Undergraduate /
USC SUPP - Benefit society /Geek or Nerds? [3]
These are my other two supplemental essays. I'll post 3 because I have two versions of one of them. Please, any feedback is appreciated. I'm mostly concerned if I respond to the prompt and about the grammar. Thank you in advance.
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Prompt: How do you plan to use your engineering degree to benefit society? (250 word limit)
The importance of petroleum in the society is undeniable, and since the oil industry is one of the most important sectors and main resources of wealth of my country, I want to contribute to its development.
My primary concern is to help with the sustainability of the environment. I want to find ways to drill or extract oil in an environmental friendly, more economic and ecologic way, using engineering approaches to operate oil resources and other processes associated to the subsurface, as well to recover the environment of contaminated locations. I want to adjust the environmental impact and the supply of products derived from oil, making it more affordable and secure in the future.
Because my sector is undecided and I'm open to every work possibility, I could also finish up in the manufacturing industry, on which I would be able to benefit society in the most diversified ways, transforming oil into gas, synthetic rubber, plastic, fertilizers, detergents, asphalt, and many other petrochemical derivers that are present in our everyday life.
This degree will allow me to address important environmental issues, contributing to the safety of ecosystems, the reason petroleum engineers are in high demand.
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Prompt: Some people categorize engineers as geeks or nerds. Are you a geek, nerd, or neither? Why? (250 word limit)
Version #1 : I love math. I may not be a genius, but even if I can't solve a problem, the effort is worthy. I just like to exercise my mind and while going through the steps to solve it I feel like I'm in a war that I can bring peace to.
Moving on, if loving math or majoring in engineering is being a geek, then I am proudly one. If it is being a nerd instead, nothing changes. "Geek, nerd" are just titles. In practice they don't describe who I am. I'm just someone who likes to delve in complex numbers and spend the time needed to resolve a difficult problem just to get the feeling of accomplishment in the end.
While I'm not into stereotypes, there's a funny side of them that I embrace. I found that nerds and geeks are similar concerning academic interests, but the divergent point lands in their social life. If I were to describe me as one, it would be geek because I am social, and my academic activities don't ever interfere in my social life. I am very good in managing the time I put into my activities.
The fact is that it doesn't matter how people label me as long as I stay true to myself. The stereotypes don't matter to me, but engaging on things I enjoy doing until I become an expert certainly does. If I'm going to do something, I better do it right.
Version #2: "She's a nerd", one of my ESL classmates told the other when I told him that I had finished my work way in advance. Although that didn't affect me, I was really intrigued because it was something that had never happened to me. When I got home that day, I looked for the true meaning of "nerd", and "geek" also showed up being compared. The major difference that I found between both was that nerds lack social life. On the other hand, geeks are considered to be intellectual but still be socially active.
I realized these words were more stereotypical than I thought and sometimes misused. The concrete prove was that my classmate assumed right away that I didn't have a social life, what couldn't be more false. I just rather have my work organized in advance to avoid last minute stress. Therefore, I would consider myself a geek because I can conciliate my academic work with other activities that I enjoy, including hanging with friends, very well.
At the end of the day, I thought that my hard work could have been intimidating to him and he used those words as defense. That is what most people do. "Geek, nerd" are just titles that in practice don't describe who I am. If my engineering major or being an expert about my interests will make people label me as a nerd or geek, it doesn't matter to me as long as I stay true to myself.
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I welcome honest and critical feedback. Don't worry about telling the harsh true. I also welcome any suggestions. Thank you again.
