In the space provided below, please elaborate on one of your activities (extracurricular, personal activities, or work experience)(150 words or fewer).
Ive drawn of these two rough drafts. I will need to consolidate, and polish up both essays. But I was hoping to get some input from some people.
#1 As a member of the cross-country, and track and field teams for my entire high school career, I feel that I have benefit greatly from them. They've shown me in what I used to think was an entirely non team sport, to knowing that they are both extremely team oriented. Both sports have instilled many team values in me. At all the meets my fellow team mates will cheer me on during the races and visa versa. There are also many activities that bring our team together including pasta parties at a runner's house the day before a meet, and pizza parties after the meets. Here we can socialize with all our teammates, and all have a good time. Both sports require much training, and there were sometimes when I felt like I couldn't train anymore, but my teammates were able to get me through it. It is a great feeling when you improve on your best time and set a new personal record. In x-country there has to be ambition from the runners to improve, because the coaches can't make you run. We learn to use our ambitions to push us harder and run independently. Both are truly tests of perseverance, dedication, and endurance, they are not like most other sports where the players receive some sort of break throughout the game. Even though there are some hard times when training, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience.
#2 over the summer between 10 and 11th I had the amazing opportunity to work in the UCI Integrated Nano Research Facility under Professor Mark Bachman. Over the next 7 weeks I was able to work with cast molding of silicone rubber (PDMS) for making microfluidic devices, disassemble and help repair a broken microscope, use a computer controlled laser cutter to make precision cuts in plastic, assembled and soldered several circuit boards, helped design and build a miniature heat gun for precision soldering applications, and designed, built, and tested a miniature flatbed scanner using an off the shelf CMOS sensor. I worked on various projects with the college students that gave me a lot of exposure to tools, techniques, and the dynamics of college research labs. The college students there were extremely friendly, and I was able to make friends during my time in the lab. I was the youngest of the selected to intern, while most were undergraduate students. I had a strong willingness to learn, as seen by me asking many questions to the college students there, staying longer than was asked of me, and helping propose ideas. Although I'm used to being very knowledgeable in the topics we study in high school, it was a refreshing change to jump into a situation where I was easily the least informed. However, I was here to learn, and my positive outlook helped me get the most from this amazing learning experience.
I appreciate any input, Thank you
