stanford questions

How did you spend your last two summers? (50 word limit.)
I spent my last two summers backpacking in the Rocky Mountains, taking photographs and time-lapses of the skies and stars. Not only this, Ive learned survival skills that rival the hosts of survival reality shows ranging from setting up a tent to creating fire.

Name your favorite books, authors, films, and/or musical artists. On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning by Haruki Murakami. First Position directed by Bess Kargman. Kanye West. Rachmaninoff. What five words best describe you? Lethargic, Inspiring, Peppy, honest, cynical - I really want to put, mershell, michelle, machelle, mitchell, michael What newspapers, magazines, and/or websites do you enjoy? Business Insider. Time Magazine. The Onion. Reddit. What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 word limit.) Understanding that everyone is not equal due to race and class privileges. Microaggressions are dehumanizing and society needs to create an environment where everyone is equal even when discussing race.

What were your favorite events (e.g., performances, exhibits, sporting events, etc.) this past year? (50 word limit.) I have been figure skating for twelve years and just recently, I witnessed the speed skating qualifiers for the Olympics. Watching the speed skaters, with their power and dedication inspired me, even if it was a different sport. I was also extremely jealous of their speedo tights. What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 word limit.) I want to witness the event when the Crystal Palace housed the Great Exhibition of 1851. These inventions and displays are inspiring because they were the culmination of achievements and works including the Koh-i-Noor and first iron-frame for the piano.

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (150 word limit.) [Talk about Rose Park]: lead into it

As a student teacher instructing elementary students, Im constantly bombarded with the craziest questions and I have to be careful with children. Theyre so young, so Im constantly tip-toeing around watching my words before I ruin the rest of their lives with an offhand comment, and one time I was close to ruining a childs dream. Im entering the classroom with a box of fragile equipment and one of my rowdiest students runs up to me and asks me what were doing today. I tell him were going to view our DNA using household items, and he looks up at me and asks, Our DNA? Arent we all the same? I was about to reply with, Yes, we are, but I then realized that this young child needed to realize he isnt the same as others. He did not have the same privileges as non-colored students, and was disrespectful and loud. Before I could reply, my boss and professor interfered and told him the truth. No, he said, You are not the same. Youre different, from your skin, family, and how people look at you. You will always be the underdog. You wont have equal opportunities as other students. His eyes began to water, and my heart collapsed. Working with children from low-income families in the ghettos was already difficult. I wanted them to know the wonders of science and allow them to be interested from a young age. From that day on the child was still rowdy, but something had changed. He had understood what my professor was trying to tell him, and he took advantage of all the opportunities offered to him. I continue to teach him, not only in science, but to prepare him for any obstacles he may face. Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development. (250 word limit.) Last summer, I spent a week in Texas, the award for spending months studying how space shuttles work. After undergoing selections and having physicists review my months of work, concluding that they were passable, I was sent off on my own with only a duffle bag and a wallet. As one does not live life only to pleasure oneself, I travelled to Texas to enjoy a hearty, western lifestyle while also undergoing an internship at the Johnson Space Center. With an organization called NASA sponsoring my trip, my parents were ecstatic to send me off, and arrived. This was where I met them. A team of young, intelligent ladies, each with a twinkle in their eye, a smile tugging at their lips and a mind filled with ideas. One of them, I remember, had an odd gait, arched back and mousy brown hair. As I introduced myself, her eyes would drift past mine, nodding at intervals where I paused. Curious, I glanced behind me. I was keeping her from building the teams rover. As I was about to apologize, she handed me a box of wrenches. Tighten that wheel. This was how I was acquainted with them. No pretenses of etiquette, or prodding questions of classes I had taken. Just me, five other girls, and a robot. For that week I spent hours mechanically tightening gears. We discussed various topics while we worked, some matters as relevant as if using nanotubes would help with the rover to abstractions such as our favorite basketball team. When I offered an proposal, the majority of team members would solidify my

