During the seminar on how to write cover letters and personal statements, GRF Sam broke down the key points to writing a good personal statement. As someone who intends to go onto graduate school, I found this seminar very informative about what makes a good personal statement. When I was writing my personal essay for college, I struggled to find a good balance between making my writing personal and conveying my accomplishments and goals. What I found most helpful about his talk that clarified this balance of personality and objectivity was the example essay that he passed around. The example was meant to be an average essay, with both positive and negative aspects, and I found this really helpful to reinforce what he was saying about the purpose of personal statements. The biggest takeaway for me though, was that a personal statement should generally start with a personal anecdote that is relevant to your interests, and culminate with how those interests/experiences have prepared you for the future. In addition to personal statements, Sam also went over cover letters. This was a new concept for me as I have never had to write a cover letter before. He used the analogy that a cover letter is similar to the first time you meet someone; you want to make it professional, yet also show some of your personality. Similar to the personal statement, I also found the example cover letter useful for illustrating these concepts. Overall, I found this seminar very helpful, and although I do not need to write a personal statement at the moment, I will definitely remember these important lessons for the future.