Prompt:
II. For applicants to the College of Arts & Science:
While each student will eventually select at least one area of concentrated study, the College of Arts and Science is committed to introducing every student to a broad range of subjects. Which academic interests and/or passions might be a part of your academic journey at Vanderbilt and why?
Response:
Health sciences and medical professions raised me. My grandfather is a radiologist, my grandmother was a school nurse, my mother was a chiropractor, and my father still runs his own chiropractic practice. With many of my earliest role models spending the majority of their time fixated on the rehabilitation of others and the study of the human body, I found myself frequently perusing the medical journals, anatomical texts, and wealth of diagrams that pervaded their respective professions. My interest only grew with the birth of my siblings and the happenings of my youth. After my first brother was born healthy when I was two years old, a period of my life began that would forever shape who I was.
During my first grade year of elementary school, my second brother Kelly was born with trisomy 21, or Down's syndrome. He was rushed to the hospital with trouble breathing and an irregular heartbeat, where he remained for several days, thrusting my entire family into a new life permeated by a constant, desperate curiosity surrounding the medical world and how it would affect our lives. However, I had only just been introduced to this lifestyle, a way of living that would consume my focus for nearly a decade. In the years that followed, my family would welcome two daughters and another two sons. Of these four, the first of my sisters, Grethe, joined our family only after being treated for nearly two months in various hospitals for a congenital diaphragmatic hernia that had delayed the development of her lungs and heart. Two years later, my second sister Ava was with us for a mere nine days before she succumbed to complications related to trisomy 13, forcing my family to ponder the notion of mortality and the fragility of life. The last two boys were no less of an experience. Amidst substantial anxiety due to previous experience, they were thankfully born very healthy. However, they were born simultaneously, a pair of identical twins. Suffice to say, by the time I entered high school, I had amassed a lifetime of experiences that most people will never even contemplate.
These experiences have guided me in my life and passions during these past years of my life both domestic and abroad. Specifically they aided me in strengthening and defining my interests in the health sciences. Strong as it was in my youth, the passion I had felt for medicine had been vague and unguided. During high school, my pursuits leaned more heavily towards the study of the human form, though I did find the biological and social sciences deeply intriguing. Following graduation and during my stay in Brazil during my postgraduate exchange, I narrowed down my field of intrigue further while working in the public hospitals of my host city, Campinas. After a variety of encounters with patients in intensive care, I became attracted to the field of orthopedic rehabilitation, specifically, the design and development of prosthetic aids.
I plan to pursue these passions at Vanderbilt by developing those skills most necessary to both excel in and diversify my field of interest. Biological sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences are the disciplines that I anticipate making up a large portion of my studies. However, the fields I strive to work in demand more than just hard sciences, with a substantial portion of the field deeply rooted in creative thinking and artistic skill. I look to the College of Arts and Sciences as the opportunity to acquire the diverse and thorough base of knowledge I would need to wield as I enter these crucial first stages of my adult life and begin considering a professional career.
I feel it lacks coherence could use direction. Any and all tips and critiques are more than welcome, but I would greatly appreciate any suggestions for making it a clearer read.
Thank you very much for your time, it's an invaluable help!
II. For applicants to the College of Arts & Science:
While each student will eventually select at least one area of concentrated study, the College of Arts and Science is committed to introducing every student to a broad range of subjects. Which academic interests and/or passions might be a part of your academic journey at Vanderbilt and why?
Response:
Health sciences and medical professions raised me. My grandfather is a radiologist, my grandmother was a school nurse, my mother was a chiropractor, and my father still runs his own chiropractic practice. With many of my earliest role models spending the majority of their time fixated on the rehabilitation of others and the study of the human body, I found myself frequently perusing the medical journals, anatomical texts, and wealth of diagrams that pervaded their respective professions. My interest only grew with the birth of my siblings and the happenings of my youth. After my first brother was born healthy when I was two years old, a period of my life began that would forever shape who I was.
During my first grade year of elementary school, my second brother Kelly was born with trisomy 21, or Down's syndrome. He was rushed to the hospital with trouble breathing and an irregular heartbeat, where he remained for several days, thrusting my entire family into a new life permeated by a constant, desperate curiosity surrounding the medical world and how it would affect our lives. However, I had only just been introduced to this lifestyle, a way of living that would consume my focus for nearly a decade. In the years that followed, my family would welcome two daughters and another two sons. Of these four, the first of my sisters, Grethe, joined our family only after being treated for nearly two months in various hospitals for a congenital diaphragmatic hernia that had delayed the development of her lungs and heart. Two years later, my second sister Ava was with us for a mere nine days before she succumbed to complications related to trisomy 13, forcing my family to ponder the notion of mortality and the fragility of life. The last two boys were no less of an experience. Amidst substantial anxiety due to previous experience, they were thankfully born very healthy. However, they were born simultaneously, a pair of identical twins. Suffice to say, by the time I entered high school, I had amassed a lifetime of experiences that most people will never even contemplate.
These experiences have guided me in my life and passions during these past years of my life both domestic and abroad. Specifically they aided me in strengthening and defining my interests in the health sciences. Strong as it was in my youth, the passion I had felt for medicine had been vague and unguided. During high school, my pursuits leaned more heavily towards the study of the human form, though I did find the biological and social sciences deeply intriguing. Following graduation and during my stay in Brazil during my postgraduate exchange, I narrowed down my field of intrigue further while working in the public hospitals of my host city, Campinas. After a variety of encounters with patients in intensive care, I became attracted to the field of orthopedic rehabilitation, specifically, the design and development of prosthetic aids.
I plan to pursue these passions at Vanderbilt by developing those skills most necessary to both excel in and diversify my field of interest. Biological sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences are the disciplines that I anticipate making up a large portion of my studies. However, the fields I strive to work in demand more than just hard sciences, with a substantial portion of the field deeply rooted in creative thinking and artistic skill. I look to the College of Arts and Sciences as the opportunity to acquire the diverse and thorough base of knowledge I would need to wield as I enter these crucial first stages of my adult life and begin considering a professional career.
I feel it lacks coherence could use direction. Any and all tips and critiques are more than welcome, but I would greatly appreciate any suggestions for making it a clearer read.
Thank you very much for your time, it's an invaluable help!