Undergraduate / Not only chemistry, but I'm also passionate in many other fields. My UBC Admissions Personal Profile [3]

Hi this is my personal profile, please comment and edit my paragraphs.

Tell us about an experience, in school or out, that taught you something about yourself and/or the world around you. (maximum 200 words)

Not only chemistry, but I'm also passionate in many other fields. For example, I love to exchange postcards all over the world. Since I was 15, I have exchanged postcards with people from over 20 countries. From their cards, stamps and writing, I discovered how people and their cultures can be so different and interesting. From this experience, I learned to see things in different perspectives. Whenever I confront a problem, I think of many different ways to solve it. Moreover, in this way of thinking, I'm usually more tolerant and have more empathy with people because I always like to stand on others' perspective. Postcard swap is one of my hobbies that have taught me how to be a better person in life, and I believe I will keep my passion for it.

Be it inside or outside of the classroom, what have you done to challenge yourself intellectually? Describe an issue, topic or area of study that you have investigated or pursued. (maximum 200 words)

I was one of the representatives of my school to a Chemistry Innovative Experiment Competition in the District Technology Festival. With my team, I designed the experiment that applied as a high temperature alarm. We spent the whole month after school designing, setting up, overcoming every little problem we had faced during the operation. When my team finally operated our setting successfully, I was quite happy and satisfied. At last, our experiment was acknowledged as one of the top competitors the most scientific experiment. Although it was my first year studying chemistry, also first time participating in Chemistry competition, I had found my passion. Since then, I enjoyed chemistry more and studied harder. I would say that this experience had undoubtedly influenced my view of science and helped me find my passion in chemistry.

Explain how you responded to a problem and/or an unfamiliar situation. What did you do, what was the outcome, and what did you learn from the experience? (maximum 200 words)

When I was in Marketing class, I was asked to do a challenging project that is to make a comprehensive strategic marketing plan in two weeks. I had to complete a detailed strategic plan just like loaning from banks. It was not easy for me at all to finish such a professional project at all. What I did was that I divided the entire project into many small parts so that my progress would be clearly planned out. Then I did research online just to see how others dealt with the similar issue. By doing that, I learned how to solve the same kind of problems at the same time. Then I would discuss with my partner about the problem I confronted. In the end, I finished the project successfully, and it was a perfect mark. This experience taught me that, when facing a complicated situation, the best way is to break it apart and solve the problem step by step. Also, it is very important to coordinate with your team members.

Tell us more about one of the activities you listed above by explaining what your goals were, the role you played, and what you learned in the process. (maximum 200 words)

Once in my leadership class (student committee), some students suggested us to hold a Halloween dance the night before Halloween. But obviously, there was not enough time to plan and organize a dance. Since many students in our school were expecting a Halloween Dance, other committee members and I decided to find a way to prepare for the dance in limited time. With the help of our Principal, we found the DJ from last year's dance. And we promoted our committee members to volunteer help set up the gym and do the cleaning afterwards. Then we brainstormed how to promote the Halloween dance such as making posters, doing announcements, walking around the school with our school spirit animal during lunch time. In the end, we sold 130 tickets, and the dance was successfully held. From this experience, I learned that if you want to achieve a goal and it seems to be very difficult, you always have to take your first step out of your comfort zone. I found that as I push myself a little bit harder every time, my abilities gets stronger. And I learn immensely more and quicker when I work outside of my comfort zone.