I'm an engineer, I always have been, and I always will be. Science and math have always impressed and intrigued me, but what impresses and intrigues me even more is something as seemingly simple as the computer I'm typing this application on. A scientist discovered the principles of light manipulation behind the LCD, discovered how electricity works, discovered the semi-conductive material for the logic boards. An engineer was the one who took the bits and pieces the scientist discovered and turned them into something the world could use, and I find that infinitely more impressive.
However, engineering is more than a profession. It is more than a hobby or a thing to do. Engineering is an entire mindset, and it encompasses an entire worldview. Scientists are the ones who go and discover things. Engineers are the ones who go and create things that people can actually use. Engineering is a mindset of utility, one that asks three simple questions: "What works?", "What doesn't work?", and "What's next now that I've determined that?" The engineer is the one who constantly seeks out new challenges, and then constantly seeks to solve them as best he can with the tools available to him. Engineering is the best competition - the one where there is nothing but yourself, your tools, and your intellect against a monumental challenge. Sometimes you'll lose, but when you succeed the feeling of elation is unparalleled by anything I've ever experienced.
I've always loved engineering any any form. Since my earliest days my favorite toys were those I could build with, whether they were the traditional Legos, or the Erector sets I got when I was older. Why I was eight, my father introduced me to computer programming through a beginner's "language" called Scratch, and the passion he kindled has never gone out. In my sophomore year I took an introductory course to engineering and there discovered robotics, the perfect blending of both construction and programming that I've come to love so much. I am currently the sole robotics expert on Conestoga's Science Olympiad team, and the robotic arm I have built has taken 4th in a regional competition, and 6th in all-states. I expect it to perform even better this year.
However, all this isn't enough to convince me that Carnegie Mellon is the best institution for me. Sure, CMU has a top-notch engineering program, and it widely considered to be the best available university for computer science, but there is a plethora of other universities just as widely renowned as CMU for their engineering and computer science programs. Why then, should I choose Carnegie Mellon?
Engineering is my passion, but in order to really succeed and go far in this world I believe that a person needs to have a wider background, a broader base that offers more stability and general knowledge. Although my interest in the arts doesn't come close to paralleling my passion for engineering, I do have a fondness for music, good art, and other such things. I play cello as a hobby, and have gotten very good at it through practice and hard work, and little bit of talent as well. I'm not half-bad a drawing, and I love a good game of Ultimate Frisbee.
Carnegie Mellon is the only university I've found that provides an excellent engineering program, yet still holds its own when arts and other activities come up to the plate, and this is why I would absolutely love to attend. At Carnegie Mellon, I know I'll get the engineering education I so desperately want, but I also know that I'll emerge with a little bit of knowledge of everything else out there in the world.
