Scholarship / Engineering and Mathematics, subjects in which you excel or have excelled. [3]

The subjects in which I have excelled are Engineering and Mathematics.

Throughout my youth the field of Engineering has always fascinated me. The ability to solve a problem of whatever size by the use of mathematical calculations and scientific equations is extraordinary. As a child I enjoyed taking apart objects and learning its functions from the inside out. At first, I massacred each object as any seven year old would, but as I became older I was able to understand how each performed. From the rotation of gears in a watch to move the minute hand to re-installing a miniature engine into my RC car all gave me a early start of becoming an Engineering enthusiast.

During my tenth grade year I participated in the annual science fair at my high school. There were a variety of categories for each student to enroll in, from Microbiology to Physics. Engineering was the most popular with over eighty participants including myself. I had done projects in the field previously by testing paper bridge trusses and paper airplanes in middle school, but being in high school now I sought to do something more complex. I did some research online for project ideas but only to find nothing that sparked my interest. So I sought to improvise and looked around the house to seek for any objects that may qualify for an potential experimental subject. I found a soda bottle lying on the kitchen table and looked at it for a while, imagining the different ways I could make this bottle into something more than just a container for holding fluids. Twisting and turning the bottle to view it at different angles I found an array of possible uses but only one intrigued me the most, a rocket. I noticed that with the lightweight of the bottle would easily allow it to be able to lift up from the ground if pressurized with enough air and water on the inside. Thus, being able to view/think outside of the box like an Engineer I made a simple object into something extraordinary.

At the end, my experiment was to develop different fin designs to attach onto these water rockets made from soda bottles to see which design will help the rocket travel the farthest. Even though it was not a complicated experiment I won First Place in the engineering science category and was proclaimed as the Grand Prize Winner in Eleanor Roosevelt's Science Fair of 2007. Not only did my project win against all the 10th graders in my school, but also all the 12th graders who had mentors, internships, and more advanced experiments. It was an important accomplishment in my life because of it allowed me to explore in depth about something I am compassionate about and how much more there is to learn about Engineering. Thus, I believe the early start of wanting to study the world of Engineering allowed me to excel in the subject.

I consider mathematics as an academic strength because it was something I grew up learning. When I was eight my father took up the initiative of teaching me mathematics by starting with the multiplication tables. He made a small booklet for me, which included the multiplication from one to ten. Each night he would quiz me verbally until I got every single one correct. At times I cried, sobbing because I could not remember what six times seven was, but other times it felt grand when I said one correctly without having him start all over again. My father would also go to the library to get basic math books and have me work on different sections before I went to bed. It became a routine for me every evening after dinner; memorizing, take quiz, work on math sections, then sleep. Sometimes I wondered if my friend's parents were making them do the same thing every evening too.

Having memorized my multiplication table at an early age I became an expert in the game of "Around the World." It was my favorite game to play in second and third grade because it was something that allowed me to showoff my skills after all those nights of memorizing. It was a game which tested each students speed with multiplication flashcard as students would go against other around the classroom. The last one left standing would be the winner. Most of the times I would end up as the last one standing and I felt the long nights of memorizing allowed me to excel pass other classmates. As I advanced into higher grades, math class became an leisure. Most of the math I learned during school, I had already done before in the workbooks my father had me doing every night. Thus, I had an advantage and a head start of my classmates in each chapter throughout our math books.

Now in high school, I enjoy the challenge of solving the complex problems and understanding how to incorporate equations into real life situations. All my classes deal with math, regardless of working with arrays in computer science or computing an objects distance of flight in physics. I enjoy piecing the solutions of a problem together like a puzzle. I was chosen from my calculus class to participate in the University of Maryland High School Mathematics Competition out of all the students. Even though I did not make it into the finals the experience of the competition made me realize how much more advance math there is to learn. Thus, being able to excel in the subject of math all started with my father and those long nights of hard work and memorizing.