Scholarship / College/Career Goals and Reason I Should be Chosen for a Scholarship [5]

Write a one-page essay on your college and career goals and rationale for TCBSBM choosing you to receive this scholarship.

The future begins with today. In my future, I see myself working as a pediatrician. Through volunteering at my church's nursery, I have grown to love caring for kids and am certain that it is what I want to continue to do. I have already successfully completed the initial steps to reaching this goal by excelling among my classmates in high school. The next, and probably most important step, is for me to attend college.

Up until this point, I have been able to complete the steps towards my goal through hard work and dedication. My next step, however, requires additional input: money. Coming from a single parent, low income household, the money required to complete my next step could act as a hindrance. I wish to attain the best learning environment and be pushed in an advanced college and do not want to have to settle for financial reasons. This scholarship would help relieve some of the burden of student loans and allow me to spend less time working at a job and more time working on school work which will provide me with the knowledge I need to become a successful doctor.

I would make the most out of the resources others generously provide for me and pay it forward in the future by contributing to society as a doctor. I have always used my resources wisely. Even without sat tutors or extra help I have able to excel above my peers. Education is not something I take for granted. I make the best use of my resources to get to wherever I need to be.

In orchestra, for example, I was able to excel without private lessons and become our school's concert master. The founder of the orchestra program in my district was so impressed by this that she began sponsoring my private lessons. She told me that that because I was able to excel with the few recourses I had, there was no telling how much more I could excel if I was given more resources. I appreciate what she has done for me and make the most out of the opportunity she has allowed for me and have grown as a violinist. I hope the TCBSBM scholarship will provide me with the same sort of opportunity academically which I will also treat with appreciation and desire to make those who see my potential and wish to help me grow proud.

Undergraduate / 'FOCUS' program - Is there something particular about Duke that attracts you? [5]

If you are applying to the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences as a first year applicant, please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you. Is there something particular about Duke that attracts you? (Please limit your response to no more than 150 words)

One of the things that attracts me to Duke is the FOCUS program.
I like making connections. I find it mentally stimulating when I am able to make connections between the economics class I currently take and the business math class I took last year. I want to continue making similar connections in college and like how Duke's FOCUS program sets it up to where these connections are easily made through the course clusters.

The FOCUS program will also allow me to build a strong relationship with my classmates and my professors. I like belonging to small, closely knit groups and like how the FOCUS program provides that. I also want to be as close to my college professors as I am to my high school teachers, and the FOCUS discussion seminars over dinner in addition to the Duke flunches will help me create the relationships I desire.

Undergraduate / Common App Essay: Special Interest- 'Wide eyes and Dropped Chins' [8]

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Wide Eyes and Dropped Chins

"What is the circumference of this circle?" Mrs. Ryan asked a fairly simple math question, but as seconds rolled by she was met with only blank stares from my classmates. I wondered why no one jumped to answer a question that only required the use of simple arithmetic. Nonetheless, I also remained silent. I sat, twiddling my thumbs in an effort to suppress the urge to reveal the answer as if it were locked up in a safe to which only I had the key, but my anxiety grew as the silence became increasingly unbearable. The answer had to be revealed! I could no longer hold it in, and I finally exclaimed, "Two pie!"

At once, the entire class turned to face me with wide eyes and dropped chins, and one student uttered the words, "She spoke."

Six years later, I smile as I recall this once humiliating incident. Little did anyone know that speaking, through the form of spoken word poetry, would become one of my greatest interests. I was first introduced to this type of poetry through an English class assignment in which I wrote and performed a poem for my classmates. My performance was a success. However, the success of my first poem came not from my skill as a poet, but from what was sparked by the experience itself.

The positive feedback I received from my class performance empowered me to feel free to express myself. However, this freedom was not free. The cost was stepping outside of my comfort zone. In my first poem, I spoke about my differences, sharing what I would not have otherwise been given the opportunity to share publicly, and the applause that followed encouraged me to want to continue speaking about similar topics. In this special way of articulating my thoughts, I am gifted with the ability to bring to life every emotion I feel, without shame for feeling the way I feel. Much like the music I create with a violin in my hands, the poetry created with my words and mouth has a meditative quality. In it, I find comfort in expressing myself.

Even better than knowing that I have the freedom to speak is knowing that people are also willing to listen. I was pleasantly surprised when one of my classmates came up to me after my performance to tell me that my poem was inspiring. Her receptiveness to my poem showed me that even though she could not relate to the differences I spoke about, she could relate to the way I was confident in those differences. The smile that became frozen on my face after my first performance came from realizing that I could impact others through the words that I spoke. By not being afraid to get my voice out there, I could impact people both inside and outside of my classroom.

In the course of attending local open mic poetry nights, I have opened myself to new ideas, while also reacquainting myself with familiar ones spoken in a new light by poets of different cultures and backgrounds. The information transmitted through an eclectic array of poets is hard to find anywhere else, and I am eager to both learn from and contribute to the diverse teachings. I feel at one with my community when I hear their stories, relate, and can tell my own.

