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Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

"Ni jiao shen me ming zi?" asked the interviewer in Mandarin. Puzzled at first, I quickly answered back in Chinese, my native language: "Wo shi Alvin"(My name is Alvin). Eager to relieve my anxiety, I began playing with my hands and glancing at the certificates covering the walls. I was being interviewed for a counseling position in the International Exchange Foundation, a program that invites students from around the world to come and study in America. My interviewer explained to me that some of the students, all who are arriving from China, may present discipline problems. Although I qualified to serve as a counselor, my initial excitement soon turned into a feeling of apprehension.

On orientation day for student counselors, what my interviewer had told me about the students still haunted me. Nevertheless, I focused on my duties. I was to accompany the students to historical landmarks, to translate the English that confused them, and to prevent inappropriate behavior.

During the night of their arrival, I began to witness the students' disrespectful behavior. As they stepped off their coach buses, some expected the counselors to carry their bags to their dormitories. Believing the students were tired, I obliged and helped them. However, they began to complain about the modest living conditions as well. Apparently, the students were not satisfied with an air-conditioned room with clean bathrooms and organized beds. Even when I presented the freshly cooked foods to the students in the middle of the night, I received complaints and refusals. One student even threw a hard-boiled egg at me! Despite the cantankerous students' remarks, I believed a good night sleep could cure their grumpy attitude. I was too hopeful.

Waking up at six in the morning was not a pleasant way to start the...