Undergraduate / Living in a diverse community, Colgate supp essay - comment [4]

Speaking of living in a diverse community,what better place to experience it than India itself. With over 22 official languages,innumerable traditions and festivals as well as unimaginable range of cuisines,it is one of the most diverse country that one is likely to encounter in one's life.Being an Indian I recognize the value and importance of it's diversity and believe that this diversity is one of our main strength and the reason for our unity.

I am from a Hindu origin and believe me,even I dont know the exact number of festivals and traditions in my religion as according to me they are infinite! But just by looking at the enthusiasm and joy everyone feels while celebrating such festivals, even if it is not feom their religion, fills me up with joy and pride at living in such a place.My family has always been very religious and this quality has rubbed off on me as well.I have always been a God-fearing person and have believed that every act,wether it be good or evil, never goes away unpaid.All one needs to do is to be sincere and focussed towards his goals and he will definitely get the results as even luck is with the determined.

It has always been said that "We should learn from the mistakes of others" but why only mistakes! I believe that one can learn much more from the achievements of others than the mistakes.I myself have been really inspired by the works of Mother Teressa and Nelson Mandela.Their work has given me the belief that only good and humane deeds can transform the world.This realization has made me a broad minded person ,not guided by the small and meaningless customs of religious or racial descrimination rather a person with an equal place for everyone in his eyes.

Undergraduate / 'Education and student ratio' - Lehigh supplement question-why Lehigh [2]

Since the time I started my preparation for a US education, I was constantly reminded of how the whole process of getting into a University resembled a complex maze and after giving my SAT's ,I too reached the same conclusion.I was completely lost in the application process, not even knowing which Universities to apply to.The only thing I was sure about was that I wanted to pursue Engineering in University.So I started from scratch,searching for the highly recommended and top rated engineering Universities of US.I then cut down that list to only those universities who provided financial aid for international students as my parents are not in a financial state to pay for my abroad education.When going through the websites of these specific universities,I fell in love with one of them,the Lehigh University.Many reasons attracted me to this university.First and foremost of them all was the level of education imparted by Lehigh.It's low student teacher ratio and highly accomplished professors gave a sense of relief even to my parents who have relatively less knowledge in this area.Other major reasons were the various campus resources available for students like the Career Services which relieve the extra anxiety and pressure that a student has to go through.What was even more appealing to me was the health and the safety and security measures that are present in the university which gave an assurance to me that I can live in Lehigh as tension free as in my home.If admitted,I'll try my level best to give back to the university what I owe by participating in various social and academic communities and try and help those who are less fortunate than us.I'll make sure that my deeds and doings do no harm to the reputation of the university and instead people see me as a true Lehigh student.

Undergraduate / 'different cultural background' - Equity and community-Lehigh supplement [5]

No matter how differently you define "Equity" and "Community" in your terms, it still will have the same essence for its meaning. A community always is a group of persons having common interest or goals and equity refers to the power entrusted to each person in the community so that he or she can help their community overcome difficult situations and problems. Only such communities which have passionate and just people in them, can thrive and sustain any testing circumstances. Furthermore, each person in the community should be weighed in as equal and everyone should have fair opportunities to succeed as only these kind of communities leave their mark on the world by achieving their goals and ambitions.

Lehigh University for one, provides various examples of such successful communities comprising within itself. Just the fact that Lehigh has its own Council for Equity and Community for transcending racial and regional boundaries, demonstrates the level of concern the University has for its students from various social or cultural backgrounds. This step of establishing the council shows the principles of just and free thinking that are imparted in the University and tells us how everyone in a community has equal rights and duties, no matter what their status or religion maybe. Such kind of communities where all the differences are celebrated are the most powerful and united ones. The fact that even the alumni of the University are members of the council gives us an idea of how grateful every Lehigh student is towards his or her University and why shouldn't they be, after all it is here that they have learnt how to be a part of a community and what all to do to maintain the integrity and strength of their communities.

All these factors have just strengthened my urge to be a part of this prestigious University as I am now sure that even after my different cultural background, I'll be treated by everyone as one of their own and will be given equal and just opportunities to succeed. Thus Lehigh demonstrates a true example of how strong a community can develop if their is a perfect harmony between its people and everyone exercises their Equity for the overall growth of the community. If admitted, I too will try my level best to maintain the unity of the Lehigh community and try and give back what I really owe to the University.