Finding Solutions to World’s Issues: College Admission Essay

My fingers move smoothly from one key to another, making a catchy, repetitive beat; however, glaring at the screen, all I could see were letters appearing and disappearing a moment later, while being ridiculed by the question on the top of the screen. It was way past the time I usually go to bed, but there is something about these coding challenges that makes me lose track of time, that motivates to keep trying although it seems impossible, that makes me want to stay up all night to crack them.

Whether staying up all night to solve the gripping coding challenges, spending my weekends with my LEGO and K’NEX kits to build something new, staying up all night to crack an Array-3 CodingBat problem or an AP Computer Science free response question, using my spare time to learn new development languages, building mobile applications with my twin brother, or successfully programming an experimental satellite to run in the International Space Station, my journey building and programming, though bumpy at times with the constant error and exception handling, has always had me brimming with excitement.

Proudly representing the school robotics club as its president, my experience in robotics has been a great learning experience. Participating in the Zero Robotics Tournament last year in which we had to code an experimental satellite to avoid space debris and bring a damaged satellite back to safety and participating in the FIRST Global Challenge this year in which we had to build and program a robot that can collect pollutants from the ocean and place them in either the processing barge, which has three levels – recovery, recycle, reuse – or the reduction processing hubs, I have realized the machines we create can make a difference in the world. There is definitely several pressing issues in our world such as unaffordable healthcare, pollution, expensive energy sources, irremediable diseases, and the list goes on. These issues can be solved by engineers – engineers who have a vision, engineers who have the required knowledge to eradicate these issues, engineers who can collaborate with people in other disciplines, engineers who have the dream to make the world a better place. I would like to be that kind of engineer and what better way to that than majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Cornell College of Engineering.

Electrical and Computer Engineering’s wide application in the world makes it an ideal major to acquire the necessary knowledge to help find a solution to issues in the world. Cornell’s program stands out from the others because it not only provides exceptional education but also provides an opportunity to work in interdisciplinary groups given its interdisciplinary structure. It is crucial to be able to collaborate with students in different disciplines when tackling an issue because it helps having different perspectives and help achieve a goal more effectively.

Being involved in community service throughout my life, my ultimate goal in the future is to use my knowledge in technology to positively impact the world. While developing apps for our MUN conference and for our school was my own little way of effecting positive change within my community through technology and a start to my goal, I would like to further build on this aspiration of mine through Cornell’s Design and Tech Initiative. Moreover, I would love to continue pursuing my interest in robotics by becoming a member of Cornell’s famed robotics student organization, Cornell Cup Robotics.

Seeing the innovation taking place in the field of technology right now has made me eager to work for a technology company and contribute to this innovation, and having work-experiences prior to it will enable me to achieve this dream of mine much earlier, providing me with the opportunity to attain both a practical and theoretical understanding of my field of interest. This is only possible through the Cornell Engineering Co-Op Program and with the help of Cornell Engineering Career Center.

It would be a dream come true to study Electrical and Computer Engineering as a proud Cornellian.