Student profile
Personal Essay
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
7:16am. The train rolled into Tustin station. It was my ride to this summer's research work at City of Hope, a cancer research center and hospital just outside of Los Angeles. Initially, the prospect of getting up early every morning to commute four hours round trip on public transportation with strangers made my sheltered, suburban self nervous. Despite my inhibitions, I made this commute a ritual for ten weeks—a decision that helped me appreciate the spectrum of possibilities in every person.
My train journey showcased a slice of America I had never experienced before: daily commuters precisely following their routines, travelers from around the world speaking in different languages, anxious family members taking their sick ones to hospitals—every ride had something unique to observe. I felt the urge to share a dialogue with this exhilarating world.
"¿Este tren va a Anaheim?"
A young Argentine woman on a backpacking world tour with her boyfriend asked me if the train would stop at Anaheim station. I responded, "Sí, llega después de la estación de Fullerton"—Yes, it comes after the Fullerton station. This was my first real world full conversation in Spanish. I opened Google translate on my phone to aid me (read: save me!) as we excitedly continued our conversation. We discussed how travel changes our perspectives
by allowing us to interact with wildly different people. I imagined myself in their place, learning to play panpipes from a Peruvian homeless person or enjoying a meal with an Inuit family. I thought about how my own travels to many countries across the world, climbing 268 steps to Big Buddha in Hong Kong or walking through labyrinthine living interiors of old forts in India, allowed me to connect with the local cultures. I felt a bond in our adventurous spirit and mutual respect as curious explorers who go beyond the superficial and appreciate the indigenous. By overcoming our differences in languages and appearances, we became global citizens.
A few days later, I met an older lady who used to be a medical practitioner but became a teacher so she could raise her 8 children, all of whom became doctors! My interaction with her offered a glimpse into a mother's motivation to sacrifice her own career ambitions to secure her children's future. I felt overwhelmed with an appreciation for everything my own parents do for me. I remembered my mother choosing to forego a business trip to attend my piano concert. My father would never miss driving me to all my basketball games. With this feeling of gratitude, I pledged to take care of my parents at any cost, whenever needed.
It was July 5th. Seats were empty due to extended holiday celebrations. A middle-aged man came on-board with his young son latching on to him. I looked up from the pages of Future of Capitalism to greet them with a "hi." After we exchanged a few pleasantries, the unexpected happened: he suddenly offered me some marijuana. Startled, I quickly declined. However, taking a leaf out of the Paul Collier book I was reading, I deliberately avoided getting uptight and instead continued with our conversation. I learned that he leads a fast-paced lifestyle as a Hollywood studio technician. We discussed the influence of streaming media on entertainment. I was impressed with his intellectual depth in analyzing popular shows and their perceived contribution to our life. My interest went up for this profession I had known so little about. Once I accepted his social mannerisms, I could see the stimulating, logical mind behind his unconventional persona.
The colorful experiences during my train rides transformed my attitude towards society. I learned, through the lenses of empathy and wonder, that people are molded differently by their circumstances and driven by their goals; and I gained an appreciation for the human spirit-often idiosyncratic, inspirational and surprising.
As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three.
Biomedical Engineering
Computer Science and Mathematics
Computer Science
Why do these areas appeal to you?
Competing on the stage in a Mathcounts Countdown round, qualifying for AIME, teaching math to underserved communities around me—math has been the common denominator of most of my activities. When I was introduced to research, I discovered computer science as a tool to apply math to real life. I was delighted to witness my Python program predict the progression of cancer based on a system of differential equations that I developed. Since then, I've been fascinated with math and computer science and their applications into the inner workings of the human body. Biomedical engineering brings all these interests together.
Additional Questions
Why Yale
"We have a Hopper", the Dean of the Grace Hopper residential college greeted Jacob, our amusing campus guide, who described how he immediately felt welcome on his first day at Yale. This sense of belonging stood out for me as I interacted with many students during my Yale visit. I also sat in Professor John Hall's class on Mathematical Models in Bioscience, who kindly took the time to discuss my related research interests and Yale's unique programs like the First Year Summer Research Fellowship. Another Yale distinction that attracts me is the close industry collaboration through O?ce of Cooperative Research. Finally, the student organizations like YHack, Yale Effective Altruism, Yale Piano Collective, and numerous cultural organizations provide extracurricular outlets.
