Undergraduate / My name is Camp Horseshoe Scout Reservation - common app essay [5]

Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly
content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful
to you? 400-650

My name is Camp Horseshoe Scout Reservation, and I am a
Boy ScoutcCamp located in Rising Sun Maryland, right off of Route One.
I have been around for little over 100 years, which has allowed the
trees and vegetation to engulf me. I have seen thousands of scouts
come and go. Usually, it's easy to tell which scouts really have a
passion for scouting - they are the ones who return even as adults.

There is one kid who has been involved with scouts his
entire life and always enjoyed eating his grandmother's homemade
pizzelles on a rock that overlooks the river that runs around me known
as Mermaid's Rock. His name is Philip Ruffini and from the first time
he came to visit me, we have been extremely close. Philip wasn't sure
if he enjoyed scouts or not until his first year with me. Since then
we have been inseparable. I have watched him grow from a small child
and develop into a young man.

Philip has come a long way from the first year he visited
me. Since the first time he was only a patrol leader in his troop, I
have observed him develop his leadership skills. The greatest impact
Philip had on me was his time spent as Lodge Chief, leading the Order
of the Arrow and developing his own leadership qualities. The Order of
the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts and is an
organization that commends the qualities of cheerful service. Philip
realized all that I had given him, so he took the opportunity to give
back to me as well when he ran the lodge for Chester County. While
Philip served as Lodge Chief he created and helped to lead a new
program where Cub Scouts, and their friends, can find out more about
Boy Scouts and visit Horseshoe for the day. The point of the program
is to increase the membership of Boy Scouts in Chester County, which
it has. Other than leadership, Philip's time spent as lodge chief has
taught him how to present himself in a professional manor as well as
admit when he is wrong.

While the program, Cub Recruitment day is for Cub Scouts,
Boy scouts will make the most unlikely of friends at camp as they will
talk to people they never dreamed of meeting. Scouts do not care who
you are or where you are from, they are just looking to make new
friends. For Philip, the friends he has made have turned into his
brothers. Every year Philip comes back to visit me and his bond with
his friends only grows. Through late night campfires, hikes, and
service projects such as building a gateway, Philip has made
friendships that will last a lifetime.

This past year Philip turned eighteen and is now
considered an adult in Boy Scouts. However, now his role has only
grown more important as he has stuck around to help guide younger
scouts onto the same path that changed his life. Philip knows that I
offer scouts an opportunity to grow as leaders in an environment
unlike any other. Some people have this idea that people are either
born leaders or followers. Well, I have seen scouts come to camp for
the first time whom are unsure of themselves and quiet. These same
scouts leave camp a few years later with leadership skills that are
better than most adults.

Philip comes down to see me multiple times through out the year, but
one particular instance sticks in my mind. I caught him talking to
himself on his beloved Mermaid's Rock. Believe it or not, he was
thanking me, as his life would not be the same with out his
experiences from Horseshoe. Philip felt that with out me, he never
would have developed leadership skills, learned humility and
professionalism, been able to work effectively in a team, and make so
many close friends.

Undergraduate / "Order of the Arrow" - Common App Essay: WHAT PLACE ARE YOU MOST CONTENT? [5]

Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? 400-650

I just happen to be an anthropomorphic camp located in Rising Sun Maryland right off of Route One that goes by the name, Camp Horseshoe Scout Reservation. I have been around for little over 100 years and have seen thousands of scouts come and go. There is usually only a few scouts that ever really have a passion for scouting and those are the ones that come back even when they are adults. Its been said when people come to visit they often forget about every thing else going on in the world and feel perfectly content while at Horseshoe.

One thing I love to watch is when scouts come together and make new friends who they would not normally meet. I am pretty well known, so people come from as far as Florida or as close as Maryland. These scouts don't care who you are or where you come from, everyone is just looking to make a friend. The friendships that form between scouts are incredible. Scouts come back to me year after year just to reconnect with the their friends from the summer before. I have seen these relationships last a lifetime as scouts become more like brothers than friends.

Through out the week scouts, despite being friends, compete in cutthroat competition against each other. I host events such as track meets, tug of war, and a timed obstacle course. Scouts become incredibly competitive to see who can win the most competitions by the end of the week. The troops that end up winning are the ones that come together to work as a team and play to each other's strengths. It's amazing that such simple competitions as these can bring together boys who would never have talked to each other if it was not for scouts. The variety of scouts can range from the varsity athlete to a farm boy and despite their differences when they come to visit me, none of that matters.

