Undergraduate / Common App Short Answer Green Team! [6]

I need to cut out 5 words! And any feedback would be awesome.

Common App Short Answer
In the space provided below, please elaborate on one of your activities (extracurricular, personal activities, or work experience) (150 words or fewer)

I have been a member of Green Team for 3 years. We focus on improving the environment as well as educating the community around us about environmental issues and beneficial changes to make in their own lives. I partake in a variety of activities, including the writing of grant proposals and making blankets for the homeless from recycled fabrics. We clean the lakes around Southwest and built walls for a house with Habitat for Humanity. Our members go on trips to educate ourselves about alternative energy, visiting locations like the St. Olaf Wind Turbine and Excel Energy Riverside Plant, and present the information we've learned in workshop. As a part of our mercury workshop, I arranged for Clancy, the country's only mercury detecting dog, to attend. I have learned the power of teaching and how to protect our planet for the future. This year our team received a Student Service Award from the Minnesota Legislature.

Undergraduate / 'learning my whole life' - Cornell CAS essay [2]

Any feedback would be great!
Prompt: College of Arts and Sciences:
Describe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you. Tell us how you will utilize the academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences to further explore your interests, intended major, or field of study.

I have loved learning my whole life. The thought of how much knowledge the world has to offer, and that with a bit of curiosity, I can acquire that information and apply it to the world around me has always excited me. I got started early, learning to read at age four. In second grade, my teacher sent a letter to the parents in my class, announcing one student had the "gift" for reading and had read sixty books in one week. I continued to find learning fascinating throughout school, favoring science and English over other subjects, but without a specific passion.

I first took Biology freshman year. It was an introductory course that only scratched the surface of the knowledge the subject encompasses. However, in my junior year, I recalled how the topics of ecosystems and evolution had piqued my interest, and enrolled in IB Higher Level Biology. This course was in depth and went beyond the basics. I struggled the first semester, unable to relate to the microscopic processes inside individual cells. When the second semester began, we plunged into areas of study such as genetics, evolution, and how the human brain works. I was enthralled by this kind of science! I could directly see how concepts from a textbook pertained to my life and how they were relevant to today's world. Articles in the newspaper concerning genetics controversies now captivated my attention. At home, I excitedly discussed what I had learned that day with my father, a former biology major. During an experiment in which I used different learning styles to train mice, I was motivated to further my education in how the brain interprets situations and perceives the world. I applied for a social psychology course at Cornell University Summer College to combine my curiosity for the subject and passion for Cornell. I was transfixed with the material in the course and consistently use the information I studied in my everyday life. I can apply evolutionary concepts to love, death, and fear. Instead of satiating my inquisitiveness on the subject, I am compelled to further my education in biology at applicable level; understanding the role biology plays in social, environmental, and cultural aspects of life. Biology and Society is a major that will inspire me to learn throughout college and give me a practical function for my knowledge after I graduate. Classes like Psychobiology of Temperament and Personality and Ethics and the Environment spark my interest.

Exposed to Cornell at a young age, the campus seemed like a place anything could happen. My grandfather, a former Cornell professor, pointed out the different buildings and what classes were taught inside their imposing exteriors. Astounded by the by the variety of resources the students had at their fingertips, I felt an urge to give myself the same opportunities. The prestigious research opportunities, wide array of classes, and ever present dedication towards excellence in education Cornell offers is something I know I genuinely want to be a part of.