idea. If not, they managed to make me argue their side. Sometimes this would last to four in the morning, carrying our discussion to our hotel rooms The experience of debating my ideas was new. When we combined our thoughts together, we built some sort of thought tugboat and dived into creating said ship. I felt as if I was wading through an ocean of ideas and if I slipped, mine would be washed away. I learned that, although my own idea has some merit, without the influence of others thoughts and works, my idea will never truly be great. I learned the value of accepting other ideas while striving to improve my own. My teammates allowed me to understand that my ideas undergo continuous design processes and may not always work, and this is what I believe true education is - having your own foundation of thought while building upon it through interactions with others. Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate -- and us -know you better. (250 word limit.) Hey, roomie, so Ive been told that I might turn out to be a bit crazy, besides my model student exterior, but there are some things you need to know. First, I may come off as the perfect stereotypical Asian because I plan on bringing my rice cooker and mini ping pong table, and that to know me, you have to respect the shameful truth that I hold my chopsticks incorrectly. Second, I have this incurable love for junk food. The sound of wrapper crinkle as you open it and the sharp whiff of the delectable goodie that may or may not become a catalyst for cancer according to health nuts is hard to resist. However, beyond these quirks, theres this part of me that enjoys building anything. It could be a mini refrigerator or a paper pinata, but Im constantly building. You become the mastermind of what youre building and from there, you can constantly upgrade your information after learning new things that others do. Its exciting, creating something flexible and will constantly improve. This applies to music and cooking, although my concoctions may not be aesthetically pleasing. Dear future roommate, I hope youre a heavy sleeper, otherwise youd ask me for sleeping pills and Id reply, Sure, knock yourself out. In turn, I have knack of sleeping in every nook and cranny imaginable. A cupboard? Im there, curled up snoozing my day away. This would explain why my lanky self was sound asleep in English while our class was watching Dead Poets Society for the umpteenth time. I awoke - quite fatefully- to catch one final line, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life... and not, when I come to die, discover that I had not live. Although I had not been awake for the majority of the 129 minutes, this quote from Thoreau stuck with me. A few weeks later, taking advice from what I think Thoreau said about pursuing happiness, I bought myself a camera and started exploring. I would take pictures of everything: fountains, dogs, hot dogs, my brother, events - even the sky. I would develop them and spread them across my wall, hundreds of photographs interchanging daily, arranged in event-based columns and

chronological rows. My wall became a scrapbook of my memories, the clear push-pins leaving miniscule holes on the white walls. Post it notes and maps littered the floors. Events and appointments cluttered my calendar. Soon my spreadsheet of photos will collapse, neatly stacked in cardboard boxes waiting to be moved to a new home. Then Ill arrive, in my dorm room, meticulously arranging my photos, and leaving space for more rows and columns. Youll enter the room and see a reflection of who I am. Maybe youll ask about the photographs of the raging waterfall I saw during my backpacking trip, the paused moment when I tried crickets thinking they were beef jerky, or the picture of my history teacher riding on a unicycle eating a burger. Youll see the blurry photograph of my friend taking a picture of me holding a screwdriver, running towards my parents saying, Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a drill! Who knows, maybe youll discover that you have a knack for puns, or begin a debate about scorpions tasting better than crickets. Or we may just have nothing in common. It doesnt matter because well have four years at one of the best universities to figure it out. Later gator, Michelle What matters to you, and why? (250 word limit.) expanding framework, challenging professor, food then lead into nourishing body and then into nourishing the mind. There are some things where you can only learn, when you have faced the unknown, whether it may be different species, values or upbringing. Thats why I believe its important that we, as human beings, should appreciate things we take for granted. Appreciate the food that we consume, the animals that provide us with our nutrition, and, in turn, care for them because they allowed us to see the view that we cannot see by ourselves. My body is the pillar of my well-being and even though I have an incurable love for Slim Jim, the sound of the wrapper crinkling as you pull it apart and the sharp whiff of the delectable goodie waiting to be ravished, I try incredibly hard to keep my body in top condition. If my body deteriorates, so does my mentality. I want my mind to be able to appreciate what I digest, and learn. Because I desire to learn about fascinating and abstract subjects thatll feed my intellectual curiosity. Appreciating animals that provide my body with the nutrition to perform at my best is the same as appreciating the education thatll allow me nourish my mind - the education thatll allow me to challenge foreign ideas, take risks, and innovate. Appreciating what nourishes my mind and body is important to me because it allows me to live my life as a human being. Northwestern Statement: What are the unique qualities of Northwestern - and of the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying - that make you want to attend