The growth of these boys in both their stature and character is a sight to be seen year to year. Each year the same boys that continue to come develop more and more into young men. A reoccurring characteristic I see that develops in scouts is their leadership. I offer the scouts an opportunity to grow as leaders. Some people have this narrow minded idea that people are either born leaders or they aren't. Well I have seen first hand scouts who came to camp their first year completely incompetent leave a few years later having developed stronger leadership skills than most adults.

Usually when scouts first come to camp they will take the role as patrol leader and as they mature they become the senior patrol leader of their troop. Past the troop level I host programs such as Order of the Arrow where scouts put their leadership to the test on the County level and some will even go as far as the Section. There are always a few particular scouts who really develop a passion for the Order of the Arrow as it gives them the opportunity to come to camp a few more times through out the year and really give back to an organization that has helped them develop into men.

One day this past summer I over heard two scouts talking on Mermaid's rock just off the Octoraro Bend. These two scouts had just aged out, but were sticking around as adults to help give younger boys the same experience they had enjoyed so much. They talked about how their life truly would not be the same with out scouts and how little old me, a camp in Maryland, has played such an intricate part in their lives. They even went as far to say that I have become like a second home to them.

Undergraduate / "Busy day" - College Essay - Why Penn? [3]

Can you please take a look at my college essay for content and grammer.

"The Admissions Committee would like to learn why you are a good fit for your undergraduate school choice (College of Arts and Sciences; School of Nursing; The Wharton School; Penn Engineering). Please tell us about specific academic, service, and/or research opportunities at the University of Pennsylvania that resonate with your background, interests, and goals."

400-650 words

September 26th, 2018
Today, I woke up knowing that it was going to be an exciting and busy day. In the morning I hustled over to Starbucks in the 1920s commons to grab a venti coffee and a piece of glazed pound cake. I had slept in and did not have time to take a shower before my Management 231 class with Professor Amstrup. I had finally finalized my business plan and application that was to be submitted for the Venture Initiation Program. I had developed my business plan back in my Management 230 class during the spring semester of junior year. My business plan was based on a company I started during junior year of high school, Palmae. Palmae is a snowboard outerwear company focused on developing snowboard gloves. I had always wanted to combine my passion for snowboarding and business, now Wharton has provided with me an opportunity to obtain funding for the prototype of my glove design.

After, class I took the time to walk over to the Penn Museum and talk to my first Penn professor. Joanne Baron had taught me intro to archeology the summer before my senior year in high school, which happened to be the same summer I decided I had to go to Penn. I wanted to tell her about my trip to Machu Picchu that I had taken over the summer through the Wharton Leadership Venture. I told her about how besides learning more about the Incas, I had really grown as a leader. Despite developing my leadership skills through Boy Scouts, Order of the Arrow, and school clubs, my ability to lead is constantly developing through new experiences.

After talking to Professor Baron I had to run over to my finance energy class. The purpose of the class is to discuss cooperate structures and the business side of the energy industry, a field I am particularly interested in. But to be able to manage an energy company you need to be able to understand it. That is why at the same time I am taking energy and its impact. This way I can graduate with a degree in the Bachelor of Sciences in Economics with a finance and management concentration, along with a minor in energy and sustainability from Penn Engineering. Penn's unique interdisciplinary study allowed me to study both business and the sciences.

The rest of the day I had to myself, so I met up with my friend Griffin who lives in South Philly and was in town for a few days before going back to Penn State. Griffin had given me my first taste of Philadelphia from the eyes of a local back in high school when I spent the weekend at his house. Griffin met me in the middle of Penn's unique and beautiful campus located in University City, just out side of center city. We grabbed a quick snack from Allegro Pizza & Grill, which is right across the street from Gregory College House. Every fall I help organize a Red Cross sponsored blood drive there, one similar to the blood drive I organized for my Eagle Scout Project. Griffin and I ended the day by catching a Phillies game together.

After the game I went back to the dorm and figured out what I needed to do for the clubs I am involved with, which include the Investment Club, Private Equity/ Venture Capital Association, and Wharton Trading group. I also talked to my snowboard sponsor, Marhar, about getting me a new snowboard for the upcoming season so I can crush Princeton in the New Jersey Series of the USSCA.

Today was truly a busy day going to class, meeting up with an old professor, hanging out in Philadelphia, and getting organized for the week. The only problem was when I woke up and realized I was still a senior in high school.