer core values essay prompts as well as tips for writing Pitzer supplemental essays that will stand out.

Pitzer Supplement Essay – Question 1 (Required)

At Pitzer, five core values distinguish our approach to education: social responsibility, intercultural understanding, interdisciplinary learning, student engagement and environmental sustainability. As agents of change, our students utilize these values to create solutions to our world’s challenges. Please answer only ONE of the following prompts (650 words or less).

• Reflecting on your involvement throughout high school or within the community, how have you engaged with one of Pitzer’s core values?
• Describe what you are looking for from your college experience and why Pitzer would be a good fit for you.
• Pitzer is known for our students’ intellectual and creative activism. If you could work on a cause that is meaningful to you through a project, artistic, academic, or otherwise, what would you do?

Before you start writing your Pitzer supplemental essays, you need to pick the prompt you feel most confident answering. If one prompt jumps out at you, go with your instinct! However, you might be struggling to pick a prompt for your Pitzer supplement essay. If so, it’s always a good idea to do a quick brainstorm for each of the prompts. Then, you can choose a prompt based on the ideas you generated.

To begin your brainstorm, list your activities, both in and out of school, alongside the Pitzer core college values. Your activities could include student groups, volunteer work, sports teams, after-school jobs, anything you’ve participated in. Focus on the activities that matter most to you.

Once you have your list of activities, you need to connect them to the Pitzer core college values. For example, let’s say you choose to reflect on Student Engagement. It isn’t enough to only say you were the treasurer of your school’s drama club. You need to detail the contributions you made and the effects your actions had on your community.

The prompt asks you to talk about one of Pitzer’s core college values. So, if you choose to talk about multiple experiences you’ve had, they all need to relate to the same core value. You should also think about the rest of your application. If you can, try to include experiences that your reader won’t learn about anywhere else.

This prompt doesn’t specifically ask you to identify one of Pitzer’s core college values. However, you should still frame your essay around one (or two if needed). Think of the Pitzer core college values as the lens through which you’ll answer the prompt. Your ideal college experience should reflect the Pitzer core college values as they relate to you.    

You need to include specific details about the school. These shouldn’t be statistics like the Pitzer acceptance rate or the Pitzer College ranking, but facts relating to Pitzer’s programs. This might include class sizes, academic programs, student groups, research opportunities, or other offerings. Once you’ve established the things Pitzer has to offer you, then it’s time to discuss what you will offer Pitzer.

Even though the prompt asks why Pitzer would be a good fit for you, a good way to approach this prompt is to imagine how you’d enrich the Pitzer community. This lets you showcase specifics about your background, experiences, interests, or modes of thinking that matter to you. Think of this connection as a causal chain: What are the specific things about Pitzer that interest you? Why are they important to you? How will your values allow you to flourish at Pitzer, and in turn help Pitzer to flourish?

This prompt asks about activism and causes that you care about. The prompt, therefore, inherently connects to the core value of Social Responsibility. However, depending on what issue you choose to discuss, it may connect to one of the other Pitzer core college values. For example, if your project relates to climate change, then your essay may also touch on the value of Environmental Sustainability.

This prompt is perhaps the hardest because it asks you to fully imagine a project you might create. In your essay, you will first need to identify the issue that is important to you. Then, you should outline the project and describe the impact you hope your project will make. This prompt will only work if you can get specific.

For example, if you have a passion for painting and care about public health, don’t just say you will make art inspired by health care inequalities. You’ll need to get more in-depth about how your actions will affect you, your collaborators, and your intended audience. 

Prompts 1-3

No matter which of the three Pitzer core values essay prompts you respond to, make sure your essay tells a clear story. Your essay should have a strong beginning, middle, and end. It should also have no spelling or grammatical errors. Ensure your Pitzer supplemental essays are as clear and polished as possible, as this will help your reader focus on your story.

What are the Pitzer College core values?

Before you begin writing your Pitzer core values essay, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the Pitzer core college values. 

There are five Pitzer core college values: Social Responsibility, Intercultural Understanding, Interdisciplinary Learning, Student Engagement, and Environmental Sustainability. Check out the Pitzer College core values page to see how these values will shape your college experience and learn what they mean to Pitzer students.

What is Pitzer College ranked?