the University? In what ways do you hope to take advantage of the qualities you have identified? (250 words) In my childhood, my fathers gilded smile held a shadow of shame. He had left his family, his nation, and his pride. His desire to carve out a better life in America, at the cost of abandoning his eight siblings was an aching scar. He pushed me, encouraged me, yet he would frighten me. He would tell stories of how his friends in Vietnam, survivors of the war, were missing limbs and lived theirs as cripples, how they were too poor to afford surgery that would provide them an artificial limb, an opportunity of a new life. These stories haunted me, and nurtured a dream as I grew older. In order to alleviate my fathers guilt, and to help my friends and relatives in Vietnam, I would like to build my own artificial limbs. Northwestern is the chance for me to make this dream come true. Im attracted to its large biomedical program, complete with hands on activities and opportunities to work on a global level. I want to take advantage of this wonderful program, available near the top-notch city of Chicago and immerse myself in research. Northwestern is interdisciplinary, which allows me to utilise my interests in my favorite subjects and integrate into my projects and education under the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering. The diverse student body will allow me to change and open my world. Growing up in Salt Lake City has taught me the importance of the voice of dissent. I want to contribute my differences with others and learn the difference in cultures and backgrounds. This would help me when I go study abroad, pursuing and understanding the extent of my dream. I want to make artificial limbs for everyone, no matter their background. I want to make them affordable, practical and available to those who need them. I want to give others a chance to live, and not to be defined as a cripple. With this dream, I want to prove that a girl from Utah can attend a university as prestigious as Northwestern University and leave with ideas and a blueprint to allow others an equal chance to succeed.

Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1876 on a spirit of exploration and discovery. As a result, students can pursue a multidimensional undergraduate experience both in and outside of the classroom. Given the opportunities at Hopkins, please discuss your current interestsacademic or extracurricular pursuits, personal passions, summer

experiences, etc.and how you will build upon them here. (300-500 Word limit). the truth shall make you free. My stomping ground is Salt Lake City, a place littered with homogeneous individuals and conservative order. Tourists mainly visited three attractions: ski slopes, National Parks, and the Latter Day Saint temple. The people with a confident outlook on life and conservative framework taught me to think in different perspectives. It wasn't from spite that made me think differently, but curiosity I wanted to look past the homogeneity. I wanted to question the ideals that I grew up with and contemplate the foundation that raised me. The truth shall make you free; when I read Johns Hopkins' motto, I couldn't help, but smile. Salt Lake City did not satisfy my appetite. The local universities never sent stressinducing jabs to their applicants concerning an upcoming deadline. I was ecstatic, receiving Johns Hopkins cards in the mail, and noticing that I was treated as an individual. I was a person not a number. Johns Hopkins knew that deadlines were stressful. Their comments helped me relate to their student body. I shared similar interests. That's a major reason of why I want to attend John Hopkins. I'm treated as a human with some quirks and not a body with a price tag. As a high school student, I frequented the local universities. I did labs and participated in research. The environment was splendid. I learned from the individuals that directed the labs and projects, and entertained their opinions and theories. However, the classes I truly wanted to take were unavailable to me. Neuroscience listed only for grad students, preposterous! My take on the truth shall make you free is that you should be able to find what your mind craves. If I crave neuroscience, feed me and do not hinder me. Johns Hopkins is the place where I feel that I can learn subjects that I care about. I could take Computational Neuroscience because its available and not restricted. I could explore the thought processes of a multitude of unique students, and in turn share with them my own opinions and thoughts. I believe Johns Hopkins encourages the uniqueness of individuals, to allow minds to converse without hindrance. I'm eager to attend Johns Hopkins. I love Johns Hopkins' motto, their ideas, facilities, quirky student body and staff. Johns Hopkins is full of adventures and doors of opportunities, and I'm excited to see where my preferences and thoughts can take me. I want to offer my own input and listen to the viewpoints of others from different cultural backgrounds. The saying, the truth shall make you free, touched me and I want to experience more. I want to grow in an environment that encourages my thinking and cringes at the thought of hindering my education and progress. This can only happen at Johns Hopkins. Where "the truth shall make you free" dictates what I value in a human. Beyond our corporeal vessels are our minds that flourish and dictate all on their own. BROWN: Why are you drawn to the area(s) of study you indicated in our Member Section, earlier in this application? If you are undecided or not sure which Brown concentrations match your interests, consider describing more generally the academic topics or modes

