Hi everyone! This is my USC supplemental essay and I would appreciate any feedback, opinions, comments, questions, or concerns regarding this matter. I really appreciate this, and I owe you. In return, I will read your essay! Thanks!
1) Engineering leaders do more than just solve technical problems. What kinds of experiences, inside and outside of the classroom, would you want to explore to enhance your studies?
Scientists today have the ability to collaborate with one another, be creative, and take risks together in a non-competitive and supportive way. This concept applies to students as well. I would like to partake in collaborating with the other computer science majors at USC. Since this school is dedicated to nurturing its students to become successful, the education that this school gives is something that I would like to learn.
In order to become successful like the other Viterbi alumnis, the inception of this feat will start inside the classroom. Looking at the courses that USC offers, cryptography and game development have aroused my interest. After watching numerous movies and television shows related to computer technology, I feel like that I should be involved in these courses that is tangential to past entertainment. Terms such as algorithms, shadow drives, encryption/decryption, have begun to sink into me. As for game development, my favorite gaming console is the Xbox 360, where I spend at least 3 hours per week playing games. I have often questioned myself how game designers can create a game that is built upon the majesty of its digital design. With these courses offering to me at USC, I can feel that questions of the unknown will finally be answered in due time.
As for experiences outside of the classroom, I have visualized and fantasized of what I would like to do in the future. I want to be involved in computer science related clubs, the Korean-American organization at USC, and possibly to study abroad in Seoul, South Korea. I know that by becoming involved in organizations that are related to my major is the best course of action. I know that people within these organizations carry the same passion, drive, and possibly the same ethnicity as I do. Hopefully, by becoming their friend, future obstacles will be overcome with teamwork and friendship. Since Seoul is considered to be on the rise of computer technology, studying abroad is the best way to open up my dreams, my aspirations, and my eyes for the future. Not only can I study in Korea, but while I am there, I can also learn more about my culture. This would give me a tremendous opportunity to reconnect lost roots that I had and learn from the best technological minds that are currently teaching in Korean top universities today. By "killing" two birds with one stone, that would be an accomplishment that I would like to achieve outside the classroom.
2) Engineers have sometimes been stereotyped as "nerds" or "geeks." Do you embrace or reject that stereotype? Why?
Although geeks and nerds are often seen as stereotypes because of the way they dress, I believe that engineers can be classified as the same echelon as them. Not because of the way they dress, but because they are intellectuals. The term of a "geek" has been used throughout many school campuses and labels students based on how they dress. But the true, deeper meaning of a geek defines them as a student with intellectual skills. I believe that every student is a geek, but some do not concede to that reality. The fact remains, that when a student receives a degree for their passionate field of study, that degree is proof that they are intellectuals in that field, in other words, a "geek". Why some people do not embrace this stereotype is beyond me. Applying to the Viterbi School of Engineering as a geek will help me interact with other "geeks" and together, we can achieve many through friendship and collaboration through future engineering projects that can benefit this world.
1) Engineering leaders do more than just solve technical problems. What kinds of experiences, inside and outside of the classroom, would you want to explore to enhance your studies?
Scientists today have the ability to collaborate with one another, be creative, and take risks together in a non-competitive and supportive way. This concept applies to students as well. I would like to partake in collaborating with the other computer science majors at USC. Since this school is dedicated to nurturing its students to become successful, the education that this school gives is something that I would like to learn.
In order to become successful like the other Viterbi alumnis, the inception of this feat will start inside the classroom. Looking at the courses that USC offers, cryptography and game development have aroused my interest. After watching numerous movies and television shows related to computer technology, I feel like that I should be involved in these courses that is tangential to past entertainment. Terms such as algorithms, shadow drives, encryption/decryption, have begun to sink into me. As for game development, my favorite gaming console is the Xbox 360, where I spend at least 3 hours per week playing games. I have often questioned myself how game designers can create a game that is built upon the majesty of its digital design. With these courses offering to me at USC, I can feel that questions of the unknown will finally be answered in due time.
As for experiences outside of the classroom, I have visualized and fantasized of what I would like to do in the future. I want to be involved in computer science related clubs, the Korean-American organization at USC, and possibly to study abroad in Seoul, South Korea. I know that by becoming involved in organizations that are related to my major is the best course of action. I know that people within these organizations carry the same passion, drive, and possibly the same ethnicity as I do. Hopefully, by becoming their friend, future obstacles will be overcome with teamwork and friendship. Since Seoul is considered to be on the rise of computer technology, studying abroad is the best way to open up my dreams, my aspirations, and my eyes for the future. Not only can I study in Korea, but while I am there, I can also learn more about my culture. This would give me a tremendous opportunity to reconnect lost roots that I had and learn from the best technological minds that are currently teaching in Korean top universities today. By "killing" two birds with one stone, that would be an accomplishment that I would like to achieve outside the classroom.
2) Engineers have sometimes been stereotyped as "nerds" or "geeks." Do you embrace or reject that stereotype? Why?
Although geeks and nerds are often seen as stereotypes because of the way they dress, I believe that engineers can be classified as the same echelon as them. Not because of the way they dress, but because they are intellectuals. The term of a "geek" has been used throughout many school campuses and labels students based on how they dress. But the true, deeper meaning of a geek defines them as a student with intellectual skills. I believe that every student is a geek, but some do not concede to that reality. The fact remains, that when a student receives a degree for their passionate field of study, that degree is proof that they are intellectuals in that field, in other words, a "geek". Why some people do not embrace this stereotype is beyond me. Applying to the Viterbi School of Engineering as a geek will help me interact with other "geeks" and together, we can achieve many through friendship and collaboration through future engineering projects that can benefit this world.
