Undergraduate / "A Comeback from dull start" - UC prompt #2 [2]

If you ask me about my personal quality when I was still in high school, I would probably cannot answer the question. It was because I never struggle with problem or aim for something. I never felt the joy of achieving something from my hard work. However, everything changed as I went into college in De Anza College. College life made me realize that life was not so easy that I can get away with it without putting any effort in pursuing my future. "Only with determination and hard work, can I be the very best of myself". It was what my father told me, whenever he saw me regret for what I have done wrong. Nevertheless, I never really understand the meaning until I went to college. I never knew that my father tried to tell me that if I didn't put enough effort in it, I would only regret it, no matter what I did. Over the year, I developed determination as my best quality, which is the main core of my pursuit of dream that is supported by hard work and curiosity.

During the early quarters in De Anza College, I had a trouble in adapting to the learning style which made me unable to do the learning process maximally. When I received the grade for the quarter, I was so desperately regret that I was unable to do well in that class. As expected, my father said the same phrase again, "Only with determination and hard work, one could be the very best of himself". Despite that I hadn't used to the college life, I realized that I need to spend more time revising my note in order to improve my understanding of the subject.

Since then, I always spare sometime everyday to review the note I took in class. Although laziness sometimes come and disturb me, luckily I always spent reasonable amount of time to review my notes. Eventhough in the beginning, it was hard to catch up due to my inability to quickly adapt with college life, which is totally different from my high school. As I entered my third quarter in De Anza college, I was able to come back from the "slump period" of my college life. In the third quarter, I had to focus all of my attention to Math class because I didn't want to repeat the same mistake that I've made in the previous Math class. I spent quite some time everyday to did some practice problem, and came to the study group. In the end of the quarter, I was delighted by the fact that I got B+ in that class. It might seem trivial to some people, but it clearly showed me that my effort came to a fruitful result. Since then, I never looked down on any class I took and make sure I spent enough time studying for the class.

During my freshman year, I have been shown of what can one's determination bring to us. Based on the experience I had, I am extremely convinced that I am not less competitive than any other applicants are. With big desire and self-assurance as the core, I am willing to develop myself further, and channeling my talent for something that may bring a positive impact on myself and society.

constructive comments are very appreciated. i also need help with the conclusion part. Thanks in advance...

Undergraduate / Electrical Engineering - "How you come up with you major ?" UC app transfer [3]

What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field - such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities - and what you have gained from your involvement.

My intended major is Electrical Engineering. Choosing a major is far more complicated than just deciding what I want to be. There are many factors to take into account of before I decided to chose one particular major. I believe that choosing major should be based on what we are interested in learning, and also the best way to learn is from our experience. Based on those belief, I believe that my experiences in the past are the best reflection of my interest. Most important of all, I am looking forward to develop my interest into something more valid to dedicate to the society.

I realized my interest in electric circuits started when I was in sixth grade. My science teacher gave a final assignment to design a small simulation of light bulb as lighting. I designed a small bakery and few small houses made from paper with light bulb inside each building. It took me around twenty light bulbs to finish my simulation. Every time my light bulb broken, I had to analyze the problem and fixed it. as if it was not enough, I added a switch to my simulation in order to make it more real. In junior high school, I learned more about it in physics class and developed my interest in physics. I never knew that I enjoyed physics a lot until my high school physics teacher offered me a voluntary work as a physics tutor for my juniors who were preparing their selves for a competition. As a physics tutor, I learned more complicated problems.

Being curious to learn about electric circuits' application in industry, I talked about it a lot with my father. Knowing that, my father decided to bring me to his colleague's factory, so I could learn directly from the expert in it. The technician was very kind to me that he took me for a walk and explained a little bit about those machineries. My curiosity grew even more since my trip to the factory. I started to experiment my computer. I had one broken computer in my room, so I started to open up the CPU and tried to fixed it. My friend, who was an expert in computer, guided me to figure out the source of the problem and how to fix it.

Taking from all my small experiences, I realized that I have been interested in Electrical Engineering far before I chose to major in it. based on that reason, I want to fulfill my dream to contribute my knowledge to Indonesia's industrial technology. I hope that with the things I learned here, I can clear the way to a more advanced yet beneficial technology that has not been developed in Indonesia yet.