I need to know if anything seems cliche or anything like that. Are my stories ok? Am I using competence correctly? Do I need to elaborate on anything more?
Briefly describe how you learned about Santa Clara University. (150 words maximum)
Like most people, I learned about Santa Clara University through a little bit of everything: school, friends, family, fliers, and college fairs. I heard plenty of good things from a lot of different perspectives, but I was missing the most important perspective: my own. Because of this, I wanted to learn more about the campus. And luckily, Santa Clara was having an open house right around the corner. As soon as I arrived at 8am Saturday morning, I was drawn towards not only the beauty and location of the campus, but also its programs. Studying engineering abroad and nearby internships are hard to come by together. And even better, by the end of the day I had developed my own perspective on the campus. The programs, academics, social life, and location all had made a blend that I was willing to engulf as my future home.
Santa Clara University's strategic vision promises to educate citizens and leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion and cultivate knowledge and faith to build a more humane, just, and sustainable world. What aspect of SCU's strategic vision appeals to you? Why? (between 150 - 300 words)
I used to be a quitter, unless of course I was forced to continue. And one of the things I quit was violin, almost. Luckily, my parents forced me to continue. But it wasn't until years later until I realized that. Because of this, the most important of Santa Clara's three "C's" is competence. Through competence, I have achieved the highest position in my orchestra: concertmaster.
Throughout my time playing violin, I have experienced competence on multiple levels: being principle, having solos, having successful auditions, and practicing. However, this also means that I experienced incompetence, and on those very same levels. "Look but don't touch. Only learn the parts." This was what my teacher told me on my very first lesson. What? I'm learning violin, why can't I even touch it? And now, I realize why she had me do that. She wanted me to gradually grow, to not skip anything important, such as knowing the parts. It was because of this that I owe my success too. Knowing all the "little things" has helped build my competence. I became skilled enough to realize my weaknesses and qualified for positions that turned my flaw into a talent.
Competence is like a gift that if rewarded, will guarantee success. After all, we all work towards competence anyways right? Something that major should be valued greatly, which is why it is most important to me. I went from staring at a violin to leading an entire orchestra. And only through my competence, which I had to achieve, did I become successful. With competence, you have no barriers to your opportunities.
