Hi all - I'm currently applying to a masters program, and there is an optional personal history statement with a prompt asking to explain how I will contribute to the university. It mentions that I can use experiences such as volunteering to describe how I will contribute to the "diversity of ideas and perspectives at the school".
Many of the articles and posts I've found focus on explaining hardships and their effects upon the individual (also listed in the prompt), however, I honestly can't say I've had many. I've struggled for a long time with mental illness and have thankfully been able to advance in my life despite this, however I do not want to focus on this in my application or potentially give it the "kiss of death".
Ultimately, my breadth of volunteering experiences are my strong suit, and I would like to explain how many of my successes and opportunities have been helped by the contributions of others (eg alumni giving back to help me get internships or mentors).
I plan to start my essay with something to the effect that I have been privileged to not have struggled economically while growing up, but through experiences in high school and college I've realized that giving back is essential, and that I've demonstrated this via volunteering, and will bring this sentiment both to the classroom through helping my peers, as well as in the university's area.
I'm unsure of how much of the essay (500 words) to dedicate to my past versus what I will do during my program. I've never written one in this format, and I have my idea but I'm not sure how to get this across as best as possible. I honestly feel like I'm all over the place right now. Thoughts? TIA