Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Describe a defining experience from your life.(Major essay, personal statement)
We were flying for nine hours over the invariable blue infinity of the Atlantic Ocean. I already had the impression that we left Sofia Airport a week ago, when, all of a sudden, I saw the brown shape of land under us. I couldn't remove my face from the narrow window, as the big Jumbo 747 passed over Newfoundland and approached the north coast of the U.S.A. That was my first sight of the New World, the event I've been dreaming of since I was eight. At that time I read my first novel written by an American author - The Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper. Since then I had the most cherished fantasies of seeing this glorious land where different cultures and civilizations met and clashed for existence. And the moment I first beheld America, I found out that even then, at sixteen, those fantasies from my early childhood were still alive deep inside my heart. Half an hour later, the yellow beaches of Long Island emerged under us and I saw the endless multitude of houses called Suburbia. If I have to be honest, I was a little disillusioned. This picture appeared so ordinary and predictable. I expected a forest of skyscrapers covering all visible land, or at least the Statue of Liberty. But unfortunately, I didn't see anything of the kind. The plane landed at J.F.K. Airport. I was so excited and impatient to see my parents, that I almost forgot my bag on the luggage shelf. I hadn't seen them for nearly three years. They came to the land of unlimited opportunity to begin a new life, away from the rotten society of communism in Bulgaria. My father graduated first in his class from the Polytechnic Institute in Prague and was an engineer on the top of the line in my country. But he wasn't recognized in his field and was submitted to all kinds of outrages because of the fact that he didnt join the communist party in Bulgaria. He came to America at the age of forty and began from the very bottom. For three years he worked as a helper for some construction company in Brooklyn, carrying garbage and mixing concrete. He worked often 16 to 18 hours a day for a minimum salary of $4 an hour. But he endured everything with the only hope to bring his children to America and to provide them with the opportunity of a valuable education and better life than his own. And then, when I stepped on American land, I realized that his dream had come true and his efforts were worth it. But when I first saw my parents in that crowded waiting room at the airport, I felt very strange and uneasy. My mind was put between the memory of them and the actual reality, and the big difference confused me. They had changed so much, that I had a hard time accepting them as the same people I knew three years ago. My father had grown fatter and the number of white hairs on his head had greatly increased. A large percentage of my mom's hair had whitened, too; however, she was prettier, and as it seemed to me, younger. When I got to them, I put the luggage on the floor and hugged them both. Yes, it was different, much different from the last hug between parents and their child. This was a hug between adults, glad to see each other again, after a long time. At least, that's how it felt for me, and I knew that it couldn't go back. Nobody said anything, although there were so many things to say. My father took one of the suitcases, I took the other, and we headed to the parking lot in front of the airport. We got to a purple Oldsmobile station wagon: our car. I had almost forgotten the word 'our'. It just had lost the meaning of something that one shares with people close and dear to him, with his family. During the three years spent in the French boarding school in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, I got used to take care of myself and to depend on my own decisions and judgments. I excelled in school and everything I did, thanks to my own efforts and hard work, and my own enthusiasm to be the best. Then I decided to prove to the world my will and learned four languages in three year. During those hardest years of my life, however, while I was undergoing the complex change from a child to an adult and needed the most the spiritual and moral support of my parents, they were missing and I was left to cope with the biggest cataclysm in my life alone. It is true that my grandparents tried hard to play the invaluable role of parents but the vital influence of my real ones was irreplaceable. On the way home I was looking through the window at the beautiful views outside. It was April and the first signs of spring were embellishing everything. But I was indifferent to the splendor of nature. I was too busy making a summary of my short life and thinking how the enormous change, which I was undergoing, was going to change the course of my future. How would I live with my parents again? What would happen to my education? How would I integrate in this society completely new to me? Would I see my friends and my country again? All these questions were flooding my brain and made me feel dizzy. Suddenly, I felt exhausted of all the dilemmas that confronted me and I wanted to forget everything. Besides the confusion in mind, the jetlag from the ten-hour flight contributed to my complete exhaustion. My eyes closed by themselves and in a moment I fell asleep without even realizing it.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