of thought that engage you currently. (150 word limit) AREA OF STUDY: ENGINEERING In my childhood, my fathers gilded smile held a shadow of pain. He had left his family, and his nation. His desire to carve out a better life in America, at the cost of abandoning his eight siblings was an aching scar. He pushed me, encouraged me, yet he would frighten me. He would tell stories of how his friends in Vietnam, survivors of the war, were missing limbs and lived theirs as cripples, how they were too poor to afford surgery that would provide them an artificial limb, an opportunity of a new life. These stories haunted me, and nurtured a dream as I grew older. In order to alleviate my fathers guilt, and to help my friends and relatives in Vietnam, I would like to build my own artificial limbs. I want to make artificial limbs for everyone, no matter their background. I want to make them affordable, practical and available to those who need them. I want to give others a chance to live, and not to be defined as a cripple. Tell us where you have lived - and for how long - since you were born; whether you've always lived in the same place, or perhaps in a variety of places. (100 word limit) My stomping ground is Salt Lake City, a place littered with homogenous individuals and conservative order. Tourists mainly visited three attractions: ski slopes, National Parks, and the Latter Day Saint temple. For all of my life, I have lived here in Salt Lake City. I did not attend the same church on Sundays like my peers. I was raised Catholic. Being Vietnamese, leftleaning, and living on the bad side of town did not exactly help camouflage my differences which were as obstinate as my curls. We all exist within communities or groups of various sizes, origins, and purposes; pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you. (150 word limit) As a student teacher instructing elementary students, Im constantly bombarded with the craziest questions and I have to be careful with children. Theyre so young, so Im constantly tip-toeing around watching my words before I ruin the rest of their lives with an offhand comment, and one time I was close to ruining a childs dream. So this is how it went down. Im entering the classroom with a box of fragile equipment and one of my rowdiest students runs up to me and asks me what were doing today. I tell him were going to view our DNA using household items, and he looks up at me and asks, Our DNA? Arent we all the same? I was about to reply with, Yes, we are, but I then realized that this young child needed to realize he isnt the same as others. He did not have the same privileges as non-colored students, and was disrespectful and loud. Before I could reply, my boss and professor interfered and told him the truth. No, he said, You are not the same. Youre different, from your skin, family, and how people look at you. You will always be the underdog. You wont have equal opportunities as other students. His eyes began to water, and my heart collapsed. Working with children from low-income families in the ghettos was already difficult. I wanted them to know the wonders of science and

allow them to be interested from a young age. From that day on the child was still rowdy, but something had changed. He had understood what my professor was trying to tell him, and he took advantage of all the opportunities offered to him. I continue to teach him, not only in science, but to prepare him for any obstacles he may face. Why Brown? (200 word limit) - mention specific stuff Brown, because there are some things where you can only learn, when you have faced the unknown, whether it may be different species, values or upbringing. Thats why I believe its important that we, as human beings, should appreciate things we take in granted. Appreciate the food that we consume, the animals that provide us with our nutrition, and, in turn, care for them because they allowed us to see the view that we cannot see by ourselves. My body is the pillar of my well-being. If my body deteriorates, so does my mentality. Only at Brown will my mind to be able to appreciate what I digest, and learn. I desire to learn about fascinating and abstract subjects thatll feed my intellectual curiosity. Appreciating animals that provide my body with the nutrition to perform at my best is the same as appreciating the education thatll allow me nourish my mind - the education thatll allow me to challenge foreign ideas, take risks, and innovate. Applying to Brown, I want to allow people to appreciate their opportunities and find acceptance confidence that I had struggled to find and nourish.

