Undergraduate /
Penn State - career goals and personal statement - (aspiring engineer) [3]
Include a brief statement of your plans for the field of study you wish to pursue. This should include your reasons for studying your chosen field, your intended area of specialization within this field, and a brief description of the career you plan to follow after completion of this course of study at Penn State.I have always been fascinated with math and science, and I excelled in both, which boosted my confidence, hence my interest for engineering sciences. I for one really admired the capability of rational thinking every single engineer had. It was pretty impressive to discover how engineers can consider problems differently and look at things from different angles when nobody else can. Problem solving skills and finding another way when everybody else gets stuck in one are some of my traits that I take pride in, and one way to improve these skills, is through engineering study. Thinking outside the box has always been very amusing and challenging to me, further strengthening my drive towards being an engineer. Being a do-a-bit-of-everything individual as I grew up, industrial engineering caught my attention as I found out in my research that it was like several engineering majors combined. I talked to several counselors, experts and even attended some "career panel meetings" about Industrial Engineering. It seems you need engineers to run factories, but you need an industrial engineer to lead and keep everything in place. Industrial engineers are systems engineers, more on the logistic and management side of the operation. They are indeed supposed to know the core fundamentals of main engineering studies, so this makes them the go-to guy in leading a team of engineers. Knowing all this, I wanted to become an industrial engineer of some sort. I'm confident that my studies in the first few years of college will give me enough knowledge to further solidify my career decision, but for now, I am merely a student who wants to make a difference. As I grew up, I never knew what I really wanted to become. The only thing I always knew was that I wanted to make a difference, be useful to humanity; I want to leave something behind and let the world feel my absence when I'm gone, instead of being another speck of dust in the wind.
Please use the space below to tell us about your preparations for college. Explain any interruptions in your schooling, e.g., military service or employment. Please tell us about your important time commitments other than academic work (for example, school organizations, jobs, the arts, services, and athletics).My most important non-academic time consumers in high school would be my band, the handball team and the golf team. For five years, including this one, I played the drums for our current band. It was one of the major activities I did both in and out of school. Personally, I think the band allowed us to get our minds off of school and cool off from time to time, giving us another alternative to focus on. Then again, our band also allowed us to perform in several school shows and concerts, and even represent our school in some. I think us, as a band, contributed deeply to the social scene in school and had a kick about it. We hope to continue our work but who knows what the future will bring.
Another thing worth mention would be the handball team. I played as the pivot of the handball team for two years, until I was too old to qualify for the championship. Participating in a team sport was important for me in many ways but the team work aspect would come first. For two years, we had great fun, and for two years, we had two days of practice every week. That much time spent together creates a lot of good memories, and even better friendships. I also experienced a long lasting bond with the golf team, which I was a member for four years. Due to my father, I already played golf outside of school and was very excited when the school decided to assemble a club, which eventually turned into a team. We were very lucky and grateful to have the national team's coach as our school team's trainer, and he turned each one of us into real golfers in no time.
My most important activity and the one I take the most pride in, would be my time spent in outdoor sports and adventure camp called Camp Wolftrack. For 8 years now, I have been going to this magnificent camp where I owe most of the development of my character. I started out as a little camper myself, but then I became a counselor just like the ones who thought me how to light a fire or build a shelter. Now I share my prized knowledge with the young eager campers that come to Camp Wolftrack every year, just like I used to do. All in all, Camp Wolftrack has a great role in who I am today. It was an experience that shaped and established my character in the spring of its development, and I'm grateful.
Then of course, there is my academic career. I considered school like a fun place to spend time, with a side order of learning things, just to realize that my scores and GPA was vital for my college education too late into my high school career, and I still regret that. After 10th grade, I finally opened my eyes and realized I had to keep things tight from then on. I pulled up my GPA and paid more of the much deserved attention to my classes and grades. At the end of 11th grade, I started to take interest in SATs and I finished taking all my required exams by the end of 2008. My new priority and major time commitment in life then became my academic interests.
Anything useless? dull ? boring? anything I should replace or omit?
Any suggestions would be highly appreciated !!
