How does The University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
This is what I have written so far, It's much more of a personal Statement, but I wanted to see what you guys think of it. Do you think this is what University of Chicago is looking for in this question?
Born in Chicago from one Italian parent and one American parent from Jewish and Catholic backgrounds, my own many cultures have given me a diverse outlook. Being a student at the Lycée Francais de Chicago, I am also fully immersed in both the French and American cultures. Thanks also to my studies of languages (such as Italian, German, Mandarin and Latin), I have developed a natural interest in observing how different groups communicate between and amongst each other. I have been able to compare a variety of different values, ideas and passions, since I've entered into contact with people from many different backgrounds, enabling me to gain an interest in International Relations.
Given the above, I am fascinated by common phenomena like the passion for sports, food, and music. Interactions that involve these activities can form a bond among groups of people that are otherwise separated by linguistic and cultural barriers. It is a challenge for me to identify what it is that brings people together and what is it that drives them apart. Having spent time working on thoroughbred stud farms, riding out for a thoroughbred flat racing trainer, and racing, I have asked myself if comparisons can be made between humans interacting with animals and amongst themselves.
Equally fascinating, was the opportunity to observe neurosurgical operations at Children's Memorial Hospital by interning with the chairman, Dr T. Tomita. There was a different, less emotional relationship between the interacting groups: In the operating room, great barriers were erected between the children and the surgeons, for practical and psychological reasons. Yet, outside the operating room, morning meetings with the team involved them studying the research of hospitals throughout the world, without caring at all about political borders.
Urban areas and their common issues, like traffic, violence, and street maintenance, also fascinate me having spent a trimester at the Lycée Stendhal Milan, and on separate occasions, having travelled with my German class to Munich, and my French class to Paris. Each city seems to be addressing these issues in a unique way. I enjoy attending lectures outside of school at the University of Chicago searching for common solutions to urban problems.
When preparing for the French BAC, I felt an immediate empathy for the French Existential writers of the 20th century, discovering that writing is a form of engagement in society. I enjoyed developing a rigorous classification of these authors. Additional reading outside of our classroom allowed me to compare authors such as Proust, Voltaire and Calvino. Being a driven and determined student, I studied these Existential writers intensely, obtaining a 19/20 on my French BAC oral exam. The experience helped me understand that writing permits a group to develop itself and influence others.
Being a multicultural student, who has also worked with people of many different backgrounds, I believe I can be a conscientious and interesting student, and would look forward to the hard work of formulating and contributing my own theories to the subject, International Relations, that I plan to study at University. Like the Chicago Marathon I have run for the first time, I am aware of the immense challenges I will face, but feel that the training that I have had, both academic and physical, will permit me to continue to develop and contribute. With this statement, I sincerely hope to have made further strides towards achieving these goals.
This is what I have written so far, It's much more of a personal Statement, but I wanted to see what you guys think of it. Do you think this is what University of Chicago is looking for in this question?
Born in Chicago from one Italian parent and one American parent from Jewish and Catholic backgrounds, my own many cultures have given me a diverse outlook. Being a student at the Lycée Francais de Chicago, I am also fully immersed in both the French and American cultures. Thanks also to my studies of languages (such as Italian, German, Mandarin and Latin), I have developed a natural interest in observing how different groups communicate between and amongst each other. I have been able to compare a variety of different values, ideas and passions, since I've entered into contact with people from many different backgrounds, enabling me to gain an interest in International Relations.
Given the above, I am fascinated by common phenomena like the passion for sports, food, and music. Interactions that involve these activities can form a bond among groups of people that are otherwise separated by linguistic and cultural barriers. It is a challenge for me to identify what it is that brings people together and what is it that drives them apart. Having spent time working on thoroughbred stud farms, riding out for a thoroughbred flat racing trainer, and racing, I have asked myself if comparisons can be made between humans interacting with animals and amongst themselves.
Equally fascinating, was the opportunity to observe neurosurgical operations at Children's Memorial Hospital by interning with the chairman, Dr T. Tomita. There was a different, less emotional relationship between the interacting groups: In the operating room, great barriers were erected between the children and the surgeons, for practical and psychological reasons. Yet, outside the operating room, morning meetings with the team involved them studying the research of hospitals throughout the world, without caring at all about political borders.
Urban areas and their common issues, like traffic, violence, and street maintenance, also fascinate me having spent a trimester at the Lycée Stendhal Milan, and on separate occasions, having travelled with my German class to Munich, and my French class to Paris. Each city seems to be addressing these issues in a unique way. I enjoy attending lectures outside of school at the University of Chicago searching for common solutions to urban problems.
When preparing for the French BAC, I felt an immediate empathy for the French Existential writers of the 20th century, discovering that writing is a form of engagement in society. I enjoyed developing a rigorous classification of these authors. Additional reading outside of our classroom allowed me to compare authors such as Proust, Voltaire and Calvino. Being a driven and determined student, I studied these Existential writers intensely, obtaining a 19/20 on my French BAC oral exam. The experience helped me understand that writing permits a group to develop itself and influence others.
Being a multicultural student, who has also worked with people of many different backgrounds, I believe I can be a conscientious and interesting student, and would look forward to the hard work of formulating and contributing my own theories to the subject, International Relations, that I plan to study at University. Like the Chicago Marathon I have run for the first time, I am aware of the immense challenges I will face, but feel that the training that I have had, both academic and physical, will permit me to continue to develop and contribute. With this statement, I sincerely hope to have made further strides towards achieving these goals.