My Earthbound Path: College Admission Essay Sample

The chirps of crickets in lush grass, the gurgling of a clear book on a warm summer day, and the eerie whistling of a north wind in the winter all impart to me a different understanding. Nature and the environment have been treasured subjects for me since the days of my youth, when I parked myself in front of the TV to watch marathons of “Amazing Animals”. As I approach the age at which I must choose a career path, I realize that my choice has always been made; I want to pursue the study of the environment, and of its interactions with mankind.

This summer I had an experience which even further affirmed my desire to major in environmental science. I had been chosen by my school to attend the Keystone Policy Summit in Colorado. The purpose of the Summit was for students from across the nation to convene to debate and draft legislation regarding the future of U.S. energy. I had been assigned a stakeholder to research beforehand and to then represent at the Summit, a group determined to ensure that coal was a player in the future of U.S. energy. I was one of a small handful of students given such a “non-green” stakeholder. Over the course of the week, I argued for research funding, tax breaks, and lenient standards for coal companies – ironic, as I considered myself an enemy of any particulate-emitting energy source in the universe! I met stiff opposition from “green” stakeholder-representing students, who argued vociferously against my ideas. The debates escalated in intensity, but I was impressed by the novelty and variety of the ideas proposed. The Summit taught me that while there is no one right way to solve the energy problems we face, the most important tools we have are open minds.

Such energy issues are at the forefront of our principal environmental problems. I consider the environmental issues that plague us, and then I consider what I can do about them. I must know the answers. And that is why I wish to attend the College or Arts and Sciences, as an Environmental Sciences major. It is my earthbound path, as I call it, and hopefully it is a path that I can pursue to great heights.