2. What experiences beyond school work have broadened your interest? Last summer, I spent a week in Texas, the award for spending months studying how space shuttles work. After undergoing selections and having physicists review my months of work, concluding that they were passable, I was sent off on my own with only a duffle bag and a wallet. As one does not live life only to pleasure oneself, I travelled to Texas to enjoy a hearty, western lifestyle while also undergoing an internship at the Johnson Space Center. With an organization called NASA sponsoring my trip, my parents were ecstatic to send me off, and arrived. This was where I met them. A team of young, intelligent ladies, each with a twinkle in their eye, a smile tugging at their lips and a mind filled with ideas. One of them, I remember, had an odd gait, arched back and mousy brown hair. As I introduced myself, her eyes would drift past mine, nodding at intervals where I paused. Curious, I glanced behind me. I was keeping her from building the teams rover. As I was about to apologize, she handed me a box of wrenches. Tighten that wheel. This was how I was acquainted with them. No pretenses of etiquette, or prodding questions of classes I had taken. Just me, five other girls, and a robot. For that week I spent hours mechanically tightening gears. We discussed various topics while we worked, some matters as relevant as if using nanotubes would help with the rover to abstractions such as our favorite basketball team. When I offered an proposal, the majority of team members would solidify my

idea. If not, they managed to make me argue their side. Sometimes this would last to four in the morning, carrying our discussion to our hotel rooms The experience of debating my ideas was new. When we combined our thoughts together, we built some sort of thought tugboat and dived into creating said ship. I felt as if I was wading through an ocean of ideas and if I slipped, mine would be washed away. I learned that, although my own idea has some merit, without the influence of others thoughts and works, my idea will never truly be great. I learned the value of accepting other ideas while striving to improve my own. My teammates allowed me to understand that my ideas undergo continuous design processes and may not always work, and this is what I believe true education is - having your own foundation of thought while building upon it through interactions with others. DUKE UNIVERSITY If you are applying to the Pratt School of Engineering as either a first year or transfer applicant, please discuss why you want to study engineering and why you would like to study at Duke. (Please limit your response to no more than 150 words.) In my childhood, my fathers gilded smile held a shadow of pain. He had left his family, and his nation. His desire to carve out a better life in America, at the cost of abandoning his eight siblings was an aching scar. He pushed me, encouraged me, yet he would frighten me. He would tell stories of how his friends in Vietnam, survivors of the war, were missing limbs and lived theirs as cripples, how they were too poor to afford surgery that would provide them an artificial limb, an opportunity of a new life. These stories haunted me, and nurtured a dream as I grew older. In order to alleviate my fathers guilt, and to help my friends and relatives in Vietnam, I would like to build my own artificial limbs. I want to make artificial limbs for everyone, no matter their background. I want to make them affordable, practical and available to those who need them. I want to give others a chance to live, and not to be defined as a cripple. [50 words talk about duke, and maybe string throughout] Please discuss one of your extracurricular activities that has required a particularly significant time commitment or that has played a meaningful role in your personal development. (Please limit your response to no more than 150 words.) As a student teacher instructing elementary students, Im constantly bombarded with the craziest questions and I have to be careful with children. Theyre so young, so Im constantly tip-toeing around watching my words before I ruin the rest of their lives with an offhand comment, and one time I was close to ruining a childs dream. Im entering the classroom with a box of fragile equipment and one of my rowdiest students runs up to me and asks me what were doing today. I tell him were going to view our DNA using household items, and he looks up at me and asks, Our DNA? Arent we all the same? I was about to reply with, Yes, we are, but I then realized that this young child needed to realize he isnt the same as others. He did not have the

same privileges as non-colored students, and was disrespectful and loud. Before I could reply, my boss and professor interfered and told him the truth. No, he said, You are not the same. Youre different, from your skin, family, and how people look at you. You will always be the underdog. You wont have equal opportunities as other students. His eyes began to water, and my heart collapsed. Working with children from low-income families in the ghettos was already difficult. I wanted them to know the wonders of science and allow them to be interested from a young age. From that day on the child was still rowdy, but something had changed. He had understood what my professor was trying to tell him, and he took advantage of all the opportunities offered to him. I continue to teach him, not only in science, but to prepare him for any obstacles he may face. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Please tell us what you find most appealing about Columbia and why. (300 words or less) Columbia, because I wish to pursue the arts and knowledge, not a job. Because I want to become a lion, a person of pride possessing stature, strength and leadership ability. I want my independence as a lion and direct my destiny outside the formulas leading to a stable career. With a lion as a mascot, Ive wondered where is Columbia Universitys pride. It could be the outstanding academic achievements, renowned location, or community itself, but I realized its more than just that. Columbia University has the Fu Foundation School of Engineering that grants partnerships with its community. Its symbiotic with the community itself and the commitment Columbia shows, dedicated in creating a wellrounded student body with the CORE curriculum and infamous swimming test. Im drawn to this commitment, in knowing that the students here are not only top scholars, but well rounded people. Columbia is appealing because I want to inspire others like me who read Salinger and Satre in their free time, habiting coffee shops and libraries, striking conversations with strangers about the arts and sciences. I want to listen to their voice and let them share the confidence that I had struggled to find. Columbia has a community of bright, passionate individuals, utilising the finest academic resources within the greatest city in the world. This is a pride of outstanding human beings and one day I want to be one of them.

