Personal Statement 1: I intend to transfer to a University in the Fall of 2013 to study Electrical and Computer Engineering, a decision which was made after many years of working in different roles in the technology industry.\u00a0 I eventually determined that my interests and ambitions would be better served by returning to school and obtaining specialized training in an area that is well suited to my abilities.\u00a0 Earning a degree has always been important to me, but setting aside four or more years for school has proven difficult to achieve in my adulthood. \u00a0Fortunately, I managed to prioritize this goal and then committed to college full-time, having since earned top marks in all of my classes.\u00a0 I feel that my academic achievements over the past five semesters reflect my personal convictions to complete my studies and have also prepared me for the type of focused and demanding learning environment provided by a University with esteemed Engineering and Computer Science programs.<\/p>\n My interests in technology stem from my exposure to home video game systems and video arcades from the early to mid 1980s.\u00a0 I developed a deep appreciation for the unique interactive experiences that can be produced with computer software and its interface devices, such as monitors, joysticks and speakers.\u00a0 Around this time personal computers became more widespread and, like many technologically precocious children, I spent afternoons and weekends tinkering with computer software and hardware.\u00a0 Almost every day I would experience two very different uses of technology, one for personal enjoyment and another for facilitating work, and my insights into both forms matured.\u00a0 These experiences granted me firm understandings of both the appropriate and practical uses of computers, along with the many different roles they have, from entertainment devices to productivity tools.<\/p>\n When making the decision to return to college, pursuing a Computer Science degree seemed like a natural path to take.\u00a0 But after reviewing many different programs I found that some of them were too restrictive and frequently did not fully represent my academic and professional goals.\u00a0 I greatly value Mathematics and the many other disciplines of science, and these aren\u2019t always emphasized in Computer Science programs.\u00a0 Writing code and producing useful software is a process I greatly enjoy and a skill I wish to hone in the years to come, but I also desire to understand more intimately the entire workings of a computer–from the software to the specialized hardware that powers it.<\/p>\n I have chosen Electrical\/Computer Engineering as my major because it more completely encompasses all of the components that make up a person\u2019s experience when using technology, and this succinctly conveys the focus of my future studies and work.\u00a0 I intend to design full computer systems with equal attention paid to the types of interfaces, the efficiency of the hardware, and the integrity of the software running across these devices, all of which come together to produce a means of using particular forms of technology.\u00a0 As a corollary, I also wish to improve my ability to understand and accommodate any potential moral and ethical quandaries that may be associated with these uses and ensure that these considerations are effectively incorporated into the design and implementation of a technology experience.<\/p>\n Personal Statement 2:<\/strong> The personal qualities that I feel most set me apart from others relate to my abilities to communicate clearly with people and to consistently finish projects that I have started.\u00a0 I think that these two qualities serve as different pieces that combine to make up another:\u00a0 my unique flavor of work ethic.\u00a0 I am regularly affirmed that it is effective and uncommon through my interactions with others.<\/p>\n Many times in my life people have come to me for help and assistance when they required something to be done a specific way or were seeking an outsider\u2019s perspective on a problem.\u00a0 Whenever this happens I am attentive and considerate and always do my best to propose helpful ideas and methods to find a solution.\u00a0 Instead of capitalizing on these moments for an ego boost I accept them as one of the most real and valuable kinds of complements a person can give.\u00a0 Through intent listening and by sharing only input that is genuinely constructive I effort to convey my appreciation to the other person that he or she was comfortable to come to me with a personal or professional dilemma.<\/p>\n When I decide to accept responsibilities or start projects I always adhere to them.\u00a0 I give them as much time as I am able while also managing my other obligations and responsibilities.\u00a0 I am very careful about taking things on because I don\u2019t want to put myself in a situation where I begin something that I will not be able to work through to completion.\u00a0 I also do not want one commitment to adversely impact another of my goals or responsibilities.\u00a0 This approach has had both positive and negative aspects to it:\u00a0 on the one hand I always do the things I have set out to do, but on the other hand it can sometimes take me an inordinate amount time to make a decision or to set a new priority (choosing to return to college and obtain my degree is a perfect example of this).<\/p>\n These cares that I take in my work usually require extra time to contemplate a situation and figure out as many details in advance as I feel are available.\u00a0 Sometimes I will allay an undertaking simply because I know that I cannot be sufficiently prepared to start.\u00a0 On occasions this has been inconvenient to myself and to others because my decision making process is sometimes slower than the usual pacing and demands of day to day life.\u00a0 However, I believe that when the need to make a decision is looming each situation requires special amounts of time and preparation for the decision to be made confidently.\u00a0 I am certain that this is not only what allows me to get my work done, but also what allows me to consistently produce results that are above average.<\/p>\n Additional Comments (optional):<\/strong> In regards to specific areas of study I am interested in pursuing, I have recently been spending a great deal of time researching the Java Programming Language and its years-long process of becoming a ubiquitous platform.\u00a0 Though it is an important language and technology that will be used for many years to come, my experiences have shown me a number of ways in which it could have been better implemented.\u00a0 This has led to a desire to design a new programming language that addresses these issues, expands the number of fundamental tools available to the programmer (such as providing additional ways to augment the behavior of a switch statement or a loop), and still functions within the typical syntaxes to which most people are accustomed.\u00a0 I have also become interested in the implementation of a virtual machine that is hardware \u201caware\u201d and is capable of establishing appropriate optimizations for many different kinds of systems and hardware configurations; in addition to this it is capable of being accelerated by separate hardware components that can be attached to most modern computing devices (through a USB port, for instance).\u00a0 The success of Java has proven that more cross-platform technologies are necessary and can be adopted by the technology industry, so I believe that this is an area where there are still a tremendous number of gains to be made.\u00a0 On a loosely related note, methods of digital sound compression and aural representation are also fascinating to me.<\/p>\n Over the last year I have been preparing to start my own business which will focus on cross-platform technologies and development tools for video game consoles, cell phones and personal computers.\u00a0 As I earlier alluded, video gaming is greatly significant to me, being not just a lingering hobby from my childhood but a field where I see countless opportunities for important work to be done that could potentially affect the entire technology industry as a whole.\u00a0 While breaking from my studies I intend to continue my work on the projects that are related to this endeavor.<\/p>\n As you have noticed, beginning in the Fall 2012 semester I enrolled in Butte College located in Chico, CA for a Computer Science course while taking the bulk of my classes at Shasta College in Redding, CA.\u00a0 This was necessary so that I could complete as much of my lower division coursework as possible before transferring to a University in the Fall of 2013.\u00a0\u00a0 Shasta College offers little in the way of programming courses and driving out to Butte College two days a week was the only solution to this problem.\u00a0 Also, I am anticipating that I will spend the Spring 2013 semester entirely at Butte College before transferring because, in addition to its Computer Science courses, there is a Materials Science course I would like to take that is not available in the Spring at Shasta College.\u00a0 I have noted these intentions in the \u201cAcademic History\u201d section of this application, but the possibility remains that I will stay at Shasta College for my final semester and continue to commute to Butte College two days a week.\u00a0 If this occurs then the only change in my completed coursework will be the loss of the aforementioned Engineering course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UC Application Essays Personal Statement 1: What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field \u2014 such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student … Continue reading
\n<\/strong>What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field \u2014 such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities \u2014 and what you have gained from your involvement.\u00a0 (~500 words)<\/em><\/p>\n
\nTell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?\u00a0 (~500 words)<\/em><\/p>\n
\nIf you wish, you may use this space to tell us anything else you want us to know about you that you have not had the opportunity to describe elsewhere in the application.\u00a0 (550 words)<\/em><\/p>\n