[Student Profile]
[Prompt & Essay]
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Growing up, I often stole away into my father’s study as I marveled at the coffee stained mechanical diagrams and laptops that were partially opened. They say curiosity ignites with a spark, and on a November day in 2014 that’s exactly what happened. My parents came home to a room engulfed in a thin layer of smoke which, fortunately, only left a small char on the carpet. Amidst it all, I proudly wore a smile and held up a half-opened computer. Using an electrical soldering iron and my mother’s tweezers, I cautiously undertook the refurbishment of one of his old PC’s. I anxiously assembled the wires to install a new screen, RAM, and fan. After what felt like 40 hours, I had successfully constructed a self-proclaimed masterpiece.
Despite almost burning my house down by forgetting to unplug the soldering iron and receiving many scoldings to come, this event had solidified my fascination for computer science. I was then determined to seek and grasp every opportunity I could to further my knowledge and satisfy this newfound curiosity.
In middle school, I immersed myself in virtually every computer-related activity I could find, from taking computer science electives to filling my time producing robots and code. To retain intriguing concepts fresh in my head throughout summer, I willingly TAed for several classes related to computers. I set up a Technical Help Desk for teachers with technology problems in 8th grade where my assembled team tackled more than 80 problems a semester. After being awarded both the Computer Department and Saratoga Lions Service Award in 8th grade, I knew I had the capabilities to transform my passions and effectively impact my community. It was simply not service at that point, but the most meaningful and purposeful way I could showcase my work and potential.
After moving districts in 9th grade, I was disheartened to see that there weren't nearly as many opportunities or classes in the field I claimed as my own. Only a lucky few were given a chance to engage in engineering classes while the rest were left to explore without guidance. I saw in them what I saw in me: potential. In a surge of urgency, I set out to volunteer and create institutions dedicated to providing everyone with the platform to be exposed to this vast field. I created curriculums, conducted labs, and reached out to multiple schools to provide these students with every possible opportunity I managed to muster. Exposing students to a world beyond the basics, I collaborated with STEM teachers in various middle schools in fusing my engineering curriculums with their lessons. I contacted professors and students from local universities who came and advised the youth with their stories and advice, an opportunity I so desperately yearned for in middle school. My notebooks served as memoirs of what I deeply strived to explore, serving as my inspiration as I crafted them into lessons and gave students a chance to fulfill their aspirations. I was determined to provide to students what I so critically craved at their age.
As I soon embarked into adulthood, I reached a crucial understanding that, to me, my curiosity serves as only part of the equation. The other was finding a way to inspire and serve a community that had once done so much to shape who I proudly am today. Even though there is much remaining to be done, I do not doubt the influence of my work nor would I rather trade those long hours of preparing labs or creating programs with anything else. It has become a part of who I am, and it will remain so for years to come.
That unexpected spark from the soldering iron so long ago became a catalyst for my boundless love and devotion to this field.