Personal Statement Essay

My life has changed in so many ways from the Catholic faith. I have been a student at St. John Neumann Catholic School since kindergarten. At such a young age developing my love for the Catholic faith has made me into the person I am. Being able to study my religion every day and share my faith with my school and community means the world to me. SJN has improved my understanding in all subjects in school including English, Literature, Science, Social Studies, Math, Religion, and all the other…

Personal Statment People see me as this quiet, keep to herself person, but really that’s just how I am in class (sometimes). I’m really this loud, creative, curious, focused, determined, and friendly person from a small city. People think I’m quiet in class because, I really try hard to focus on my education as much as possible. Even though my grades don’t always show it. My education is very important to me, I see it as the key to my future. Without education my options are closed off. I can’t…

I was 13 years old when I had my first scientific epiphany. My high school biology class was studying the brain and that day we’d been taught that no new neurons formed during adulthood. I remember reading a copy of MIT's Technology Review magazine that night in my parent's living room. There was a short article about new research on neurogenesis: new neurons formed in some areas of the adult brain. At the time, I was not so much floored by the fact that new neurons formed in adulthood, but that…

As a child, I grew up planning my life out when I had no idea what was really coming on my way; I thought I had my life planned out. I looked out to many people during my educational studies, on how to become a professional educator. However, as I developed throughout my studies I came to learn that being an educator was not what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to focus more in the art of photography when I started listening to different…

The summer before 6th grade, I was introduced to what would become one of the greatest passions I have in life: geology. This realization occurred while I visited the Grand Canyon and Garden of the Gods National Parks in the western United States. Consequently, while I explored these natural wonders, I found I wanted to discover and know the secrets these rocks held about their geological history, their specific formations, and other geological wonders such as the Tibetan Plateau and the Door to…

The University of Chicago's Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Ph.D. Program is an exceptional and prestigious program that will provide me the opportunity to broaden my skills and intellect within biochemical research fields. This top-ranked program is an ideal fit for me as it contains the biological chemistry and biophysical that I aspire to focus on during my graduate studies. I am greatly interested in biochemical pathway elucidation and structure-based drug design by understanding the…

I am currently seventeen years old and am in my senior year of high school. I have work experience from working at my dad’s printing company, Oregon Blue Print, and for being a referee for the North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District Sideout Volleyball program. Some of my skills, gained through working, are that I am able to work in fast paced environments, able to multi-task, and able to work well with others. During my high school years I have developed other skills such as leadership…

I am interested in teaching at Breakthrough as a Teaching Fellow this summer because Breakthrough is where I discovered my passion. Working with the students as a volunteer last summer, and as a teacher during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school-year program, was something I looked forward to every day as I got to know each of our special students. I discovered that working with kids, who often say exactly what they are thinking and choose to find joy and positivity in all aspects of life, was…

As an avid member of my middle school community, I always take any opportunity to lead, encourage and impact my fellow students. Through leadership roles such as school wide sergeant at arms, sergeant at arms of my TSA chapter, and secretary of NEHS as well as participation in activities such as Science Olympiad, Odyssey of the Mind, and X-STEM, I’ve been able to successfully reach my goals by reinforcing teamwork, commitment, and enjoyment. If selected to participate in froshcomm, I guarantee…

I hope to gain an exemplary foundational career experience from the EKU REU program. I was initially attracted to this program because the theme of disturbance ecology complements my own research interests in anthropogenic influence and conservation biology. Through individual research this summer and the research of others, I hope to learn more about the impact of human activity on landscapes, how to approach restoration, and what sustainable and effective scientific study looks like. I am…