Discuss your interest in both engineering and business. How might Penn's coordinated dual-degree M&T Program help you meet your goals? Please be sure to address in some depth the specific nature and extent of your interests in both engineering and business. (400-650 words)
Fifteen years ago, at the age of three and a half, I was already an engineer and an entrepreneur who controlled a massive construction firm. I had built my business from the ground up using just one thing. Blocks.
The present my grandfather gave me on my third birthday changed my life. It was a thousand piece set of playing blocks and although it was just a toy, it kindled in me an interest in engineering and design that has stayed with me to this very day. My models of robots and battle tanks were the envy of my playmates. And it was this that led to my first business experience. One day while I played with my blocks, my mum happened to have a few of her colleagues over. One of them noticed a battle tank that I had built and after observing it, wanted me to make one for her son. In return she promised to buy me another set of blocks. I had just landed my first contract. Soon after neighbors, relatives, friends all wanted my designs and they were ready to pay for it with more blocks. My first business was born. The service I offered was unique and the product needed no marketing or advertising for what better advertising is there than the word of a child.
If there's anything I learned from my entrepreneurial experience as a construction mogul, it's that good business will create more business in itself as long as the product or service offered remains relevant and unique. All projects that I have undertaken since, I have tried to model after my blocks empire.
My next foray into the world of business came in eighth grade when a few of my friends and I took on the mighty school cafeteria and opened a snack shop at school. The food at our school cafeteria was not only bad but also very expensive. With the help of our business studies teacher, who himself hated the school cafeteria; we came up with a sound business model. There were nine of us and we all only got one hour for lunch. We made ourselves into groups of three with each group having one twenty minute shift. That way all of us got to relax a bit and enjoy our lunch. We kept the menu very simple; sandwiches and drinks. Although some might call cooking an art, we made it into a science. There were three stations at our shop; the bread station, the filling station and the cashier who also handled drinks. The snack shop taught me a million things about running a business. It also gave me an opportunity to combine my aptitude for engineering with my passion for business. I discovered that by flattening the back of a spoon with a hammer, toppings could be spread more easily. I learnt that by keeping the drinks in an ice chest instead of a refrigerator, we could save money on electricity and maximize our profits. These rudimentary uses of scientific principles proved to be the backbone of our business. The snack shop proved to be an invaluable learning experience. It made me realize that having a sound process model is essential for any venture to succeed.
Now as an eighteen year old applying to college, I seek to combine these two interests of mine, engineering and business. And one way I can do so is through the M&T program at Penn. As a high school student I have come a long way since playing with blocks and have spent the last year researching and reading into renewable energy sources which are not only environment friendly but also economical. The energy crisis is one of the most severe problems facing society today and solving it needs not only an understanding of science but also an even deeper understanding of economics and business.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS GUYS
THANKS
Fifteen years ago, at the age of three and a half, I was already an engineer and an entrepreneur who controlled a massive construction firm. I had built my business from the ground up using just one thing. Blocks.
The present my grandfather gave me on my third birthday changed my life. It was a thousand piece set of playing blocks and although it was just a toy, it kindled in me an interest in engineering and design that has stayed with me to this very day. My models of robots and battle tanks were the envy of my playmates. And it was this that led to my first business experience. One day while I played with my blocks, my mum happened to have a few of her colleagues over. One of them noticed a battle tank that I had built and after observing it, wanted me to make one for her son. In return she promised to buy me another set of blocks. I had just landed my first contract. Soon after neighbors, relatives, friends all wanted my designs and they were ready to pay for it with more blocks. My first business was born. The service I offered was unique and the product needed no marketing or advertising for what better advertising is there than the word of a child.
If there's anything I learned from my entrepreneurial experience as a construction mogul, it's that good business will create more business in itself as long as the product or service offered remains relevant and unique. All projects that I have undertaken since, I have tried to model after my blocks empire.
My next foray into the world of business came in eighth grade when a few of my friends and I took on the mighty school cafeteria and opened a snack shop at school. The food at our school cafeteria was not only bad but also very expensive. With the help of our business studies teacher, who himself hated the school cafeteria; we came up with a sound business model. There were nine of us and we all only got one hour for lunch. We made ourselves into groups of three with each group having one twenty minute shift. That way all of us got to relax a bit and enjoy our lunch. We kept the menu very simple; sandwiches and drinks. Although some might call cooking an art, we made it into a science. There were three stations at our shop; the bread station, the filling station and the cashier who also handled drinks. The snack shop taught me a million things about running a business. It also gave me an opportunity to combine my aptitude for engineering with my passion for business. I discovered that by flattening the back of a spoon with a hammer, toppings could be spread more easily. I learnt that by keeping the drinks in an ice chest instead of a refrigerator, we could save money on electricity and maximize our profits. These rudimentary uses of scientific principles proved to be the backbone of our business. The snack shop proved to be an invaluable learning experience. It made me realize that having a sound process model is essential for any venture to succeed.
Now as an eighteen year old applying to college, I seek to combine these two interests of mine, engineering and business. And one way I can do so is through the M&T program at Penn. As a high school student I have come a long way since playing with blocks and have spent the last year researching and reading into renewable energy sources which are not only environment friendly but also economical. The energy crisis is one of the most severe problems facing society today and solving it needs not only an understanding of science but also an even deeper understanding of economics and business.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS GUYS
THANKS
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