From The Peopling of NYC

Bio Writing Workshop

March 14, 2007 About writing your bio

Task: to write a 1-2 paragraph self-description in the third person to be posted on the MHC Intranet Facebook. This will also become the basis for your college narrative, which will be revised as you continue your career in MHC, at your campus, and beyond.

Audience: fellow students, MHC staff and faculty, CUNY administrations, MHC families and friends (such as donors), potential employers.

Focus: on your activities in college as well as on plans for the immediate and long-range future, with some examples of important experiences from your high school years; future plans should be tied in with the present.

Aims: 1) to give a good sense of you (your interests, aspirations, and accomplishments); 2) to be as specific as possible (dates, names, places, jobs, events, activities, etc.).

What to include: Keep in mind that this is a professional bio, and not a "story of my life." When you write your bio, you want to include your name, education, honors and awards, work and volunteer experience, special skills, and activites.

Due: posted to the Intranet Facebook by Monday, April 2, 2007.

Two examples: the first from a student in her freshman year; the second from the same student in her junior year. You’ll notice how much less anecdotal and more professional her paragraph becomes. You’ll also notice how much her interests change. This will likely happen with your own statement as well as time goes on, for what you write is an inevitable result of your experiences, explorations, and revised ambitions, in your life and in your career. Your bio does not need to read exactly like either of these; yours should reflect your personality, your interests, your ideas, and your accomplishments. Your bio is about who you are. That’s what we want to read.

Student A, 2004 Student A is honored to be a member of the CUNY Honors College at X College. After graduating from Y High School, A realized that her passion for fashion had grown to an insatiable desire to learn about the arts, culture and future of New York City, and after trips to Germany and South Korea, a desire to discover the world. A learned to sew before she could read, and at fourteen, left her home in Z State to pursue a career in fashion design. In high school, A excelled both vocationally and scholastically as she led her class as both class president and valedictorian. With her smile and eagerness to help others, she founded W, a nonprofit organization through which teenagers could volunteer in all five boroughs of New York City. With these skills and the opportunities she has been provided by B Scholarship, A hopes to create a collegiate initiative with V nonprofit that creates playgrounds that are accessible to people of all abilities. She learned about V when she met its founder, one of the “Women Who Inspire Us” by Woman’s Day Magazine. She has been dancing for nearly fifteen years, studying and teaching many forms of dance including Korean mask dance, Chinese ribbon dance, African dance and Hispanic dance. In the future, A hopes to combine her interests in dance and the nonprofit sector by founding C, to foster tolerance through cultural dance.

Student A, 2007 In Spring 2005, A was selected as an X Fellow, which provides three summers of paid internships in the private, public, and governmental sectors. As a fellow, she had the opportunity to intern in the Office of the Department of Y. She pursued her passion for public service in an internship class on public policy this past fall, when she assisted Mr. B of the Z Authority in reforming the metropolitan government of W City and its suburbs and in improving the deteriorating economy of the region. She is currently interning in the Office of the New York City Department of V. Building on the CUNY Honors seminar “Shaping the Future of New York,” this internship combines her interest in public service and city planning. Increasingly, she is interested in international city planning and supporting the progress of cities in the developing world. As a participant in the International Program on C, she had the opportunity to explore city planning in Argentina, China, and India in the fall of 2006. She hopes to bridge this experience with her own research of cities through a Fulbright Scholarship focusing on the effective use of public space in urban design and affordable housing.

The following are some other samples of student bios. What makes the bio excerpts from students B and C less effective than student D’s bio?

Student B bio excerpt: I was born and raised primarily in South America, which is a land rich in beauty, but sadly for many of the people living there it is also a land of where poverty is a way of life. I am one of the few lucky ones who has never had to suffer the pains of an empty stomach, or had to struggle to make a living off the land with little or no education to back up my choices. Living so close to such poverty, however, has deeply impacted my perspective on life. I have decided to pursue a career in social work, where I will be able to make a difference to those less fortunate than myself. [bio continues]

Student C bio excerpt: When Student C was born on July 4, XXXX, his parents wondered if he’d have a career in politics. But it would be years before he discovered his true calling…

When C was 3 years old, his younger sister was born. C started his education at Y elementary, where he made lots of friends and was considered a charming boy by his teachers. When he was 10, however, his family moved to Philadelphia, which meant C was forced to change schools. This was a difficult adjustment, but it was in Philadelphia that C discovered his passion for soccer, and began competing in a local team… [bio continues]

Student D bio: Student D attended Y High School, graduating in XXXX with a Bio-Med major. She excelled in Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics. Outside the classroom, D tutored the neighborhood kids and took dance and piano lessons for ten years. In 1999, she became the church pianist for St. Agatha’s Church Youth Choir. Her leadership skills, organization skills, and piano skills have kept the choir growing strong. D went on to attend the CUNY Honors College at X College with an interest in pursuing medicine. She was drawn into the medical field from a very young age and has a passion for helping others. She plans on majoring in Biology with a minor in Health and Nutrition Sciences. Her hard work during the first years of college gained her recognition on the Dean’s List. While pursuing her pre-med requirements, D tries to balance her extracurricular activities as well. As a member of the X College Tennis Team, D was recognized as a scholar-athlete. She continued to pursue her love of dancing and got in touch with her roots by joining the Folklorico Filipino Dance Company of New York. Katherine tours with the company around the tri-state area to perform Filipino folk dances from her homeland. This year, D has won the title of Mutya ng Pilipinas East Coast 2005. She won the chance to compete for the national title in the Philippines. During her reign she also has the chance to go to the Philippines and work with Bantay Bata, a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged children. D’s desires to help and interact with children have made her want to become a pediatrician. This summer, she hopes to study abroad in Europe to help her expand her views on medicine and life in general.