Here's what I have for the Duke Engineering Essay. Any comments are welcome and thorough critiques will be reciprocated! Thanks!
Surrounded by the heated debate over global warming and the challenge of finding clean and affordable energy, I cultivated an interest in renewable energy technology. On a trip to India, though, I noticed that energy for even the most basic needs was scarce; gaunt men and women foraged for wood, coal, and gasoline just to cook food to feed their families. For them, alternative energy would be too rare and expensive to be considered. Through that experience, I set a goal. I wanted to play a part in pioneering an era of globally-integrated green energy.
That night, in my dreams, I met the devil. The blue devil. He promised that, in exchange for my soul, he would provide me with everything I needed to reach my goal. To show me what he had to offer, he transported me to the Gross Chem Lab at Duke. I saw myself intently testing the porousness of a polymer electrolyte membranes of a fuel cell I had been researching for the Wiesner Group and Gendell Center. I planned to gain an understanding of how sustainable energy can save ecological issues world-wide. Studying under experts from both the Pratt and Nicholas Schools, I pursued a certificate in Energy and the Environment.
Yet, I hungered for more. Aspiring to be an entrepreneur in the green technology industry, I wanted to gain a grounding in economics and business, as well. So, the blue devil took me to a lecture hall where I was sitting front and center, taking a course in Enterprising Leadership. To whet my academic appetite for globalization and international implications of green engineering, I would be taking Global Contexts of Science and Technology in a few hours. Each of these classes played an important part on my path towards obtaining a certificate in Markets and Management Studies. But fieldwork would also be of utmost importance, the devil suggested, and he immediately whisked me off to Cusco, Peru. Disoriented by this change of environment, it took me a while to discern myself: I was amidst several DukeEngage students, installing clean-burning stoves for families while they helping us polish up our Spanish. I needed to see no more. Having an undergraduate educational experience like this would be to die for. I couldn't help but smirk, humored by the bargain I was being offered. Even if I sold my soul to the devil, I would be spending four years in heaven.
Surrounded by the heated debate over global warming and the challenge of finding clean and affordable energy, I cultivated an interest in renewable energy technology. On a trip to India, though, I noticed that energy for even the most basic needs was scarce; gaunt men and women foraged for wood, coal, and gasoline just to cook food to feed their families. For them, alternative energy would be too rare and expensive to be considered. Through that experience, I set a goal. I wanted to play a part in pioneering an era of globally-integrated green energy.
That night, in my dreams, I met the devil. The blue devil. He promised that, in exchange for my soul, he would provide me with everything I needed to reach my goal. To show me what he had to offer, he transported me to the Gross Chem Lab at Duke. I saw myself intently testing the porousness of a polymer electrolyte membranes of a fuel cell I had been researching for the Wiesner Group and Gendell Center. I planned to gain an understanding of how sustainable energy can save ecological issues world-wide. Studying under experts from both the Pratt and Nicholas Schools, I pursued a certificate in Energy and the Environment.
Yet, I hungered for more. Aspiring to be an entrepreneur in the green technology industry, I wanted to gain a grounding in economics and business, as well. So, the blue devil took me to a lecture hall where I was sitting front and center, taking a course in Enterprising Leadership. To whet my academic appetite for globalization and international implications of green engineering, I would be taking Global Contexts of Science and Technology in a few hours. Each of these classes played an important part on my path towards obtaining a certificate in Markets and Management Studies. But fieldwork would also be of utmost importance, the devil suggested, and he immediately whisked me off to Cusco, Peru. Disoriented by this change of environment, it took me a while to discern myself: I was amidst several DukeEngage students, installing clean-burning stoves for families while they helping us polish up our Spanish. I needed to see no more. Having an undergraduate educational experience like this would be to die for. I couldn't help but smirk, humored by the bargain I was being offered. Even if I sold my soul to the devil, I would be spending four years in heaven.
