"The Mindset" Why Engineering?-Columbia Supplement

Here's my supplement for the Columbia supp that simply says Why Engineering? The limit is 1500 characters and I'm pretty much on it right now. My worries and concerns are listed after the essay so that they don't influence you:

Maybe it began with my parents. As my dad walked me through the endless rows of embroidery machines that he owned, my mom would spend hours explaining how she coordinated her workers with customer demands. Or maybe Jeffrey started it. Him being too little to construct the monstrous Lego and train sets that he bought, the duty often fell to me. I'll probably never know the exact source of my fascination with concepts like resourcefulness and design, but I do know that with engineering, I can continue this passion.

The quantitative and analytical mindset of an engineer perfectly suits how I think. I love seeing things build off of each other and how simple ideas can collaborate into larger ones. Molded out of a "never settle" attitude, I don't view things just in the realm of what they have achieved but also in the realm of what they can achieve. While my ceramics teacher Mrs. Webster praised my porcelain vase, I instead focused on the wayward centering and asked myself how I could fix that. An engineering degree will teach me how to break down problems and build the best solutions to them through the lens of the almighty three E's: effectiveness, economic, and efficiency.

My mom says I worry about too many things. I stress over things like improper government spending, lack of access to clean water and food, and the best route to get to my friend's birthday party. Though I may never solve all of them, becoming an engineer gives me the best chance to try.

1. My main worry is whether this essay is strong enough. I've never really had an AH-HA moment that other people tend to have when it comes down to why I want to be an engineer. It's just sort of popped up as the proper degree to pursue for my intended goals.

2. Any other comments and such?

Thank you so much for your time and effort.

- Explain who jeffrey is, im assuming your brother?

- I think you mean "built" not "build"

I think it is strong enough for a 1500 character limit, but if you can think of any better reasons you might want to include them.

1) The middle of your essay does a good job bringing out the way you see engineering. The lack of an 'ah-ha' moment is ok since you seem to develop that your fascination with engineering probably began when you were younger

2) Just a point on the three E's: economic is an adjective and doesn't quite fit in with the surrounding nouns (effectiveness and efficiency).