For applicants to The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or

personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. (300 words or less) In my childhood, my fathers gilded smile held a shadow of pain. He had left his family, and his nation. His desire to carve out a better life in America, at the cost of abandoning his eight siblings was an aching scar. He pushed me, encouraged me, yet he would frighten me. He would tell stories of how his friends in Vietnam, survivors of the war, were missing limbs and lived theirs as cripples, how they were too poor to afford surgery that would provide them an artificial limb, an opportunity of a new life. These stories haunted me, and nurtured a dream as I grew older. In order to alleviate my fathers guilt, and to help my friends and relatives in Vietnam, I would like to build my own artificial limbs. I want to make artificial limbs for everyone, no matter their background. I want to make them affordable, practical and available to those who need them. I want to give others a chance to live, and not to be defined as a cripple. Please tell us what you found meaningful about one of the above mentioned books, publications or cultural events. (300 words or less) I wish I was the brain of Haruki Murakami. Not because I would enjoy the sensation of being a buttery grey electric lump, but because I want to understand what goes inside this authors head. I want to travel his neurological pathways, and deconstruct every layer of his consciousness.
The first story I read of his was unbearably brief and bittersweet, On Seeing The 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning. A person expecting a browsing reader to finish the title is brave. In my mind, I envisioned his thought process. First, Ill rewrite the title, thatll hook people. Next, Ill come off as rude, and make them cringe. No one would like to be thought of like this. This would be the type of person who says, the truth is, youre not that good-looking, which is exactly what the narrator does. The horror. Still, I had finally found an author that was frank with

his characters. There was no Mary-Sue type. Murakami portrayed the reality without restrictions. There was no idealism. He didnt sugarcoat the narrators thoughts, but penned them down into broken chunks and ideas. It was a fluid list of observations, similar to fleeting thoughts that invaded human minds. This was different than other literary works. His voice was gentle, yet frank and I could never recall a tale where it didnt deliver chills. As the story wore on, I began feeling sorry for the person they were conversing about. The sparse dialogue sparked spurts of pity. Good-looking? Not really. It was painful to continue. However, Murakami has this charm that made me want to continue. His frankness enchanted me. I could never predict what would win his cynicism or anticipate what was planned next. Sometimes I would catch my breath, afraid of his next thoughts. Maybe the narrators

thoughts were too superficial. Maybe I had to take this all in stride and not get caught on the offhand insults. Becoming the brain of Murakami would have been enlightening. I wanted to view the events that he parodied in his works. I wanted to know whether this story was a fleeting thought of inspiration or a buried regret that lingered among his consciousness. Then the storytelling began. The narration the rude narrator told was his. The whimsical longing of what could have been. In the characters eyes, the girl may have been plain, but this narrator knew, Murakami knew. Once the narrator said this person was the 100% girl for him, the rude remarks flew from your mind. They remained, like echoes, but the focus shifted to the miracle of meeting this plain, offhand woman. In an instant, Murakami managed to make me view the narrator favorably. It was lovely. His rivers of letters would travel across genres and made me ache. I wanted to travel through his waves and crests. I felt the narrators wishes. Murakami created a window of what could have been, and then ended with, A sad story, dont you think? MIT - ESSAYS 250 WORDS Please tell us more about your cultural background and identity in the space below (100 word limit). If you need more than 100 words, please use the Optional section on Part 2. I came from boat people, descendents of Vietnamese civilians fleeing their homeland from the turmoil of war. The tragedies that trailed my parents steps following the destruction of the Vietnam War never touched me. The tale of my father witnessing the rotting corpse of his dear friend, the stench and image of the mangled flesh and wriggling maggots burned into his memory frightened me. For all of my life, I have lived here in Salt Lake City and marginalized. Tourists mainly visited three attractions: ski slopes, National Parks, and the Latter Day Saint temple. I did not attend the same church on Sundays like my peers. I was raised Catholic. Being Vietnamese, left-leaning, and living on the bad side of town did not exactly help camouflage my differences which were as obstinate as my curls. This dissent is amplified if youre a minority, and if my identity stands out so strongly against this predominantly white, bourgeois backdrop, my voice and ideas are just as loud.

