Essay A: (250-650)

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Sewing, knitting and crocheting are girly and maybe old lady-ish, something teenagers get made fun of for and something I wouldn’t trade for the world. It has been a huge part of my family and all of the women in my family have made many blankets and articles of clothing. There is nothing like going to bed wrapped up in quilt you know your mother has made just for you, having spent hours of time sewing it together, quilting it, and then hand sewing on the binding. My mom taught me how to do it when I was young and showed me the magic that comes when you start to create.

It may seem like a simple thing to be able to sew and knit, but it is much more than what people think. One reason is how it has affected my family and my relationships with my family. It was my mom who taught me how to sew, knit and crochet,  and we spend a lot of time working on projects together. The main reason  I think it has affected me for the better is how it has improved my confidence and perseverance. The first thing worked on was crocheted afghan, it was rainbow and had nothing more than the most simple stitches. When I was finally done with it I saw it’s weird shape and irregularity and was crushed. I decided to give up on doing any kind of crafting project as I thought I would mess up every time. My mom sat me down and told me to start again, to work slower and think about more. I didn’t want to but as I started my next afghan and saw it take a perfectly rectangular shape, I was ecstatic.

It was from there I started to learn everything could do to make everything I wanted to. As I got more into it I learned all the cool things that come from it. All my friends were amazed as I gave them knit scarves for Christmas and I was excited as I drafted a pattern based on the time machine in the British show, Doctor Who.

Learning to do this taught me a lot about sticking with something and a lot about myself. If I had just given up on it like I wanted to after my first failure, I never would have gotten all the joy from all the different things I made and all the people I made them for. It gave me hope that I could do whatever I set my mind to and it also showed me that some amazing things take a lot of work to get to, such as in math class or those long term papers in English. This knowledge is something I will take with me to college so I know that even though things might get tough, I just have to keep trying.  

Essay B (required, 250 to 500 words).

The University of Colorado Boulder’s Flagship 2030 strategic plan promotes exceptional teaching, research, scholarship, creative works, and service distinguishing us as a premier university. We strive to foster a diverse and inclusive community for all that engages each member in opportunities for academic excellence, leadership, and a deeper understanding of the world in which we live.
 

Given the statement above, how do you think you could enrich our diverse and inclusive community, and what are your hopes for your college experience?

 

Last summer I got  an internship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL), and all the research happening there was amazing. I got to learn about all the different mars missions and even sit in on a meeting that would plan where the rover would be traveling next. All the science I saw and got a chance to learn about was amazing, however, the people there also made a huge impression on me. At JPL we were given many opportunities to tour the lab, which ranged from going into special research laboratories to just walking around the main buildings. On these tours were other interns, most of them college students, many from CU Boulder. These tours and working with the many different students gave me good experience about how interacting in college will be. In high school we are with the same people every year and have many of the same people in each class, but at college there are thousands of different students, and all of them will be new to me. At JPL I was able to learn from a lot of them about how they applied to college and how they chose their majors. I also got to make a lot of friends with these fellow interns, many who had different interests and tasks to work on than I did. These skills are what I plan on using in college to create a diverse network of people who I can learn from, staying away from being friends with just other science majors. I also hope to add to the research that will be done with The University of Colorado Boulder’s Flagship 2030 strategic plan with some of the knowledge about science I used and learned while at JPL. After my internship I feel as though I can add to The University of Colorado Boulder in many ways.