U.S. News ranks Pitzer College #35 in National Liberal Arts Colleges. Below are a few of U.S. News’ other rankings:

• Pitzer College ranking is #68 for Best Undergraduate Teaching .
• The Pitzer College ranking in Best Value Schools is #88.
• For Most Innovative Schools , the Pitzer College ranking is #42.
• The Pitzer College ranking for Top Performers on Social Mobility is #142.

The Princeton Review doesn’t offer a specific Pitzer College ranking but does include them in The Best 387 Colleges: 2022 Edition . They recognize Pitzer in several of their “Great Lists,” including Great Financial Aid, Most Politically Active Students, LGBTQ-Friendly, and Great Campus Food. The Pitzer College ranking, according to Forbes’ 2021 Top Colleges In America , was #299 among the 600 top-ranked colleges, universities, and service academies in the U.S.  

What is the Pitzer College acceptance rate?

According to U.S. News, the Pitzer acceptance rate is 17%. The Pitzer acceptance rate reflects how many students applied compared to the number of students admitted. 

Of the students admitted to Pitzer, half had an SAT score between 1325-1510 or an ACT score of 31-33. The Pitzer acceptance rate is similar to the other Claremont Colleges, which have an average acceptance rate of 15.03%.

If you’re concerned about the Pitzer acceptance rate, remember every student who now attends Pitzer was once in the same position you’re in now. Rather than focusing on the Pitzer acceptance rate, focus on your Pitzer supplemental essays. If you write the best Pitzer core values essay you can, you’ll strengthen your odds against the Pitzer acceptance rate. 

Want more information on Pitzer College as well as targeted advice on approaching the Pitzer supplemental essays? Check out the video below from the Assistant Director of Admissions!

Pitzer Supplemental Essays: Final Thoughts

Just as you are more than your grades and test scores, Pitzer is more than its statistics. Knowing the Pitzer acceptance rate or the Pitzer College ranking will not help you write a better Pitzer supplement essay. Before you pick a Pitzer supplement essay prompt, take some time to learn more about the Pitzer core college values and what they mean to you. As you listen to how Pitzer’s students embody these values, you’ll probably find you have already begun to embody these values yourself.

Once you’ve developed your ideas for your Pitzer supplemental essays, don’t worry about making your first draft perfect. Focus on getting your ideas down on paper, and then follow through on your writing process. Give yourself plenty of time ahead of the deadline to revise and edit your Pitzer supplemental essays and refine your ideas. Once you feel like you have a solid draft, ask a teacher, guardian, or any other mentor to read over your Pitzer supplemental essays. Address their feedback, proofread your work, and your Pitzer supplemental essays will be sure to stand out.

This 2021-2022 essay guide on Pitzer was written by Stefanie Tedards . For more CollegeAdvisor.com resources on Pitzer, click here . Want help crafting your Pitzer supplemental essays? Create your free account or schedule a free advising consultation by calling (844) 343-6272.

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How to Write the Pitzer College Essays 2023-2024

Pitzer College has one required supplemental essay prompt with two options, as well as one optional prompt. In the first prompt, the first option asks both what you want from your college experience broadly and why Pitzer specifically is a good fit for you, and the second asks you to reflect on your community involvement and engagement. The optional second prompt invites you to write about the background, identity, or personal interests that you would bring to Pitzer.

Since Pitzer receives thousands of applications from academically strong students, your essays are your best chance to stand out. In this post, we’ll discuss how to craft an engaging response to each of these options. Additionally, although one of the prompts is optional, we strongly encourage you to take this opportunity to teach Pitzer admissions officers something new about you. It’s already hard to fit your whole life into a college application, so any additional chance you have to describe some new side of yourself is one you should seize!

Pitzer College Supplemental Essay Prompts

Prompt 1: At Pitzer College, five core values distinguish our approach to education: social responsibility, intercultural understanding, interdisciplinary learning, student engagement, and environmental sustainability. As agents of change, our students utilize these values to create solutions to our world’s challenges. Find out more about our core values. Please choose from the following prompts and answer below:

• Option A: Describe what you are looking for from your college experience and why Pitzer would be a good fit for you. (650 words)
• Option B: Reflecting on your involvement throughout high school or within the community, how have you engaged with one of Pitzer’s core values? (650 words)

Prompt 2: As a mission-driven institution, we value and celebrate the synergy created by our differences and similarities. We welcome you to write about distinctive aspects of your background, identity, or personal interests that you would bring to Pitzer, and how you plan to engage in our community. (250 words, optional)

Prompt 1, Option A

Describe what you are looking for from your college experience and why pitzer would be a good fit for you. (650 words).