1.What inspires you?
Reflecting on everyday events--meeting new people, debating with my dad whether teenagers are more entitled nowadays than a generation back, watching Lebron James continue playing with injured eyes, or reading about Nobel prize announcements.
Yale’s residential colleges regularly host conversations with guests representing a
wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would
you invite to speak? What question would you ask?
Galileo Galilei--convicted of heresy for believing that Earth revolves around the Sun.
"What convinced you to believe so radically in your own findings to go against the
prevalent scientific and religious beliefs?"
You are teaching a Yale course. What is it called?
"Predicting human evolution: Mathematical modeling of the past, present, and future"--
evaluate empirical data from significant evolutionary events and analyze genome
development over this time. Final assignment: "How will knowing the future affect the
present?"
4. Most first-year Yale students live in suites of four to six people. What do you hope to add to your suitemates' experience? What do you hope they will add to yours?
Let's jam to Eminem's Kamikaze + Beethoven's Tempest mix, play basketball at midnight, eat at Korean BBQ, and watch John Oliver in a loop. I'd love your constructive arguments, thought-provoking ideas, friendship, and being my confidants.
Chosen essay
Prompt1
"Ommmm"
I heard this deep, haunting chant at the end of each Sanskrit verse blaring over the loudspeaker. I was in Kolkata, India, enjoying the annual festivities celebrating the victory of Goddess Durga over the plundering demon king.
I felt one with the sea of humanity in front of me—men and women, rich and poor, young and old—celebrating a social institution in a combined effort to preserve our Bengali culture. Over the ten days of celebration, I bent to the ground hundreds of times, touching the feet of elders and asking for their blessings. My family also hosted panktibhoj, a communal gathering where we cooked and served food for people, familiar or unknown. I realized that my roots were among these rituals, beliefs, icons, and traditions.
I felt an unexpected emotional bond with my five-thousand-year-old cultural heritage, which came alive to shape my identity. I became more aware of my unique background which encourages me to respect others and give back.
My life in California is a confluence of eastern values and my upbringing among western culture: meeting people from different countries; tasting international cuisines that don't seem exotic any more; helping underprivileged children at the Santa Ana Math Club build aspirational desires through education; serving food at the local Hindu temple to attendees from all walks of life, reminding me of the panktibhoj ceremony.
As an ambassador of my Bengali heritage and an exponent of diversity, I look forward to embrace the cultural immersion on the Yale campus.
Engineering Essay
At Yale, I'd like to pursue the Biomedical Engineering (BME) major because of its many potential applications in healthcare.
My early fascination with math formed the foundation of my eventual interest in engineering. Over the last three years through my ongoing research predicting cancer progression using mathematical and computational modeling, I've realized that the human body is both a scientific and engineering marvel. This year at City of Hope, while modeling how reaction diffusion processes act differently in different tissues, I also came across the da Vinci robotic surgical system. This sparked my interest in developing embedded systems in biomedical devices so that software algorithms can be instrumentalized into working gadgets.
At Yale, the BME major provides a unique collaboration opportunity between Engineering, Sciences, and Medicine, with the Senior Project showcasing this approach while solving a human health issue. The cross-disciplinary research initiative at the Physical and Engineering Biology—understanding how human behavior emerges from numerous decision events within biological systems—fascinates me. The various undergrad research areas like drug delivery, imaging, molecular motors, and neural circuits particularly interest me. The possibility of working at Dr Fan's lab on developing a microchip platform for cancer diagnosis or at Dr. Saltzman's lab researching effective drug delivery mechanisms through projects like the "Nanomaterials for convection-enhanced delivery of agents to treat brain tumors", would enhance my research experience. The Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology provides another unique opportunity to combine my fascination for building medical devices with entrepreneurship.
At Yale, my ultimate goal is to design in-vivo devices to take proactive measures against diseases like glioblastoma, with neural-network-based algorithms as the core controlling system. Equipped with the all-round knowledge that I'd receive, if accepted as a Yale BME major, I look forward to a future career as a biotech engineer-entrepreneur.