[Student Profile]
[Prompt & Essay]
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. (650 words)
It was quite unusual to have my mom force me to join her in the kitchen to cook. Being the only child, I was always cocooned by my parents. My mom reported that she was unwell and needed my help in the kitchen since my dad was not in town. I was working through my priorities list, and this cooking experiment felt nowhere near important right before my sophomore fall exams. Reluctantly, I took up this cooking chore. Her requests continued every day of the week, and I tried quite a few different dishes. I felt she was being insensitive to high school’s demands.
That Sunday, while chopping the carrots, I was still thinking about my biology test and accidentally cut my finger. My mom got surprisingly emotional. As she sat me down to wrap my finger, she broke down and shared the frightful news that her recent mammogram test had shown potential evidence for breast cancer. I was utterly distraught. I could see why my mom wanted me to learn cooking. For the first time, I missed having siblings who could share the emotional burden, and more importantly, I realized how ignorant of others’ needs I had become.
I had been focused on final exams, the tennis season, and club commitments; I was looking only at me. I was plastering only my ‘to do’ tasks on post-it notes in my room. I never tried to open my window to see outside my realm. Yes, I was busy, but I should have been able to see beyond my perspective. I was prioritizing my workload, but I needed to include others on my list. I added new colors of post-it notes for the tasks that do not belong to me but still need to be done.
I leaped forward with my cooking, taking over the complete meal prep. I tried to ease my mom’s everyday burdens and give her the extra space needed to handle the emotional stress. I quickly expanded my roles and could now see part of what is required to hold up a household. More importantly, I began to understand how to see from others’ perspectives and read their pains, even when they did not explicitly communicate them. And, I have become a better cook.
Coming into adulthood, I expected the process to be gradual, but this steep challenge required me to rise to the occasion immediately. The biopsy and digital diagnostic mammogram confirmed my mom had normal, benign calcifications, and thankfully, she is healthy now. She will need to continue with her bilateral routine screening mammograms every year, as those calcifications may indicate precancerous changes. And these regular checkups also serve as reminders of my own—not to lose sight of my new roles. My mom’s illness was not an easy challenge to overcome. But I realized that if I remain a child, challenging situations can overrun me. The choice is mine to grow and take control of my life.
My mother’s experience showed me just how invisible battles could be. I understood then that to be the person I wanted to be, I needed to look beyond myself to develop deep empathy. This experience has not only given me the confidence to tackle new challenges in life; it has also given me the sense to recognize the difficulties faced by others.
Visiting assisted living homes and playing piano, board games, or simply serving them helps me find an invisible connection with them and a new ability to stand with others to give them comfort. As a classmate, roommate, friend, I will have many new roles to play, and I am mindful of the responsibilities that come with them. With these newly acquired abilities, I know how to stand with others in their hour of need. Our weakest moments show us our real strengths, and by finding mine, I am ready to guide others to do the same. (650 words)
Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (Respond in 250 words or fewer.)
Sitting in the audience, as a freshman listening to Amyloid-beta proteins causing Alzheimer’s disease, among hundreds of high school seniors at the Bay Area Society of Neuroscience Youth was completely overwhelming. From that day rising to the co-president in three years feels like a long journey.
I demonstrated my passion and inquisitiveness to learn neuroscience by my questions at the end of each presentation. I was noticed and was inducted as a representative, though I was only a freshman. I slowly grew to be a prominent voice in the organization. I invited notable speakers to our events, introduced the idea of a newsletter, and later became a writer and its managing editor. All of my efforts helped engage students and expand our society’s reach.
My initiatives and participation led to my promotion to the core team in my junior year. In my role, I coordinated all school representatives. I shared the responsibilities of organizing the events, reserving spaces for running the shows, alongside eight other core team members. I stepped up to handle the challenges and learned to lead in calm and in chaos.
This year as a chapter co-president, my foundations as a leader have helped me innovate as pandemic forced us to conduct all of our events virtually. In addition to mentoring young students as they develop their presentation skills, I am managing our work as a team of nine core members and over forty school representatives. Together, we inspire a new group of students, sharing our passion, and shaping our community of thinkers and doers. (257 words)
How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom? (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)*
Having completed a translational bioinformatics course and various neuroscience activities, I have good starts and now looking to build on these skills to further strengthen my resolve. I got excited when I saw neurodegeneration, neuroengineering, and stem cell-related research opportunities at Purdue institute for integrative neuroscience. Recently I have added deep learning skills and that has helped me to explore interdisciplinary computational neuroscience. I am thrilled to see all the computational initiatives at Purdue laboratory for computational cognitive neuroscience. I would like to explore multiple facets of neuroscience through Purdue to build my research career on computational neuroscience. (98 words)
Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected. (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)*
Neurodegenerative and pathological alterations because of repeated seizures were the areas I was drawn towards after knowing my close friend has epilepsy. I have been involved in many neuroscience-related activities over the years to understand the scientific basis of these disorders. Since Biology provides the fundamental basis for neuroscience and lays the strong foundations for the future, I would like to major in Biology. As I lean into my discoveries, I find ways to connect my passions, act on my curiosity, and innovate. And in doing so, I might just change the world for a friend. (99 words)
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