This “Why This College?” prompt is a great choice for applicants who are really excited for a liberal arts college experience. Broadly speaking, liberal arts colleges pride themselves on producing well-rounded graduates who have both the qualitative and quantitative tools to understand and analyze events around them.

Pitzer specifically prides itself on educating “engaged, socially responsible citizens of the world.” If you see college as a place to grow and become a positively contributing member of society, then this essay is just the place for you to express that vision.

Of course, the strongest responses to this essay will do more than just repeat the language that Pitzer has on its website. These general ideas about engagement, citizenship, and contribution to society will manifest themselves differently in every person’s life.

Your goal, in this essay, should be to show who specifically you hope to become through your college education. This can mean a number of things—from mapping out the skills or knowledge you hope to gain to describing the social bonds you’d like to form, and from talking about the broad contributions you want to make in the world to stating the specific career path you’d like to pursue. Below, we’ll dig into ways to personalize your response to this very broad question.

Selecting a Topic

In general, brainstorming for this essay will have two parts: you’ll need to think about what you want from your college experience, and then you’ll need to research and decide on which of PItzer’s resources best support that goal. We’ll go through both these phases below!

Phase 1: Thinking about what you want from your college experience.

As you begin to think about what you’re looking for from your college experience, it’s a good idea to organize the results of your brainstorming. One way to do this is to categorize the benefits you’re looking for from your college education. Below we’ve listed four types of goals that you could have for your college education.

• Academic knowledge and skills
• Social experiences and connections
• Self-knowledge
• Career advancement

There are, of course, other goals you might have, too, but using these categories can help organize your essay. A focused, strong response to this prompt will likely:

• Focus on just one or two—or at most three—of the areas listed above.
• Home in on your specific interests within each category.
• Link those interests to your broader goals to create a compelling, holistic picture of who you are.

Phase 2: Thinking about Pitzer’s resources.

Once you’ve decided on your goals for college, you should research which features of Pitzer will help you create your ideal college experience. As you do this research, keep these pointers in mind:

Go beyond what you’ll find in one or two clicks on Pitzer’s website. Though it’s fine to write about easily findable resources, be sure to do a deeper research dive, too. Link these resources to what you’re looking for from college.

For example, if you want to gain research experience in college, a natural choice might be to write about a biology research opportunity. However, don’t just write: “I’m excited about Pitzer’s biology research opportunities.”

Instead, explain what labs you want to work in, faculty mentors you want to collaborate with, or particular topics you want to investigate and associated questions you’d like to answer. You could even give examples of current ongoing research that links to your interests. Describing specific programs and their offerings always shows that you’ve done your due diligence when it comes to getting to know what a college has to offer. Be sure to explain what specific skills or insights you’ll gain from research at Pitzer.

Avoid writing about common college resources in general terms. Along similar lines as our previous point, if you’re writing about an opportunity or resource that most colleges and universities offer, be sure to explain why this resource is distinct and especially exciting at Pitzer.

For example: Almost all liberal arts colleges have an English major. If you’re excited to pursue an English major at Pitzer, be sure to highlight what makes their program stand out—and how it will help you achieve your specific goals. The resources you mention could be anything from creative writing workshops to particular faculty members to specific student groups affiliated with the department.

Some college applicants have clear academic or professional goals, while other students want to explore new areas in college in order to decide on an academic or professional path. Regardless of whether you already have concrete long-term goals or not, this prompt could work well for you. However, you will need to find a way to make more speculative or vague goals feel detailed, personal, and compelling.

Here are some examples of students with less clear goals (example 1) and with more clear goals (example 2), and what they might be able to do to strengthen their respective essays.

Example 1: This writer doesn’t have a clear idea of what subject he wants to study or what career he wants to pursue. However, he does know that he loves art and cares a lot about the climate crisis. This applicant writes about how he wants to explore academically and be inspired and challenged by his peers so that he can discover new ways to deploy his skills to help fight climate change.