As my voice is strengthened through poetry, I can use this power to not only speak poetically but to also speak confidently in everyday life. Poetry has replaced my fear with a love for speaking. Now when I speak through poetry, I actually want people to react the way my sixth grade classmates once did: with wide eyes and dropped chins, only now not because of the act of speaking, but instead because of the content spoken.

Undergraduate / Playing the violin in a small ensemble/ The senior valedictorian who I had admired; Rice Supplements [3]

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (150 word limit) paying less attention to the details and focusing more on the big picture

My favorite setting to play the violin is in a small ensemble. In these small groups, there is no conductor, and as the head violinist, it is my job to lead. However, this does not mean that I can act independently. The success of our performances depends on everyone's willingness to work together. If one person speeds up, the rest of us follow, willing to temporarily give up or own desired tempo for the sake of staying together until I lead us back to a normal speed. The greater need to depend on one another is what makes playing in a small ensemble different. This dependence forces us to connect with each other and the music, and the result is a more passionate performance. Small ensembles have showed me the positive effects of working cooperatively with others, knowledge I can use both on and off of the stage.

How did you first learn about Rice University and what motivated you to apply? (250 word limit) Supplement

When I was a sophomore, the senior valedictorian, Sara, announced that she would be attending Rice in the fall. My admiration for her as well as my curiosity led me to start researching Rice. I was attracted by things like the flexibility provided by the honor system and the ability to conduct research at the Texas Medical Center Laboratories, and wanted to know even more. So the next year, I tracked down Sara's information and sent her a text asking her to tell me everything about her experiences at Rice. She responded with a long, passionate text proclaiming her love for Rice. This love was contagious. As she raved about Rice's friendly atmosphere, I became hooked. When she explained that the friendships she made during O-week extended throughout the entire year through weekly O-week lunches and O-week group activities, I felt assured knowing that the friendships I made during orientation would continue throughout what could otherwise be a lonely freshman year because of effort Rice puts into maintaining friendships. I grew even more excited when she explained that Rice had a culture of care which meant that everyone watched out for each other socially and academically. Colleges, especially highly ranked institutions like Rice, can be extremely competitive, but knowing that Rice has a collaborative environment would ease a lot of the sense of competition. I knew I liked Rice after researching it, but I fell in love with Rice after my conversation with Sara.

I want to make sure everything's perfect before I submit!

Undergraduate / Share a perspective you bring or experiences you've had, Duke Short Answer [8]

Duke University seeks a talented, engaged student body that embodies the wide range of human experience; we believe that the diversity of our students makes our community stronger. If you'd like to share a perspective you bring or experiences you've had to help us understand you better-perhaps related to a community you belong to, your sexual orientation or gender identity, or your family or cultural background-we encourage you to do so. Real people are reading your application, and we want to do our best to understand and appreciate the real people applying to Duke. (250 word limit)

In Nigeria, all people refer to older women as auntie and older men as uncle. Nigerians do not see unknown people as strangers, we see them as family members who have not yet been introduced to us and demonstrate this by calling others what we would call our own family members and treating them like we would treat or own family. Because I have grown up calling all Nigerians auntie and uncle, I have developed the mentality that every person I meet is part of my extended family. I do not have to be blood related or even know a person well before there is a degree kinship between us.

The Nigerian perspective that we are all a part of a large extended family is what I hope to bring to Duke. This way of thinking should not be limited to the Nigerian community. By treating my classmates the way I would treat my own family, I hope to spread the idea that we do not have to be blood related to act like a family. This perspective would foster a community of brothers and sisters all proud to be a part of the Duke family.

Undergraduate / 'highly accomplished staff' - Why does Yale appeal to you? Yale Supplement [7]

Why does Yale appeal to you? (100 words or less)

I am attracted by the highly accomplished staff at Yale. Highly renowned teachers like Professor Micheal Donoghue, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, who I hope to take the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology coarse from, will provide me with the best guide in my journey for knowledge. I was even more attracted when I read that professors from the Yale school of medicine are also active at teaching the Yale College. The chance that I may get to learn from the very people I look up to like Nobel Prize winner, James Rothman, is what appeals to me.

Undergraduate / 'I love teaching kids' Why are you apply to a particular school of study? Rice Supplement [8]

With the understanding that the choice of academic school you indicated is not binding, explain why you are applying to that particular school of study. (150 word limit) Why do these areas appeal to you?

I volunteer to teach Sunday school at my church because I love teaching kids, but when I moved to the nursery department, I did not expect to love caring for them even more. Each time a baby cries, it becomes my mission to find the source of his troubles and fix it, and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I do. The biochemistry and cell biology program in the Biosciences department of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences will provide me with the opportunity to expand my knowledge so that I can later solve the more serious problems children face. I am attracted by the BIOC 310 course because it will direct me to research opportunities and take the stress out of searching for them. I am also attracted to the quality of the research opportunities provided through the renowned Texas Medical Center Laboratories in addition to labs in the Biosciences department.