Undergraduate / 'summer at the office' - Common App Extracurricular Essay : Summer Internship [3]

Hi all, this is my short answer essay for the Common App Extracurricular Prompt. Right now, it is well over 1000 characters and needs to be cut down as well as edited immensely. Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below.

As I opened the heavy door, a gust of cool air blew into my face. Air conditioning? Check. Uncertainty? Check. It was the summer right before junior year, and I had just entered the South Bay Labor Council office. As the only high school intern, I juggled a multitude of tasks: Entering data onto digital files, organizing events, and making sure that each election I worked on ran smoothly. Weaving in and out of cubicles, I constantly ran into local community leaders, whose faces frequently appear in the daily news. At first, I felt inferior to everyone working in the office; the college interns successfully gathered data, secretaries were nabbing hard-to-get interviews, all during the hours I spent in front of the copy machine. However, as I gained more experience, I began to understand how things worked at a labor union. By my second summer at the office, I was sitting in at meetings, carefully listening in on this year's budget and which areas the incumbent had to address that week. I raised my hand and pitched in ideas that I would have never thought of the year prior. Working at SBLC allowed me to work with people from different parts of the county; all who have the same goal of helping improve the county. Through my role as an intern, I was able to learn what went on behind elections, as well as how to work efficiently in an office setting. When I walked out of the building on my last day, I felt like I had made an impact. Accomplished? Check.

Undergraduate / NYU Supplement: What intrigues you? 'multiple perspectives, point of views' [10]

Hey all, here is my second supplement for NYU. It's a bit rough, and I would love to receive critique and comments on it. It's also about 500 characters over the character count limit, so any advice on where to cut things down would be appreciated. Thank you!

What intrigues you? Tell us about one work of art, scientific achievement, piece of literature, method of communication, or place in the world (a film, book, performance, website, event, location, etc.), and explain its significance to you.

Thud! I watched the newspaper get tossed into my driveway, waiting to get picked up. Before the weather could wreak havoc and smudge the ink, I quickly snatched the bundle and cradled it as I walked back into my house. I plopped onto the couch and opened the pages to a new world.

Ever since my family began ordering the San Jose Mercury News five years ago, I have spent at least an hour everyday reading about local and worldwide events.

Why rely on newspapers when there are headlines I can skim through on the Yahoo! homepage? I have a simple answer: I like to sit down and hold news in my hands, to carefully contemplate and absorb the minute details of what I have read. By learning new news every day, I have learned to consider multiple perspectives and recognize that no one point of view is superior to another, just different. For me, I feel more connected to these events if I cam physically touch the articles. Through this bond, my "experiences" from Uganda to City Hall spring alive from the crisp, low-grade paper.

In this world filled with technological baubles and gadgets, it's easy for most to access news within several clicks and taps. However, the newspaper industry still thrives, mostly in part by loyal customers who, by natural instinct, find time to grab a cup of coffee and sit down with a newspaper in hand. With such a paper, I can quickly jump from an article about the death of Steve Jobs to a story lauding a local hero in my community. Altogether, this physical copy brings news together in a way that websites cannot. It keeps the reader connected to the actual content, creating a wonderful combination of past and present.

Undergraduate / 'watched the NYU Symphony Orchestra' - Why NYU? [4]

Hey all, I was wondering if I could have some critique on my Why NYU supplement. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

WHY NYU?

As I watched the NYU Symphony Orchestra perform the winning scores from Steinhardt's annual Film Scoring Competition, what had once been a simple interest amplified to near-obsession. The difference between reputation and experience is incalculable; I'd heard how excellent NYU's arts programs are, but experiencing them for myself floored me. I was not only amazed by the acoustics of the Skirball center, but also by the amount of talent that was shown by both the musicians and the composers. A musician since I was four and an intellectual by nature, I want both the best possible atmosphere and the best possible education: NYU.

NYU focuses on communications like no other school does. It provides unique opportunities for communications majors (which I hope to be), like the Comm Club and the Women in Communications, in which I'll meet like-minded aficionados who share my interests.

Moreover, just as NYU does, I'd rather break my boundaries and evolve than tether myself to the past. At NYU, I will get a chance to do exactly that: I'll explore the teeming metropolis that will mold my perspective, revelations revealed with every step. What other university allows a student to take a Food Photography class then visit Langston Hughes' house? None. That's only possible at NYU, which caters to students like me who want to make the most out of their college experience by intertwining education with exploration.