In his body paragraphs, this writer could describe specific, interdisciplinary courses and research opportunities he wants to pursue at Pitzer, explaining how his research will build upon what he learns in class to support his overarching goals. Then, in another paragraph, he could write about extracurricular experiences related to his interests that will allow him to engage with peers who can help him continue to clarify his path forward.

Example 2: This student knows that she wants to become a doctor. Her goal as an undergraduate is to get a well-rounded liberal arts education so that she can understand the social and political dynamics that affect health. She also wants to build an excellent foundation of knowledge through her pre-med classes so that she will be a strong, prepared applicant to medical school.

Because this student has very clear, career-oriented goals, she could focus one paragraph on Pitzer’s academic resources, which will give her a broad understanding of social and economic conditions. In another paragraph, she could focus on Pitzer’s pre-med resources. And finally, another paragraph could be about volunteer opportunities that will allow the student to contextualize her medical interests within her broad understanding of the world around her, giving her practical experience that will help her determine how she can best utilize her skills to help others.

Writing Your Essay

Here are a few tips to make your final draft as strong as possible:

Link the things that draw you to Pitzer to your broader goals. It won’t be difficult to identify features of Pitzer that excite you, so long as you do your research always thinking about how particular opportunities align with you goals. Take the time to connect the things you love about Pitzer to your essay’s larger theme (i.e., what you want from your college experience).

Stay focused. You might find yourself tempted to write about fifty wonderful things you’ve heard about Pitzer. However, you should aim for quality, not quantity. An essay that offers an in-depth explanation of how you would use just one or two Pitzer resources would be far stronger than an essay that lists many resources but offers only minimal thoughtful, personal analysis of why those aspects of the school appeal to you.

Avoid name-dropping. It’s easy to cram your essay with the names of distinguished faculty members or prominent research programs. Resist this temptation! Instead, take the time to make sure your reader understands why you’re excited about a particular resource.

For example:

• Name-dropping: “In particular, I’m excited to work with faculty members like Professor Smith.”
• Not name-dropping: “Forensic anthropology is a small field, and I have found very few professors working in my area of interest. At Pitzer, I would have the unique opportunity to work with Professor Smith on…”

Prompt 1, Option B

Reflecting on your involvement throughout high school or within the community, how have you engaged with one of pitzer’s core values (650 words), understanding the prompt.

This community service prompt is a great choice for applicants who are particularly excited about one of Pitzer’s core values .

The phrasing of this prompt may seem like you’re being asked to write about a whole period of your life or general community involvement. However, the strongest responses will focus in on particular “moments” or “experiences” to show:

• That you have thought deeply about the core value in question, and
• That you actually live out or engage with this value in your daily life.

Though it might be tempting to try to show how you live out this value in many different parts of your life, or over the whole course of your whole high school career, a more focused essay will be more compelling. Trying to write an essay that surveys your entire high school career will likely prove stressful and counterproductive, as four years cannot fit into 650 words!

Remember that this essay is ultimately about you and your engagement with one of Pitzer’s values. This means that clubs or activities that you were only involved in as a member or infrequent participant might not be the best choice. Though essays about teamwork or group activities can absolutely be strong, your own voice and role should be clear.

For example, if you want to write about environmental sustainability, you might be choosing between writing about your membership in your school’s sustainability club and a project that you started at your grandmother’s nursing home to reduce food waste. Here, the project you initiated at your grandmother’s nursing home would be a better choice, because it shows your own vision and motivation, rather than describing your more engagement as one member (even if you’re an active member) of a school club.

Finally, remember to avoid the temptation to fit all the times you’ve engaged with Pitzer’s values into one essay. Below are examples of strong topics that stay focused on one particular way that the writer has engaged with one of Pitzer’s core values.

Value: Social responsibility

Essay Topic: Overhauling your baseball team to make it both greener and more integrated into the broader community.

The essay could begin with a paragraph describing how the writer noticed that their baseball team’s games often resulted in large amounts of trash in the field’s bin, and limited community access to a public field. The author could then explain that he realized that his team had a negative impact on the community, and he decided he wanted to change that.