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. (100 words) My grip tightens on the drumsticks, muscles contracting as I raise my arm and strike downwards, the cowhide reverberating as the tip makes contact. The odaiko thunders as it vibrates and the more I flick my wrist, allowing gravity to do the rest of the work, the more I feel a sense of relaxation. The variables of striking an odaiko is within my control, there are no extraneous factors and the pleasure of this break, of a simple motion, bordering only on reflex lets me immerse myself in a paradise of rhythms.

Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why? (100 Words) My top interests include robotics, bioengineering and aeronautics. Mapping the stars, and designing blueprints for robotic limbs consumes the majority of my free time, and is something I wish to pursue at the Biomedical department at MIT. I would love to do research at the Whitehead Institute, working with diseases such as cancer. I help out at a lab that researches intervaginal rings that releases a drug to prevent HIV. This is something I want to pursue at MIT to further my interests in disease prevention and blueprinting robots. What attribute of your personality are you most proud of, and how has it impacted your life so far? This could be your creativity, effective leadership, sense of humor, integrity, or anything else youd like to tell us about. (250 words) I bought myself a camera and started exploring. I would take pictures of everything: fountains, dogs, hot dogs, my brother, events - even the sky. I would develop them and spread them across my wall, hundreds of photographs interchanging daily, arranged in event-based columns and chronological rows. My wall became a scrapbook of my memories, the clear push-pins leaving miniscule holes on the white walls. Post it notes and maps littered the floors. Events and appointments cluttered my calendar. Soon my spreadsheet of photos will collapse, neatly stacked in cardboard boxes waiting to be moved to a new home. Then Ill arrive, in my dorm room, meticulously arranging my photos, and leaving space for more rows and columns. Youll enter the room and see a reflection of who I am. Maybe youll ask about the photographs of the raging waterfall I saw during my backpacking trip, the paused moment when I tried crickets thinking they were beef jerky, or the picture of my history teacher riding on a unicycle eating a burger. Youll see the blurry photograph of my friend taking a picture of me holding a screwdriver, running towards my parents saying, Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a drill! Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations? (250 words) 12c) In my childhood, my fathers gilded smile held a shadow of pain. He had left his family, and his nation. His desire to carve out a better life in America, at the cost of abandoning his eight siblings was an aching scar. He pushed me, encouraged me, yet he would frighten me. He would tell stories of how his friends in Vietnam, survivors of the war, were missing limbs and lived theirs as cripples, how they were too poor to afford surgery that would provide them an artificial

limb, an opportunity of a new life. These stories haunted me, and nurtured a dream as I grew older. In order to alleviate my fathers guilt, and to help my friends and relatives in Vietnam, I would like to build my own artificial limbs. I want to make artificial limbs for everyone, no matter their background. I want to make them affordable, practical and available to those who need them. I want to give others a chance to live, and not to be defined as a cripple. -maybe add this inImagine a petite little girl, around the age of six, sporting a dark pudding bowl haircut and sharp coal eyes. This girl walked into a room where the only color that differed from creamy white was a rich caramel brown. She was a distant traveler, ignorant of the common practices. She was viewed as a visitor, not yet one of the students and an alien. The piercing eyes that judged how she walked, dressed, and talked never left her. They bore into her back, noting her mannerisms and reactions. It was I , an outsider and the stares were unrelenting. I remember when we first began our discussion with others. How late did you stay up?' and what did you do for fun during the weekend?' were a few of the general questions. The comments now seem normal and innocent, but back then they were a window into a different life. Going to the movie theater or playing in the park were fanciful wisps of longing. The others differed from me and couldnt realize the small gems in their everyday lives. Tell us about the most significant challenge youve faced or something important that didnt go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? (250 words) As a student teacher instructing elementary students, Im constantly bombarded with the craziest questions and I have to be careful with children. Theyre so young, so Im constantly tip-toeing around watching my words before I ruin the rest of their lives with an offhand comment, and one time I was close to ruining a childs dream. Im entering the classroom with a box of fragile equipment and one of my rowdiest students runs up to me and asks me what were doing today. I tell him were going to view our DNA using household items, and he looks up at me and asks, Our DNA? Arent we all the same? I was about to reply with, Yes, we are, but I then realized that this young child needed to realize he isnt the same as others. He did not have the same privileges as non-colored students, and was disrespectful and loud. Before I could reply, my boss and professor interfered and told him the truth. No, he said, You are not the same. Youre different, from your skin, family, and how people look at you. You will always be the underdog. You wont have equal opportunities as other students. His eyes began to water, and my heart collapsed. Working with children from low-income families in the ghettos was already difficult. I wanted them to know the wonders of science and allow them to be interested from a young age. From that day on the child was still rowdy, but something had changed. He had understood what my professor was trying to tell him, and he took advantage of all the opportunities offered to him. I continue to teach him, not only in science, but to prepare him for any obstacles he may face.

