"The best place to find the helping hand is at the end of your arm"
I am applying for a one year paid internship offered by IAESTE for Mechanical Engineers (Final Year students and recent grads, I am a recent grad). They have asked for a personal statement that is 1 to 1.5 page long, so 1000+ words and discusses one's interest in engineering, why chose mechanical engineering, the details of projects and related activities carried on during studies, general stuff like why you think you are well equipped for this internship, how the university studies prepared you for a career in Mechanical Engineering etc. My essay is 1342 words, but I would appreciate if someone could point out redundant stuff so I could shorten the length a bit. Or offer any advice or modifications and corrections, grammatical mistakes etc. Thanks. Here it is:
Curiosity is the wick in the candle of Learning and I feel blessed to have curiosity and intrigue about the world we live in. I am curious about Mathematics, Physics and Engineering and I can regard my academic success to the inquisitiveness I possess. As a man of science, my intellectual curiosity motivates me to relate everything in my life with the fundamental principles and concepts of science and engineering. It is due to this relation that I discovered my interest in Engineering in general and Mechanical Engineering in particular that shaped the path I took and influenced almost every decision I made regarding my academic and professional life.
My intellectual curiosity and my passion for engineering has been the prime driver behind most of my life decisions. It has been rightly said that some events in life have such powerful and indelible effects that they transform the personality of the individual for positive or for negative. For me, it was the rigorous journey that I undertook to become an engineer. It is not a mere qualification, instead it is a lifestyle choice as it changes the way you understand and perceive the world around you. Learning about scientific concepts and engineering principles and finding out how things work felt like someone had drawn the curtains on the mysteries of the universe. Machines like aircrafts, rockets, or cars, that fascinated me when I was a child resolved into quantifiable objects and solvable equations. It changed my perception of this world. While others saw a smart phone as a communications device, I understood the function of small components that work in unison and the programming behind it, supporting its multitude of features. While others enjoyed the comfort of an automobile, I experienced it as a living and breathing machine comprised of several assemblies of engineered components. My problem-solving skills and critical thinking improved a great deal through assignments and projects and I learned the essence of leadership and cooperation while working with fellow students and friends. Juggling between my curricular and extracurricular activities taught me time management. My decision-making power became stronger as I took more initiatives, welcomed risks and explored the different venues of learning offered throughout my university life and it further strengthened my determination and perseverance. As a result, I transitioned from an ordinary student into an engineering professional that has the ability to creatively take advantage of the acquired knowledge and skills to turn ideas into reality, create working engineering designs from scratch and solve real-world problems.
Throughout my engineering studies, I undertook several projects to not only test the practical aspects of science and engineering but also the idea of building something with my own hands is rewarding for me. My first ever project was a miniature building water supply design, a simple Fluid Mechanics project in which I planned the supply of water from one source to several outlets based on provided parameters of flowrate, height and pressure. As semesters passed, the concepts increased in technical complexity and the courses became difficult but so did my motivation. From improving an Inclined Solar Water Heater in a Heat and Mass Transfer Project by incorporating a black fleece wick into its design as an absorber thus increasing heater efficiency to designing an electronic circuit and programming an Arduino to create an energy-efficient Night Lamp that turned itself on in the evening and remained off during daylight through effective utilization of a Light Dependent Resistor (LDR), I got the chance to engage the creative side of my brain and learn through experimentation. The most interesting project was designing a sub-marine that could survive the enormous and extreme pressures of Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean. The project was part of the Mechanics of Materials course and required knowledge of several engineering domains. Its design, mathematical analysis and theoretical calculations were all done from scratch. My biggest achievement to date however, is my Final Year Project titled "A Parametric Study of a Turbo Fan Engine of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" for which not only I was awarded the highest grade but it was also sponsored by an engineering company and is in the process of being patented by them for commercial applications. I was able to provide a working solution to the engineering problem presented by the industry and develop a complex prototype that acted as proof-of-concept for the employed idea and fulfilled the industry's requirements as well as exceeding their design and operational expectations. The project was based on a NASA and Boeing joint research regarding successful conversion of Turbo-Propeller Engines into Small Scale Turbo-Fan Engines. This project was the culmination of everything I had learned and studied throughout my degree and employed complex concepts of Aerospace Engineering and Aerodynamics, Fluid Mechanics and Computational Fluid Dynamics, Engineering Design and Structural Mechanics, and Physics and Thermodynamics. This achievement is a testament to my engineering skills and the cultivation of four years of hard work, learning and perseverance.
Besides academic pursuits, I engaged in several co-curricular and extracurricular activities. In high school, I was the member of the school's student council, participated in speech and creative writing competitions and won several awards, wrote and acted in plays and skits and took part in sports. I continued this trend during my university life to improve inter-personal and communication skills, engage my intellect and socialize with my peers. The same intellectual curiosity that made me chose engineering as a profession also instilled in me, a love for Astronomy. Therefore, I joined the NUST Physics and Astronomy Society right when it was founded and then served as its President, the first engineering student ever to lead a society that was previously run by students of the Physics department. I even enrolled in Astronomy as a course at the School of Natural Sciences. Despite an extensive study load and a multitude of extracurricular activities, I still managed to find time for an engineering job as I worked part-time throughout the last two years of university as a Trainee Engineer in an Oil and Gas Company, and upon graduation, worked full time till the COVID-19 lockdown in the country. Moreover, I actively volunteered for Community Service projects like blood donation drives and helping out the underprivileged communities by organizing sewing training for women of low-income households enabling them to become financially stable and teaching their children STEM subjects. This service offered me such satisfaction and peace of mind that is otherwise nigh impossible to achieve. It instilled a sense of responsibility, achievement and compassion in me, which serves an engineer well throughout his life.
"The best place to find the helping hand is at the end of your arm." This quote has been my source of inspiration throughout my life and it has not only helped me every time I faced a challenge but also empowered me to take on added responsibility. The IAESTE Mechanical Engineering Internship in Sweden is a similar kind of engineering challenge that I am more than ready to take, as everything I have done so far has only prepared me for such an opportunity. To work in a country that is a hub for engineering excellence and entrepreneurial initiatives, with talented and experienced individuals belonging to different walks of life, I will get to learn, engage in the creative process of solving engineering problems, prepare myself better to serve the community and improve altogether as an engineering professional. My previous track record not only serves as evidence of the fact that I do not shy away from hard work but demonstrates my ability to thrive under pressure, carefully plan and execute tasks, and employ my scientific, engineering, and management skills to successfully deliver practical and efficient solutions. I believe that knowledge is not just acquired through books but it is also shared through experiences. Therefore, this international internship is the perfect opportunity for me as it will equip me with the skills and practical knowledge needed to become a refined engineer and a fruitful member of society.