The rest of the essay could describe changes that the writer implemented to make his team’s impact on the community more positive. First, the writer could describe how he got his school to provide reusable bottles to the team, as well as a water cooler. In addition, the writer could describe how the team worked with the league to move their game times, so that a senior softball team could play on weekends, and also started leading fundraisers to support local little league teams.

Strengths of this essay:

• This essay has potential because it focuses on a particular “before and after” situation; the writer clearly shows their feeling of responsibility towards those around them.
• This essay is also quite focused, which will allow the writer to incorporate specific, vivid descriptions of observations and actions, rather than trying to blow through a much longer story at breakneck speed.

Value: Interdisciplinary Learning

Essay Topic: A group science fair project that examined how music helps mice learn.

This essay would focus not only on the project itself, but also on the reason for the writer’s interest in an interdisciplinary project. The writer could begin by describing a discussion she had with a musician friend about the psychological and physiological benefits of music.

The writer could then describe how she shared this discussion with her lab group and how, together, they decided to try to do their own research into the link between music and learning. The essay should not focus on specific experimental methodology (which is not so relevant to the question), but rather on the experience of interdisciplinary work and which lessons the writer took away.

Strengths of this topic:

• This essay clearly shows the student’s love of interdisciplinary work—the science fair project combines elements of psychology, biology, and music, at a minimum.
• This essay shows the writer’s curiosity, motivation, and ability to plan, initiate, and complete a challenging project.
• This essay is focused on a particular experience, and so will likely have depth and detail, providing insight into who the writer is and how she thinks about and approaches problems.

As you begin to write your response to this prompt, keep the following pointers in mind:

Be sure that your essay is clearly focused on one of Pitzer’s values. Though it might be tempting to try to fit in other values, stay focused. It’s fine to hint at other values—for instance, Example 1 above clearly has links to “environmental sustainability” as well as “social responsibility”—but be sure that Pitzer’s admissions committee gets a clear, compelling understanding of what one of their values means to you.

Though your top priority should be making sure that the value you’ve chosen is clear, avoid repetitive or generic language. In particular, many applicants are likely to reuse the language of the prompt (“I have engaged with the core value of social responsibility by…”). Instead, use your own words and link these terms to your own experience (“As I looked at the trash around the field, I realized that my teammates and I did not play a responsible role in our community.”).

Finally as we’ve already noted above, avoid a broad, high-level summary of your life or high school career. Focus on specific moments to show the reader how you have engaged with these values, rather than telling a long-winded, birds-eye view story about what you have done.

As a mission-driven institution, we value and celebrate the synergy created by our differences and similarities. We welcome you to write about distinctive aspects of your background, identity, or personal interests that you would bring to Pitzer, and how you plan to engage in our community. (250 words, optional)

This is one instance of the very common diversity prompt . When colleges have this kind of prompt, they want to know about your own personal background and how it has influenced your worldview and perspectives.

First, a quick note if you intend to write about your racial background. In June 2023, the United States Supreme Court struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions. The ruling, however, still allows colleges to consider race on an individual basis, which is one reason many schools are now including diversity prompts as one of their supplemental essay prompts. If you feel that your racial background has impacted you significantly, this is the place to discuss that, as otherwise schools will be legally unable to factor your race into their admissions decision.

The traditional approach to this kind of prompt is describing what you think is the most important part of your identity, then briefly discussing how that aspect of diversity is relevant to you and your general life experiences.

Such a response might be written about one of the following scenarios:

• Using your fluency in another language to help members of a specific community.
• Interpreting a text in class differently from your classmates because of your ethnic culture.
• Having a friend of a different background who has changed your perspective on something important.
• Having an illness or disability that helps you view accessibility through a different lens than your peers.
• Being part of a niche interest group/fandom and trying to represent the group faithfully when talking to people who aren’t members of it.

Simply listing things that people typically associate with diversity should be avoided. Sure, diversity includes different ethnicities/races, gender identities, sexual orientations, countries of origin, and languages, but writing out a laundry list of how you identify within each of those categories will make your essay feel like a census report, not a personal reflection. Instead, highlight just one thing you feel is especially important, and really let Pitzer’s admissions officers inside your head so they can understand how this particular aspect of your identity has shaped your growth and development.

