Undergraduate / " Volunteer, not so you can build your resume, but so you can build yourself" [2]

Using a favorite quotation from an essay or book you have read in the last three years as a jumping off point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. Please write the quotation at the beginning of your essay. 500 words max.

"Volunteer, not so you can build your resume, but so you can build yourself." Unknown

This quote isn't from a movie, book, or essay, but one that has stuck with me for a very long time. I am very active in my community, not so I can put it down on college apps, but so I can become a better person. When I was 10, I wanted to join Girl Scouts; even though at that point it was because my best friend was doing it, today I want to be a Girl Scout because of the service we do for others. I have taken part in various service opportunities, including singing for the elderly, directing toy drives, hosting events for younger Girl Scouts, and partnering with local organizations to hold community events like an Earth Day fair. But the most rewarding experience has been working with Habitat for Humanity The organization's mission is to build homes for people who live in sub-standard housing and cannot afford to improve their living standards by conventional means. My Girl Scout troop assisted the Habitat for Humanity in Riverside build their 33rd house. As we helped over the long and hot summer, the house, which previously stored drugs, was transformed into a beautiful 'Go Green' home to house a needy family of five. Many in the community came to help this family create a better home for the future, companies donated money and tools, and stores donated material. At the house dedication ceremony, which occurred on October 31st, 2009, my troop performed the flag ceremony. As I stood and listened to the speakers from the different companies, Habitat for Humanity, and the family, I was touched. Everyone was so grateful that the project had been completed and the family could finally live in a comfortable house. When the family was presented with the set of house keys, an overwhelming expression of tears and joy were on each member's face including the 3-year old daughter. Lending a hand and recognizing that I had helped change a family's life felt remarkable. That feeling is now why I volunteer. As the family came up to me and individually thanked me for my part in the project, I was proud and more importantly, inspired to continue helping throughout my life. I am a volunteer to make friends, help the community, and for personal growth, but most of all, to participate in making the world a better place.

Any help, please!!

Undergraduate / Cal Tech Essay-Interests in Engineering! [5]

Prompt: Interest in math, science, or engineering manifests itself in many forms. Caltech professor and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman (1918-1988) explained, 'I'd make a motor, I'd make a gadget that would go off when something passed a photocell, I'd play around with selenium'; he was exploring his interest in science, as he put it, by 'piddling around all the time.' In a page, more or less, tell the Admissions Committee how you express your interest, curiosity, or excitement about math, science or engineering.

When I awake in the morning, it's not just the blaring alarm clock that captures my attention. It's the tick tick of the fan, the loud rumbles of the washing machine, and the cars blaring outside my window that intrigue me, inviting me to find out how they work. I've been curious about technological innovations such as these ever since I was a young child. Questions would enter my head about various aspects of the world around me, including the ever so popular "Why is the sky blue?" and "How does the car run?" Although I was curious about a variety of things, I always gravitated towards topics or ideas that were oriented towards science and technology. I like learning about atoms, which despite weighing close to nothing, make up everything we see, breathe, and hear. I enjoy taking simple physics concepts, like force and acceleration, and applying them to everyday life, especially when I'm driving a car.

My parents realized my interest in these two subjects early on and gifted me with a book called The Way Things Work, when I was just five. In this book, I learned about the internal workings of everyday machines, including planes and cars. But I wasn't satisfied by just reading and learning; what set me apart from most children was that I quelled my curiosity by hands-on activities. I would create games and devices out of household objects to entertain myself. At age 6, I performed the volcano experiment at my school weekly because I was fascinated as to how mixing common chemicals could produce a huge reaction. I would beg my parents to buy science kits from the Scholastic Magazines: I remember one of my exploits was growing a human sized brain over 3 weeks.

High school was when I started to realize that engineering could be my future. I challenged myself by taking higher level classes in Math, Physics, and Chemistry. I was especially attentive in my AP Chemistry and Calculus BC classes-both of my teachers didn't only teach us the formulas, but they showed us how the concepts could be applied in real world situations and I was hooked. I participated in clubs at school for more exposure, but I felt limited to what it had to offer. Last summer, I interned at USC's Hydrocarbon Institute, whose focus is to find alternative hydrocarbon sources for energy problems. When I put on my lab coat and glasses on that first day, I felt comfortable. I spent the following weeks happily holed up in a lab, mixing much more explosive and toxic chemicals, like Hydrogen Sulfide and Hydrogen Cyanide, than the ones I played with when I was six. I learned how to use a rotary evaporator, work inside a glove box, and complete reactions by myself from start to finish. The laboratory work I did there was far different from that in high school in terms of level of experiments and safety precautions. But the intensity and challenges in the college laboratory suited me. I realized that this could be my future, in college and beyond, and I was excited.

Any help would be great!