My grip tightens on the drumsticks, muscles contracting as I raise my arm and strike downwards, the cowhide reverberating as the tip makes contact. The odaiko thunders as it vibrates and the more I flick my wrist, allowing gravity to do the rest of the work, the more I feel a sense of relaxation. The variables of striking an odaiko is within my control, there are no extraneous factors and the pleasure of this break, of a simple motion, bordering only on reflex lets me immerse myself in a paradise of rhythms. This is a moment where its only me, and me alone. The sound resonates within me, the beat of the drum and deep rumbling act as my core. I love this time of day, where I frequent a Japanese church at the heart of Salt Lake City, where everything around me is in a state of serenity. The pressure and expectation disappears from my shoulder with each strike, each sound boom. As I frantically scurry around for the majority of the week, this one day where I meld into the backdrop beating drums is a niche. Its a sliver of sound that acts as my escape. Im entering the classroom with a box of fragile equipment and one of my students runs up to me and asks me what were doing today. I tell him were going to view our DNA using household items, and he looks up at me and asks, Our DNA? Arent we all the same? I was about to reply with, No, but were all human, but then I felt that this young child needed to realize he wasnt the same as others. He was treated with apprehension, his behavior warranted suspensions, and his teachers gave up on him. They said he was different. He, as a child of color, had less privileges than a caucasian student. As a student teacher, I felt uncertain of whether or not I should explain this complex reality to a child. Before I could reply, my professor interfered and told him the truth. No, my professor said, You are not the same. You think youre the same as your white friends? Well, youre not, youre Latino. Everyone will judge you; always. The childs eyes began to water. When I heard this, I learned that maybe the child had always known the truth, but could never pinpoint what it was. It was an elusive presque vu, the thought of his never being directly addressed.

I hope youre a heavy sleeper, otherwise youd ask me for sleeping pills and Id reply, Sure, knock yourself out. In turn, I have knack of sleeping in every nook and cranny imaginable. A cupboard? Im there, curled up snoozing my day away. This would explain why my lanky self

was sound asleep in English while our class was watching Dead Poets Society for the umpteenth time. I awoke - quite fatefully- to catch one final line, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life... and not, when I come to die, discover that I had not live. Although I had not been awake for the majority of the 129 minutes, this quote from Thoreau stuck with me. A few weeks later, taking advice from what I think Thoreau said about pursuing happiness, I bought myself a camera and started exploring. I would take pictures of everything: fountains, dogs, hot dogs, my brother, events - even the sky. I would develop them and spread them across my wall, hundreds of photographs interchanging daily, arranged in event-based columns and chronological rows. My wall became a scrapbook of my memories, the clear push-pins leaving miniscule holes on the white walls. Post it notes and maps littered the floors. Events and appointments cluttered my calendar. Soon my spreadsheet of photos will collapse, neatly stacked in cardboard boxes waiting to be moved to a new home. Then Ill arrive, in my dorm room, meticulously arranging my photos, and leaving space for more rows and columns. Youll enter the room and see a reflection of who I am. Maybe youll ask about the photographs of the raging waterfall I saw during my backpacking trip, the paused moment when I tried crickets thinking they were beef jerky, or the picture of my history teacher riding on a unicycle eating a burger. Youll see the blurry photograph of my friend taking a picture of me holding a screwdriver, running towards my parents saying, Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a drill!