Undergraduate / Nigerian - I have always felt like an outcast - Wisconsin Unnoticed essay [4]

1. Consider something in your life you think goes unnoticed and write about why it's important to you.

Being a Nigerian born in England and raised in the Netherlands, I have always felt like an outcast as I never really fitted in any of the countries. I have even had family members refer to me as an "Oyinbo" which is use to refer to a foreigner in Yoruba, this caused me to see my differences as a curse and not know how fortunate I was to grow up in this manner.

I left my home country, Nigeria when I was three and came to the Netherlands as my father had received a job offer from shell to work there as a geophysicist. I attended a Dutch nursery school, blending in was a difficult task as I was one of the only people who spoke English. I eventually transferred to the British school in the Netherlands and then to the International school of The Hague, at this point I was in secondary school and my Dutch had dramatically improved as I was able to understand it and have small conversations. During this time I would use English at school, what little Dutch I knew in public and at home I was spoken to in Yoruba while I was learning French at school, this was quite frustrating at first but it eventually became normal to me as it was a part of everyday life.

Growing up, I never realized how lucky I was to be exposed to a diversity of cultures from a young age experience different points of views that people from certain countries might have and to have friends that come from all over the world from Italy to Sri Lanka.

Since I was young I have experienced identity crises as I never felt Nigerian, Dutch or British. After spending eleven years in the Netherlands my mother, brother and I moved to Nigeria. My father moved back to Nigeria when I was five and we stayed in the Netherlands as he believed that the country would offer me and my brother a better education. Going into a Nigerian school I did not know what to expect as it would be the first school that I would go to where I was not a minority however, my time in a Nigerian school further highlighted my differences. Despite being a Nigerian I felt like an outcast as I found it hard to blend into Nigerian society as I did not understand the jokes and couldn't make any friends. It wasn't until a year after returning to Nigeria that I decided to embrace my heritage and learn more about the culture which led me to appreciate who I was and where I came from and helped me to improve my understanding of Yoruba and make friends that will last a life time.

Now I realize there are many people who like me have struggled with their identities due to the fact that they grew up around several different cultures. Rather than put a label myself a nationality I like to see myself as a citizen of the world as growing up the way I did was an eye-opening experience for me as I have had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, which has changed the way I view certain issues today. Though at first glance I may not appear to be very different from any other Nigerian, this unnoticed part of my life is very important to me and has shaped me into the person that I am today.

Any help is appreciated, thank you in advance.

Undergraduate / Fascinated by accredited computer science program / Nigeria - Syracuse University essays [4]

1. Who or what influenced you to apply to Syracuse University?

Syracuse University's diverse community and its academic programs are what influenced me to apply to the university. During my search for a university in the beginning of year 12 (11th Grade), I came across Syracuse University and after I researched more on the school I was fascinated by their accredited computer science program and its flexibility.

I decided to go to the USA College day 2014 event which was held in Kensington town hall. At this event all my questions were answered by the very kind admissions counselor, She spoke about the Syracuse community with a passion that made me want to become a part of this community. I learnt so much more about the school from going to this event, I found Syracuse to be a school full of opportunities for international students such as myself with a diverse student body and a diverse amount of academic programs and student organizations making it an ideal place to study.

2. Who is the person you dream of becoming and how do you believe Syracuse University can help you achieve this?

I dream of becoming a person that will make a positive impact on the world, an open minded person able to learn from the views of other cultures, a person that will help Nigeria become a better country.

Growing up I never thought about the kind of person I wanted to become, I just wanted to be someone who enjoyed what they did for a living and was able to support their family. It was not until I moved back to Nigeria and saw the state of the country and how it has the potential to become a great nation that I change my goal in life to make the country a better place, this is why I want to study computer science at Syracuse's prestigious L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science to contribute to the technological advancements that will benefit the people of Nigeria and the country's economy.

I believe that going to Syracuse will help me become the person I want to be by providing me with a world class education and allowing me to learn from meeting different people from all over the world that go to Syracuse. I believe that these things along with the many opportunities at Syracuse will shape me into becoming the person that I want to be.

Undergraduate / Family of doctor and geophysicist - international student/ penn state personal statement [2]

English is not my strong suit, so there may be a lot of mistakes.

Being born in a family of scientists, my mother a doctor and my father a geophysicist I have enjoyed sciences from a young age, so it only felt natural that I should pursue a career as a computer scientist. Through my A-level courses I have acquired a variety of skills especially in Mathematics and physics where I was required to think logically about each question and became very interested in their applications in the world. Whereas Economics I have enjoyed as you are required to analyse questions thoroughly before you can tackle them.

For my work experience I was placed in Olutoyl Estate development & Services LTD, which is a real estate firm. Although I wanted to be placed in a Computing firm, it was still an eye-opening experience as I learnt about working in an office and what is expected of an employee. During this time my interpersonal skills increased as I worked together with the other employees and observed how the different pieces of real estate where sold to clients.

During the 2nd Term of year 10, I had a leadership training program in school where we were taught the skills required of a leader through a variety of challenging activities. During this time we had to work as a team looking at each other's strengths and weakness to get our goals achieved which resulted in my group being at the top at the end of the training. This training has helped me to become a leader in my boarding house as one of the older students, I have to act as an example to the younger boarders in my house and help them with their homework.

Outside of school I participate in a varied range of activities from senior bible study (SBS) to Community service. I am a member of the 3rd XI cricket team and the 4th XI hockey team, which has helped me develop the ability to work well with others. I also participate in Badminton and during L6th I played Fives. As for hobbies I am an avid gamer and I also enjoy reading novels such as the "Heroes of Olympus" books by Rick Riordan, I love how both video games and novels can immerse people in worlds so close to our own or ones that are completely different from ours. Playing these video games sparked my interest in how the consoles they are played on are made, which led me to open up my PlayStation 2 when I was 8 and take it apart some more much to the horror of my parents and my fascination with electronics grew as I wondered how the individual components came together to make the consoles that I enjoyed using.

I believe that with the skills that I have acquired inside and outside of school I can overcome the challenges of academic life at Penn state and reach my full potential as an individual and use this opportunity to widening my horizons.

thanks in advance for the help.