Also, bear in mind that the traditional markers of diversity aren’t the only ones you can discuss. There are other aspects of identity that can make a campus community diverse, including socioeconomic classes, hometowns, illnesses/disabilities, and even interests or hobbies.

Once you have chosen your aspect of background or identity, describe how it has influenced you and your life. Often, the best way to do this is through a meaningful anecdote. As you brainstorm formative life experiences related to this aspect of your identity, think about the following questions for each experience:

• What happened?
• What was going through your mind and how did you feel as it happened?
• How have your emotions about the event changed over time?
• Have you faced any challenges as a result of membership in this community or your background?

After describing your identity through an anecdote, you need to address how this feature of who you are will allow you to contribute to the Pitzer community. Remember, the more specific, the better. Browse Pitzer’s student organizations and find one that connects to the aspect of your background you wrote about, as that will make your essay cohesive and easy to follow.

For example, a student who has been learning baking recipes from her grandmother since she was little might write about wanting to join the Baking Club to share these delicious desserts with other students.

Or, maybe at home a student was part of a large Jewish community and didn’t have to go out of his way to connect with others, but at college he plans to join Hillel to ensure he has that established community.

To summarize: think of what diversity means to you and what you consider to be a particularly significant aspect of your own diverse background. From there, think of personal anecdotes or stories that show how that smaller piece of you has contributed to your overall growth and development as a person. Finally, write about specific ways in which you intend to use this aspect of identity to contribute to the Pitzer community!

Where to Get Your Pitzer College Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Pitzer essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Distinguished Graduate Student Award Winners Honored At 2024 Faculty Affairs Spring Award Ceremony

The Texas A&M Graduate and Professional School, in collaboration with The Association of Former Students, recently presented 16 Aggies with Distinguished Graduate Student Awards. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding contributions by graduate students in research or teaching. Generous contributions to The Association of Former Students’ Annual Fund have made these awards possible.

“Since 1965, The Association of Former Students has been proud to honor the very best of Texas A&M’s graduate students with the Distinguished Graduate Student Award,” said Porter Garner ’79, president and CEO of The Association of Former Students. “These exceptional Aggies have made an indelible contribution to Texas A&M and our world through their teaching and research across disciplines. They embody the Aggie Core Values and represent the Aggie Network with distinction.”

Dr. Fuhui Tong, interim associate provost and dean of the Graduate and Professional School, extended gratitude to The Association of Former Students and kudos to the awardees. “Thanks to The Association of Former Students for their support in helping us recognize this year’s Distinguished Graduate Students,” Tong said. “And congratulations to these outstanding students for making such a positive impact on our university and the world.“

Distinguished Graduate Student Award winners were honored at the Faculty Affairs Spring Award Ceremony on Friday, April 26. Each was presented with an engraved watch and a framed certificate.

Awards in Research

Rachel Busselman,  ecology and evolutionary biology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sarah Hamer

Sambandh Dhal,  computer engineering, College of Engineering Faculty Advisors: Dr. Stavros Kalafatis and Dr. Ulisses Braga-Neto

Wenliang He,  animal science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Advisor: Dr. Guoyao Wu

Nirmitee Sanjay Mulgaonkar,  biological and agricultural engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Advisors: Dr. Sandun Fernando and Dr. Maria King

Tejaswini Reddy,  medical sciences, School of Medicine Faculty Advisors: Dr. Jenny Chang and Dr. David Huston

Kara Thomas,  biomedical sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Golding

James Tronolone,  biomedical engineering, College of Engineering Faculty Advisor: Dr. Abishek Jain

Ruida Zhou,  electrical engineering, College of Engineering Faculty Advisor: Dr. Chao Tian

Awards in Teaching

Nicholas Bradley,  communication, College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Crick

Catherine Brooks,  anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shelley Wachsmann

Abigail Clevenger,  biomedical engineering, College of Engineering Faculty Advisor: Dr. Shreya Raghavan

Delaney Couri,  communication, College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kristan Poirot

Carla M. A. de Loera,  entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Advisor: Dr. Hojun Song

Avi Kister,  chemical engineering, College of Engineering Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mahmoud El-Halwagi

Virginia Redwine Johnson,  curriculum and instruction, School of Education and Human Development Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Williams, III

Xiaoyu Su,  mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Advisor: Dr. Guoliang Yu

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