Character Lab, Administrative Fellow Application Task (1) (PDF)

Thank you for your interest in the Administrative Fellow position with Character Lab! Please
include your responses to the following short answers and work sample prompt in the ​same
document​ as your cover letter.
SHORT ANSWERS
Short Answer #1
What do you know about the Character Lab? How would you rate our work and reputation in the
character development arena?
Short Answer #2
Character measures have gotten a fair amount of press lately, especially in the discussion over
their use in either a formative or summative way. What is your philosophy around how
measurements should be used? Should this also be Character Lab’s position as well?
Short Answer #3
Where would you like to be, professionally, ten years from now? If you have an overarching
professional goal, what is it?

WORK SAMPLE
After presenting at a University of Pennsylvania Campus Conversation on mental health,
Character Lab Founder & CEO Angela Duckworth received the following email from a student:
From: Jane Doe
To: Angela Duckworth
Subject: Asian Pacific Student Coalition Event
Hello,
My name is Jane, I am currently a sophomore at Penn. I was fortunate enough to attend today’s
Campus Conversation. As much as I was wishing for it, we did not have a Q&A section for the
panelists or a meeting afterwards.
What you said today truly resounded to me. When asked what your first step of action would be
to support our community, you said that you would listen. When asked what mental health
meant to you, you touched base on how mental wellness was not a subject encouraged within
your household. When asked what gave you hope, you said it was the resilience that humans
hold.

I would like to meet with you to discuss more in-depth about the mental health issues plaguing
our community, more specifically within the Asian-American Pacific-Islander student community.
I know that you, as a child of Chinese immigrants, have a powerful voice that could speak
volumes to Penn students. One of the biggest issues students face is the pre-professionalism
culture. APIA students specifically may face pressure from their families to work towards
STEM-oriented careers. There is also a cultural disconnect between mental wellness and
academics, with a social stigma against “getting help.” There is a distinct lack of unity/presence
of APIA students in dialogues about today’s topics- DACA, natural disasters, political issues. As
a professor of psychology, I believe you have the ability to spark a fire in student to finally face
these issues.
I am coming to you as the Political Board Shadow of the Asian Student Pacific Coalition (APSCone of the 5B groups on campus), as the Vice-President Internal of the Vietnamese Students’
Association (Penn VSA), and Social Chair of PEER Mentoring Program. We would like to
request your presence for an event on our campus. We know that with your busy schedule, you
must have very limited time for availability.
Most importantly, I am coming to you as a first-generation, low-income immigrant student who
has found inspiration from your words not only from today, but also from your TED talk about
Grit. I have been meaning to reach out to you for a very long time now. I am a student in Urban
Education with Professor Clapper, where we have discussed your studies about grit and
character applied within the public education system. I come from a low-income public school in
metro-Atlanta where I had to continuously overcome adversities, some of which you spoke
about- lack of teachers, tough neighborhood, etc. I have learned how to fail (and how not to fail)
in life, and I think this is something you can teach to other Penn students, who have not been
taught this in life.
Please contact me with any additional questions you may have. I would love to talk to you about
any concerns/your considerations about the possibility of an event for our students.
Best Regards,
Jane Doe
Student mental health at Penn is very important to Angela, particularly among low-income
students and students of color. Therefore, she would like to accept the invitation. However,
coordinating her schedule is very difficult, and she will not be able to have a pre-call with Jane
to plan the event.
Please write an email to Jane to express Angela’s interest in the event, to request more
information on what the event will look like and how Angela will participate, and to begin working
with Jane to schedule the event. This email should be written in your own voice, as the

Administrative Fellow. We understand you do not have full information on how Angela typically
plans her events, so please make educated assumptions when needed.