C, G, Em, D: over and over I strummed these chords on my first acoustic guitar. Every time, the transition between each chord became a little quicker; the sound rang out a little more clearly. It was final exam week of the first semester of my freshman year, and I was trying to take a mental break from studying. By winter break though, these simple chords came together as I learned to play my first songs. I looked up how-to-play...

I was one of six students chosen from my high school to participate in Boeing's High School Internship Program. This was a distinct honor and one that I was excited to experience, even though it meant getting up at 6:30am for eight weeks of my summer! My hope was to work in Boeing's chemistry lab, but I was unexpectedly assigned to their Virtual Manufacturing Lab, otherwise known as the 3D Printing Lab. I thought 3D printing was intriguing, though I...

Macaroni art projects, stacks of ungraded papers, handwritten notes from the tooth fairy, alphabet books, six-string acoustic guitars, Leap Frog learning tablets, world maps on walls, golf clubs and Wii controllers. These are a few random things that have been found strewn about my house throughout the years, sometimes all together, forever part of my childhood world. My parents, both educators, one a preschool teacher, the other inspiring college-age students, valued teachable moments, making my life an academic and spiritual...

My life has been an example of the Law of Conservation of Learning: every learning adventure of my life has been a series of reactions, yet my passion for each subject is retained in each. My first passion was geography. As a four year-old, learning the states and capitals was a game. It soon expanded to mountain ranges, rivers, oceans, and into the rest of the world as I explored the local Library and Internet. My little passion served me...

Hey Future Roomie! We made it (I mean why else would I be writing to you if we didn't?), and I think it would serve us both well if I told you a little about myself before we, you know, share our first quarter together. Unless you don't like me. That would be unfortunate. I love music. I play the guitar, dabble with the piano, and rock the recorder. However, if you hear something that sounds like a trumpet, it's...

It was down to UC Berkeley and Vanderbilt. I was a recipient of the Regents' and Chancellor's Scholarship at Berkeley, and their undergraduate chemical engineering program was one of the strongest in the nation. However, in the...

I would have started way earlier. I turned in some applications the night they were due after spending...

I only interviewed with a professor from UC Berkeley for the Regents' and Chancellor's Scholarship (which I received). My advice to those who have this opportunity is to relax and just be engaged during your interview. There were...

I did not use a private counselor! I was able to get either accepted or...