Hello- Below is my Navy OCS SWO Application Motivational Statement - was already posted to reddit and will do it again here - anyhting that I need to add/delete - feel free to rip me away if needed:
I love blue. Growing up, my room, my backup, and my car were blue. It represents the sky and the water. Nothing can be higher than the blue sky, and nothing can be deeper than the blue ocean water. I want to join the Navy to see how high my hand can reach the sky, and how deep I can dive into the deep blue ocean. I want to testify to where my limit would lead me by joining the United States Navy.
My parent and I were immigrants to this great nation, as were hundreds of thousands of people from our hometowns. Most of our first professions were jobs that required the use of both hands and were very high-paced, such as restaurants, nail/hair salons, and mechanical shops. I worked in a restaurant for my aunt and uncle, growing up. In such a high-paced environment, I didn't have the capability to think before approaching each task, but to work to the best of my ability to complete what was before me. It taught me the ability to focus on what is before my hand, and to accomplish the task before me to the best of my diligent ability without regret. I've only become familiar with my task after many practices and mistakes, until it becomes a part of my core memory.
As for my professional experience, I was lucky enough to have a fellow alumnus and role model to pick me up and land me an internship in the summer, toward my Senior year in college. Internships are mostly project-based, as is mine. I worked for (A Foreign Bank that I will keep blank here for AirWarrior) in the summer of 2023 as a Banking Audit Intern. There, I was taught professional skills and the importance of working as a team. There were ups and down phases of disagreements, but eventually, we were able to work through them. In politics, we have phrases called the presiding officer, who has the power to dictate how an assembly is going to proceed. In my team, we took turns to have the "floor" each time we needed to add ideas to our project. Our ideas may be good or bad, but as a short summer internship, we didn't have the luxury to go through our project multiple times before moving on to something else. In this situation, the ability to quickly decide is the most critical. Obviously, making the wrong decision will cause critical mistakes in the Navy and risk fellow sailors. As a Navy officer, I believe, through determination and hard work, I will eventually gain the experience to make the most optimal decision and can take the "floor" if my fellow shipmate entrusts me to do so.
Currently, I work as an auditor for a local casino, and I will not state the name here on AirWarrior. It's a slow-paced job, taking me at most 2 to 3 hours for me to complete the task each day. Our casino has a lot of veterans, with the person who taught me my jobs was a veteran of the U.S. Army. Although she wasn't my supervisor or equivalent, I believe she demonstrated each quality a leader should have. When I worked with her, she would take the "floor" each time and would guide me through each step of the job, while allowing me to get hand on the task. When I first started, I would make many repetitive mistakes, many of which were eventually fixed by her. I was astonished by her patience and her ability to speak clearly and directly to me while not intimidating me for my mistakes. She will also encourage me to speak out if I find a better way to approach the job faster and more efficiently. This really helps me grow a lot in terms of my personality and the way that I approach to task. Looking back, although I only worked with her for a short 5-month period, as she eventually got a promotion, I felt that I grew a lot in the real world as a person and in the way I approach tasks. As stated before, as an SWO, my goal is to eventually lead fellow sailors on a ship. I will speak clearly and directly, with no jargon language to fellow sailors to get my point across and accomplish each task.
As a naval officer, especially as an SWO, the eventual goal is to be in command of a ship. I understand that once that goal is reached, I will lead fellow sailors on day-to-day tasks. Such tasks can be unexpected, especially in an environment like a Navy sailor in the open seas. I will do my part of the duty to lead and guide fellow sailors offshore and bring them home safely onshore. I will try my best to work with fellow shipmates to accomplish each task, and will take the "floor" anytime needed, and will encourage fellow shipmates to do so too, straightforwardly and directly. I want to test the limit of myself, and challenge the limit of fellow sailors, to the highest blue sky, and the deepest blue water.
