Reusable Materials 13: 5 Steps to Create 32 Home Run Statements

Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials help you WOW committees and save time

Joel applied for one hundred and seventy eight scholarships. He did not receive a single dollar for his efforts. He complained that our system did not work. We offered to review his master application and give suggestions. We discovered that his 36 home run statements did not include any specific numbers, percentages, or dollars. We recommended he use specific numbers and symbols like 350, $12,000, 45%. He followed our suggestions and earned $35,000. He could have earned more with specifics earlier.

Themes and Categories Lay the Framework

You identify 3-4 themes that describe your life. You divide each theme into 3 categories. You create three home run statements for each category. For example, consider 4 themes with possible categories:

• Academics: Math, Science, and English
• Athletics: Soccer, Track, and Lacrosse
• Leadership: in your church, in your school, and in your community
• Service: to your community, to your school, and to your church

The math is easy 4 themes x 3 categories each = 12 categories x 3 home runs = 36 statements

5 Steps to Create Your Home Run Statements

1. Jot down the ideas for each theme and each of the 3 categories for each theme
   • 9th grade president, sub-for-Santa committee chair, & 4H Club President
2. Turn your ideas into sentences
   • As 9th grade president we made quilts for a battered women’s shelter
   • Our sub-for-Santa committee raised money to give poor families Christmas
3. Convert implied numbers like “a few”, “many”, “a lot”, into real numbers like 350
   • As 9th grade president, we made 120 quilts for our 60-bed battered women’s shelter
   • Our sub-for-Santa committee raised $12,000 to give 255 poor families Christmas
4. Refine the wording of the sentence to clarify and improve
   • As president of our 9th Grade class, we donated 120 quilts to the city’s 60-bed shelter for battered women.
   • As chairman of our school’s sub-for-Santa committee, we raised $12,000 and provided Christmas to 255 disadvantaged families.
5. Ask someone else to edit it

Saturday we warn you about limiting your perception about how much money you need