Mathematics - a Strong Tool to Solve Problems

Mathematics has been my best company all along my life. As the old saying goes, “Interest is the best teacher.” Sun Zi Suanjing, a well-known antique Chinese arithmetic book which included many interesting and classic problems, is the person who first helped generate and cultivate my passion towards mathematics in my life. The one impressed me most was finding the number of chickens and rabbits in a cage according to the number of heads and legs. Every time when I understood how to solve a problem according to the author’s tips or even came up with an idea by myself, the feeling was as amazing as getting a nice toy in the store for a five-year-old kid. Thanks to that book, I realized that mathematics is a strong tool to solve problems in our daily life.

When I was old enough to study physics and chemistry, my awareness of the importance in mathematic applications grew. For instance, in physics we utilized integration to compute the moment of inertial of a cone. In chemistry, we balance very complex equations by finding the least common multiple first. From then on, I felt that mathematics was everywhere – even in some fields that one didn’t expect to find it. After I graduated from high school, I decided to earn some money first in my hometown in Nanchang. I worked at my uncle’s metal factory and helped him in his workshop. During those days I made many acquaintances from the staff in my uncle’s office and saw how the actuary applied knowledge in financial derivatives and quantitative investment research to estimate unknown risks and guarantee profit in the market as well. I thought I was good at dealing with numbers and formulas and applying theoretical knowledge to problems in many situations. So out of curiosity, I started to learn how to analyze trends and forecast the future situation according to historical data on the computer. That interesting experience made me realize that nowadays mathematics has become a very fundamental and basic requirement to achieve success in many positions and convinced me that mathematics was the right major I should pursue in my future academic career.

After I came to America, I went to a community college first and I selected Liberal Arts: Math and Science as my major. Having realized that mathematics is the essential tool, I enrolled in classes such as Statistic, Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Probability. I even finished two Honor General Physics courses and one chemistry course to practice the math knowledge I gained. My natural curiosity drew me to seek more extracurricular opportunities to apply my mathematics skills. For example, after knowing that my Linear Algebra professor likes to analyze the data from NBA website via Python as a way of killing time, I started to learn Python and Matplotlib courses online by myself and now I can handle some cases like transforming the spots where a specific player attempted to make shots into a graph. Also, the internship working as the Financial Director of Seahorse Fitness was a precious experience for me because it provided me a good chance to apply the skills that I gained from my uncle’s factory to solving real-life problems encountered by a firm and gave me a real insight into the causes of possible crisis for running a business from the aspect of mathematics.

Having laid a solid foundation on Mathematics in my current community college, I want to chase a broader stage where I can maximize my strength and talent in mathematics and have access to more opportunities to do researches that encompass the interaction of pure mathematics skills and other sciences. I’ve started to do research about the four-year universities that would fit me long before and found that faculties in Applied Mathematics Program in Cornell University are specialized in various fields. I become super excited every time when I think I can prove Lebron James’s Offensive Rating doesn’t go down as he aged with the help of a professor who works in applied analysis and data science. But what motivates me to the upmost extent is every time when I think I could come up with a fantastic idea one day to perfect my own theory on finding a best soul mate within least attempt times after being a part of some researches focused on probability and stochastic process. Imagine how people will think about a versatile but long-term single mathematician. Pathetic, isn’t it?

To feel Cornell community, I booked a guided walking hour online and drove four hours from Manhattan to Ithaca during last spring break. After exploring the campus and hanging out in Ithaca, I found that unlike most schools, Cornell is in a relatively remote but still fascinating area of New York State. For me, compared with the prosperous New York City, in this quiet and beautiful town, I would more easily stay away from disturbances, stimulate my intellect and let learning become my lifestyle. The grand Uris Library, the melodious music from McGraw Tower and the silent Stewart Avenue Bridge would be my first choice to calm down myself and to...to be off the market.

I am a person who never sperate life and education. Living is a kind of way of learning. In my spared time, piano and basketball are my other two best friends. Music is a mind-body exercise. While practicing fast-paced masterpiece like Minute Waltz, I am required to blend my body and mind, the other way to develop my agility, logic and numerical sensitivity out of class. I cherish every opportunity playing some gentle works like Clair De Lune for the seniors in lots of communities as a volunteer because I enjoy the harmony and peace that music brings to human beings. Leadership has been a fundamental attribute that I have learnt during the days as the captain of our high school basketball team. No matter we won or lost, rose up or went down, we never stopped taking the hustle and hungry toward victory as a team like a group of wolves and battle for our goal. Although sometimes it could be difficult and even impossible at times, I believe the same determination would support me to achieve a higher level of success of mathematics study.

Based on my mathematics background and aptitude, I believe I am a good candidate for the Applied Mathematics Program at Cornell University. I hope to become an asset to the Cornell University: not only devoting my energies to academic research, but also taking part in building a community of belonging where people with glorious diversity feel empowered to engage in building their own self-worth. I am ready to give my utmost enthusiasm, dedication, and resolution.