Failure Resume:

This failure resume was inspired by the Indian Student Association at UVA, where they ask fourth year students to post about what they consider to be failures in their professional career and how those failures didn't define their potential for success. Seeing this during my first year at UVA helped me contextualize my failures as stepping stones and build resilience when facing future hurdles on my journey.

Below is my failure resume, with what I deemed as failures in my life and how I have grown from them, along with my actual resume for comparison:

Current Resume:

Failure Resume:

Governor's Honors Program - Reject

Auditioned for the Governor's Honors Program for music, specifically the tenor saxophone
Prepared for 2 years, was rejected from the first round in my first year and from the final round in my second year
Selected to be an alternate
Learned that hard work may not necessarily pay off, no matter how badly I may want it or work for it and that is okay

Coca-Cola Scholarship - Reject

Selected to be a semi-finalist for the Coca-Cola Scholarship and rejected before becoming a finalist
Learned that these brand-name programs do not define my value as a person and my ability to be successful

Echols Scholars Program - Reject

Applied to the Echols Scholars program at UVA during my first year in college, from which I was rejected
This rejection was more difficiult for me to process, as my intellect has always been an insecurity of mine, so to be rejected from a program where my peers told me that it would be easy to get into was hard
Learned that my GPA and other people do not define my intellectual curiosity and my ability to learn

Meriwether Lewis Institute - Reject

Applied to the Meriwether Lewis Institute, a leadership program at UVA, where I was selected as an alternate
This was difficult for me because my capacity for leadership and my demonstrated leadership experience were characteristics of mine that I took pride in; for a program built for citizen leaders at the university to reject my application made me question whether or not my sense of self was accurate or inflated
Learned that admissions for any selective program are never going to be perfect and that luck plays a role, so I shouldn't let these decisions influence my sense of self

University Guide Service - Initial Reject

Applied to be a tour guide for the University Guide Service at UVA and got an initial rejection
When I asked for feedback, they said that there was nothing I could have done better; they just had a specific number of spots and had to make hard choices
Someone dropped from the class and they decided to reach back out and select me to fill the vacant spot
Learned that admissions for any selective program are never going to be perfect and that luck plays a role, so I shouldn't let these decisions influence my sense of self

Truman Scholarship - Reject

Selected to be UVA's nominee for the Truman Scholarship and rejected before becoming a finalist
Learned that these brand-name programs do not define my value as a person and my ability to be successful

Sky Alland Scholarship - Reject

Selected to be a finalist for the Sky Alland Scholarship at UVA and rejected
Learned that these scholarships do not define my value as a person and my ability to be successful

Gray-Carrington Scholarship - Reject

Selected to be a finalist for the Gray-Carrington Scholarship at UVA and rejected
Learned that these scholarships do not define my value as a person and my ability to be successful

Rotary Global Scholars Program - Reject

Applied for the Rotary Global Scholars Program for a fully funded Masters in Development Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam and rejected
Learned that these scholarships do not define my value as a person and my ability to be successful

Schwarzman Scholars Program - Reject

Selected as a finalist for the Schwarzman Scholars program and rejected
Learned that these scholarships do not define my value as a person and my ability to be successful