Undergraduate / Application Essay 2, Challenged faces and Avid learning; University Singers [3]

In your opinion, what defines avid learning? Cite two examples from either inside or outside of the classroom where you have challenged yourself academically?
Learning is more than just numbers, grades, and GPA. It is the shaping of becoming cognizant of life and being able to properly respond to circumstances encountered. Avid, defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "characterized by enthusiasm and vigorous pursuit," is a positive attitude towards learning and broadening the horizon of knowledge such that the determination and desire to improve and grow is illimitable. Avid learning is the passionate determination to improve, grow, and go beyond limits in the pursuit of becoming a more versatile individual and never give up. When the school was chartered, President Thomas Jefferson mentioned that "this institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind." On the basis of this ideology, as I began to pursue academia at the University, I have given myself a path, one that is full of challenges and adversities, to reach my goals.

The very first semester at the University, though many other people took it as a transition to ease into the rigorous academia of college, was my chance to challenge myself in all aspects. From academia to time management, my ability was tested in every which way imaginable. Some may say it was deranged to begin college with a heavy course load of nineteen credit hours while participating in research in the medical school, but I gained awareness of my strengths and weaknesses. Although the semester yielded a disastrous result of a 3.0 G.P.A, the test I placed in front of me served as a stepping stone in my pursuit of knowledge as I became judicious of the adjustments to formulate and employ in order to flourish in the endless ocean of knowledge. Accelerated Chemistry Laboratory was a class that I was challenged the most. Despite having one of the best understanding and grades in the Accelerated Chemistry class and laboratory experiences in the field of medicine, I was not able to translate those skills into the Chemistry Laboratory. Through the struggles, I learned to make adjustments and to not reply solely on my experiences. Learning is to gain more knowledge, instead of using old experiences to try to get through.

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." This was a simple idea that Prime Minister Winston Churchill mentioned as only those who rose back up from the ashes and never stopped trying have the chance at succeeding. However, it was quite difficult to grasp the idea as I have never fallen before. I have always prided myself in being the singer that makes people around me better, yet after a number of a capella auditions, I was not even capable of securing a spot in any groups. Though that may seem to be one of the slightest troubles, the disappointment shook my confident and questioned my skills. Through all these doubts and questions, I never stopped believing. Maybe there were questions asking if I am capable of performing at a high level, maybe there were doubts about my abilities and whether those abilities actually existed. Battling all the uncertainties, I have learned to shield myself from the negative emotional drains of failures and utilized them as encouragements so that I can rise back up stronger and better, while never stopped seeking opportunities to ameliorate. With the newly found source of motivation, I became a part of the internationally renowned choral ensemble, University Singers of the University.

The desire to exceed in the search for knowledge, the determination to seek for opportunities to grow, and the enthusiasm in the process of learning, are the fundamental ideology of the meaning of avid learning in an institution founded upon the beliefs on the human mind as well as its ability to progress beyond limits. I have been tested and challenged on a daily basis, whether it was inside or outside of a classroom setting, so that I could benefit the most out of the four years at the University. Indeed failures were painful and defeats were dreadful, but the greatest legacy of those who succeed was not in never failing, but in rising up every time they were defeated.

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Undergraduate / Application Essay 1, Free from Gen Ed requirement [3]

How would you use this freedom from gen ed requirements to shape your academic choices and better achieve your academic and career goals?

My true passion is at the crossroad of two fields while hovering over by yet another discipline. The freedom from fulfilling college area requirements does not represent an escape from taking "boring" classes; instead such freedom gave way to the pursuit of a more complete education. The multidisciplinary education in which I am aiming for is the combination of arts, sciences, and leaderships. The freedom from the requirements will allow me to pursue this interdisciplinary field to a much more complete capacity.

February 5th, 2014, a night that lightened my path with those spotlights on the floor of John Paul Jones Arena. Singing the Star-Spangled Banner has always been an honor and a privileged, yet it could also be frightening at times. The significance and importance of the National Anthem reigned as that simple tone revealed the true meaning of being an American. Lives were lost and blood was shed so that the flag of fifty stars and thirteen stripes can be flown over the sky. Behind its rich and incredible history, the performance of the National Anthem holds the intensity so strong unmatched by any other presentations. How can such an occurrence be even more emotionally grueling? Those 10,853 Wahoos in the seats of John Paul Jones Arena may be the answer. As the lyrics and tones flowed through my vocal cord, I could not help but to notice the feelings in the air as they triggered countless emotions of pride in the stand that night. Confident was key in giving the performance with thousands pairs of eyes watching; commitment was decisive in perfecting the music and going through with the performance.

