Empowerly

Student profile

Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?

Over the past two years I have volunteered at my local hospital and learned that my compassion belongs in the healthcare field.              

Even as just a high school volunteer discharging patients, delivering flowers to rooms, and greeting visitors, I had an impact on hospital patients. New moms with their babies asked me to pose for pictures with them. Strangers gave me blessings and celebrated their recovery with me as I escorted them out of the hospital. 

The patients I encountered at [name] Hospital knew I was just a volunteer but chose to thank me and greet me just because I was one of the many people that had helped them during their stay. Whether by greeting them with a warm smile or having a conversation with them as I wheeled them outside the hospital, I had made a difference in their day and made a contribution to their healing process.

I am excited to pursue my passion in biology and medicine at the UC schools, and look forward to my rigorous studies of these subjects in the future. My academic goals at the UC schools are planned in hopes of joining the healthcare system by becoming a physician who can positively impact lives.  From my hospital volunteer experience I learned that compassion is critical to providing good healthcare, and that helping people through difficult times is what I want to do forever.

My determination and clear goals make me a great candidate for the UC schools. I am determined to pursue medicine in the future and will work to this fulfilling, challenging, and complex field. 

Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. 

After weeks of learning about research techniques in my Biotechnology class, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on an agarose gel to visualize the beautiful separation of actual DNA strands done by enzymes I couldn't even see under a microscope.  I mastered the techniques of DNA extraction and gel electrophoresis, then moved on to one of the most challenging experiments: bacterial transformation. 

Despite our teacher’s warning that this experiment was difficult to successfully conduct, my optimism led the way as I anxiously mixed solutions and hoped for blue bacterial colonies through the magic of bacterial transformation. As my face peaked into the foggy barrier of a petri dish, the absence of bright blue colonies shattered my hope for success. My teacher encouraged us to remain optimistic until after the weekend and also make a list of ways we could increase the chances of a successful experiment. 

To my surprise, I opened the class fridge on Monday afternoon to find bright blue specs on the murky base of my petri dish. My teacher literally jumped for joy at the sight of multiple dishes speckled with transformed bacterial colonies. I knew that I had done something remarkable. I managed to successfully cut bacterial DNA and successfully inserted microscopic vector clones into the permeable layer of a bacterial cell. And the proof was right in front of me: colonies of bacteria emitting the color of an enzyme I had encoded into its DNA. 

I appreciated my teacher’s advice about how to conduct meaningful research. “Be patient,” she said, “Remember, research is trial and error at its core and requires one to learn from mistakes at each step.”

I spent this summer learning biotech techniques such as IHC and Western Blotting at an internship at a biotech company specializing in antibody and cancer cell research. I see the potential of biotech and how its real life applications in research can change the lives. My biotechnology course, led me down the path of research and I plan pursue a career filled with discovery, driven by the innovations of people as passionate as I. 

Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

With my hands folded neatly across a portable plastic table, I looked eagerly at a crowd of strangers passing me by. I hoped that they would step closer to read my flyers that presented information about applying to college and graduate school, My nonprofit organization, [name of NFP], founded to provide awareness about the college admissions process to other high schoolers in my Punjabi community, finally had its moment to shine at this community gathering.  But no one seemed interested. 

My family encouraged me to pursue a higher education in the hopes of changing the world though the power of knowledge.  This was not the message my friends from my local Sikh temple had received.. As I grew older, the gap between our academic aspirations and future goals became more striking. While I developed my passions for discovery and innovation, my friends parents discouraged them from focusing on school. 

The untouched flyers haunted me; I felt a sinking feeling of failure. I doubted my ability to help my community.  A priest at the temple pulled up a chair. He asked about my organization and its goals. After my passionate summary of my organization’s goals,he said “Do you realize that people in our Sikh community don’t care about college or education? They end up with blue collar jobs like their parents.”

This brusque remark explained the harsh reality faced by many young people in my community. They end up with low paying laborious jobs because the potential of education is not understood.

I realized that I needed to shift the focus of [name of NFP] to demonstrate the value of higher education to my community. To accomplish this, I am now working to organize events that introduce professionals to young people. Lawyers, doctors, scientists, and engineers, who have reaped the benefits of education and used their careers to better the world, will share their stories. I believe this will encourage and inspire my peers to to consider opportunities provided by academically driven careers. And maybe then, they’ll reach for my flyer at the next community event.