Also, if anyone knows, there's no recommended length. This is 583 words. Too long? Too short?
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When I was growing up, I always bugged my parents with questions about the world around me. When I turn on the television, how does a motion picture appear? When my parents were driving me around in a car, how were we able to move? When I type on the computer, how do numbers and letters show up on the computer screen? When I continually asked these questions, I realized that, while they all had their own specific answer, there was a common answer for all: engineering. Engineering is why we can go from Georgia to California in four hours. Engineering is how we have been able to fight the Measles, smallpox, and diphtheria. Engineering is why I can submit a college application online.
My curiosity about how the world works shaped my interest in engineering. I want to be that guy who puts the questions in the minds of aspiring engineers in the future. As I grew older, walking around every day, I still asked questions. But I also answer them myself. And I try to make something out of it. In middle school, I was riding up an elevator when it hit me. How does an elevator work? That's when I learned about the world of mechanical engineering with pulleys, levers and wheels and axles. I put together a system of my own using wood and string. A pulley carried up a rubber ball as an elevator wood; it turned over on a wheel and axle, landed one side of a lever and blasted a smaller ball on the other side into a cup. Side projects like these were fun, but I wanted to explore my interest more. I wanted to see engineering as it's used in the world.
Intrigued by the thought, I networked with professional engineers who would teach me much about applications of engineering principles to real-life problems. My experience as an intern in the aerospace engineering department at Georgia Tech was an eye-opening adventure into the practical use of engineering in the real world. I worked as part of a team researching ways to construct a rugged, low-cost renewable energy device, a vertical axis wind turbine, for use in developing countries that extracts mechanical energy from the wind to power other electrical devices. I specifically had to work to strengthen the wind turbine blades with the desired effect of achieving higher and withstanding higher wind speeds in comparison to previous results. The journey I went through was like none other I had ever had before- I was helping develop something that could feasibly be used in the world.
My thirst for engineering led me to another internship at Xnth Engineering. I was assigned more responsibility in an engineering project than ever before. I used 3D AutoCAD design software to help design an anaerobic digester for construction in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was here where I learned the greatest joy of being an engineer. Bringing theoretical ideas into material is an enjoyable experience, but it doesn't quite compare to the sense of satisfaction I get knowing that I helped society grow. To reiterate a quote from my supervisor, "you can be the smartest guy in the world, but if you can't use that intelligence to benefit society, you're just as dumb as the next guy."
I asked questions about the world around me. Now, I can ask questions, think of ways of answering them, and maybe even use those answers and apply them to something real.
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Thanks for the feedback!
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When I was growing up, I always bugged my parents with questions about the world around me. When I turn on the television, how does a motion picture appear? When my parents were driving me around in a car, how were we able to move? When I type on the computer, how do numbers and letters show up on the computer screen? When I continually asked these questions, I realized that, while they all had their own specific answer, there was a common answer for all: engineering. Engineering is why we can go from Georgia to California in four hours. Engineering is how we have been able to fight the Measles, smallpox, and diphtheria. Engineering is why I can submit a college application online.
My curiosity about how the world works shaped my interest in engineering. I want to be that guy who puts the questions in the minds of aspiring engineers in the future. As I grew older, walking around every day, I still asked questions. But I also answer them myself. And I try to make something out of it. In middle school, I was riding up an elevator when it hit me. How does an elevator work? That's when I learned about the world of mechanical engineering with pulleys, levers and wheels and axles. I put together a system of my own using wood and string. A pulley carried up a rubber ball as an elevator wood; it turned over on a wheel and axle, landed one side of a lever and blasted a smaller ball on the other side into a cup. Side projects like these were fun, but I wanted to explore my interest more. I wanted to see engineering as it's used in the world.
Intrigued by the thought, I networked with professional engineers who would teach me much about applications of engineering principles to real-life problems. My experience as an intern in the aerospace engineering department at Georgia Tech was an eye-opening adventure into the practical use of engineering in the real world. I worked as part of a team researching ways to construct a rugged, low-cost renewable energy device, a vertical axis wind turbine, for use in developing countries that extracts mechanical energy from the wind to power other electrical devices. I specifically had to work to strengthen the wind turbine blades with the desired effect of achieving higher and withstanding higher wind speeds in comparison to previous results. The journey I went through was like none other I had ever had before- I was helping develop something that could feasibly be used in the world.
My thirst for engineering led me to another internship at Xnth Engineering. I was assigned more responsibility in an engineering project than ever before. I used 3D AutoCAD design software to help design an anaerobic digester for construction in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was here where I learned the greatest joy of being an engineer. Bringing theoretical ideas into material is an enjoyable experience, but it doesn't quite compare to the sense of satisfaction I get knowing that I helped society grow. To reiterate a quote from my supervisor, "you can be the smartest guy in the world, but if you can't use that intelligence to benefit society, you're just as dumb as the next guy."
I asked questions about the world around me. Now, I can ask questions, think of ways of answering them, and maybe even use those answers and apply them to something real.
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Thanks for the feedback!