In the corner of a small laboratory in the Medical Research Building Four, the singer that sang the National Anthem just two nights ago was found with a lab coat on, slowly and patiently slicing the tissues and carefully performing the procedure to ensure that the next thing being detached by the blade would not a part of his fingers. All of a sudden, the timer went off in the adjacent room. The ringing alarm served as a constant reminder of the motivation and fuel behind all these tedious tasks that many children's futures depend on the advancements of these experiments as ways to foresee and prevent diseases progressions were investigated.

With hope and enthusiasm, I proudly marched over to the next room at the sound of the alarm and began to examine samples under the microscope, hoping for signs of positive results. The interpretation of the image illustrated yet another irrelevant conclusion. Filled with disappointment on my return to the room, I encountered a child who has been administrated into the University hospital for a genetic disorder. The joy and laughter shared between the child and his family was taken in as a reboot for the disappointment of negative results. Knowing eventually positive signs will have to turn out and when it does, an enormous step would have been taken forward in sustaining that smile on not one or two but thousands of children's faces all over the world for generations to come. Determination and initiative, two words written on the wall of the lab, were the reason I stayed on that dull pathway of scientific discovery.

Both occasions were significant as they symbolized aspects of a greater area of study that hovered over the academic successes I am on the trail of chasing. It takes commitment and confident to perform the National Anthem on the floor of John Paul Jones Arena. It required initiative and determination to try to go down a seemingly dead end road of the battle against illnesses. Commitment, confident, initiative, and determination were four qualities that demonstrated leadership. Leadership, defined by the pioneer of Leadership Study Warren Bennis, is the capacity to translate vision into reality, instead of the common misconception that leadership is defined by titles, positions, and powers. Driven by the qualities of leadership, I thrive on the knowledge of knowing I assisted in making a difference, and I prosper on the comprehension of seeing visions turned into realities. The freedom will facilitate my chase of a complete education to a greater depth.

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Undergraduate / Resident Staff program - personal qualities and professional skills [2]

What personal qualities and professional skills will you bring to the Resident Staff program? In what ways do you think these qualities and skills will help you in a role as a Resident Advisor?

Abilities to communicate, analyze, and lead are three essential skills in a role as a Resident Advisor. These three skills were and still are significant in my life as they assisted me in the maturity both as a person and as a leader. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be able to bring these three skills, among others, to the Resident Staff program in the years to come.

Ability to communicate provides a channel in which information could be exchanged effortlessly. During my time as the head researcher of the pharmacology researches, I learned the importance of efficient communication as such skill was the key to success in a field that failure would often lead to a detrimental consequence in the well-being of others. Communication is not only the key in academia success; it is also a crucial component in social interactions. Through conducting studies in healthcare disciplines, I learned how to communicate, a skill that could allow be to contribute to the lives of incoming First Year Students as they make one of the most life-changing adjustment.

Analytical ability is influential in everyday lives. Judgments and assessments of situations are required as one goes on throughout the day. However, my analytical ability was developed through a non-conventional way. When learning first started learning English, I started to gain awareness and became cognizant of things around me. After becoming trilingual, I established an analytical mind that allowed me to look at situations through a scope that consisted of three distinct perspectives as corresponded with the three different cultures I was accustomed to via the study of languages. Furthermore, during my tenure as a diagnostic team leader, I became adopt at quick and precise decision making as such action is necessary for successfully solving a case.

Leadership was usually a skill that was learned and developed over time through proper trainings; however, due my ambition at a young age, I found myself at a point where those trainings were no long available. Through the analytical perspectives I developed as well as countless trials and error, I learned to be a leader. As a member of the First Year Council, there was a fair amount of success in leading the council. At the same time, due to an extreme schedule the first semester of nineteen credits and medical research, I took a back seat in the council as I accepted a supporting role for others. It is an astonishing feeling to perceive the same thing of being a leader from a different point of view. This experience as a supporter allowed me to grow into a better leader as I now finally was able to feel what other felt. Different perspectives presented a whole new level of appreciation for the role as a leader.

Thank you all so much for the help!