What personal experience determined your life choices to the greatest extent. (major essay)
My interest in medicine began with the personal and national tragedy of the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl in the spring of 1986. My little brother Damian was born on Christmas day, 1980, when I was four years old. I still remember how happy I was when the doctor opened the door of the waiting room in the Sofia General Hospital and announced that it was a boy. No one could have predicted what would happen five years later, on a beautiful Saturday morning in the spring of 1986. My family had just arrived at our summerhouse in the Balkan Mountains of Bulgaria for the weekend. As I played outside, my mother struggled to put Damian to sleep. She was worried because the boy had been crying all day long and seemed to be suffering from some kind of allergic reaction. Soon after we got back home that evening, Damian experienced violent seizures and lapsed into a coma. My parents, hysterical, rushed him to the hospital and brought me along. We stayed there late into the night, watching through the windows of the emergency room as doctors tried frantically to save his life. I was terrified, confused, and unable to understand what was causing so much pain to my family. I had lost strength even for prayers. Unlike many other young Bulgarian children at that time, my brother lived, but only to embark on a long and agonizing struggle for survival. Damian's immune system had been severely damaged from the Chernobyl radiation. He would need to take various medications on a regular basis for the rest of his life. My parents were trying to do everything in their power to ensure the best possible life for him and in the summer of 1990 my family left for the United States. I stayed behind since I had just been accepted to the prestigious French Language Boarding School. The thought of Damian, however, never left me. I set a new goal for myself - to become a medical scientist and find a cure that could help my brother and other people with immunodeficiency diseases. In the meantime, I cared for my grandparents and strove to excel at school. I decided to test the strength of my will and for the next two and a half years I learned French, English, Spanish, and Russian at the level of proficiency. I also participated in science and math Olympiads and volunteered at a homeless shelter and the Bulgarian Red Cross. I became independent, taking care of myself and relying on my own judgment. By the end of my third year I ranked in the top 1% of my class. Then, in the spring of 1993, I received a visa for the United States and finally rejoined my family in New York. The happiness of the reunion, however, was eclipsed by the worsening condition of my brother. He had undergone treatments at some of the leading hospitals in the U.S., with little effect. Damian was extremely depressed and had no motivation. His deterioration threatened to affect his academic career and compromise his future as well as his health. I decided that the best way to help my brother was to inspire him by being a positive role model. This thought gave me tremendous strength. Despite the challenges of a foreign language and new educational environment, I worked hard and excelled academically. I also tutored and volunteered in the homes of elderly people afflicted by stroke. In the summer of 1994 I was accepted on a full scholarship to a science program at Columbia University. It focused on Genetics and Molecular Biology and presented a great opportunity to do research. After I completed the program, I continued working with a Biochemistry professor on a project involving bacterial conjugation for which I wrote an original thesis report. The project was awarded the semifinalist title in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. The results were gratifying. Damian was moved by my personal example and continuous support. Despite his condition, he became enthusiastic about academic and extracurricular activities. His schoolwork improved substantially and in the spring of his freshman year in high school he joined the soccer team. He regained his confidence and made new friends. At Harvard I concentrated in Biochemical Sciences and took some of the most challenging courses offered. An example is the Introduction to Molecular Immunology I took in my third year. Despite the challenging nature of this medical school-format course, I was fascinated with the subject and intrigued by the experiments in the field. The material was relevant to my brother's struggle with immunodeficiency disease and I saw parallels between his condition and AIDS. For that reason, I decided to join a lab at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute where I had the opportunity to do research in the field of HIV vaccine development and write my senior thesis, which was awarded a summa cum laude. In conclusion, the most valuable asset I can bring to the medical profession is my deep-felt commitment to helping people with serious disease. I will never forget the effects of the Chernobyl disaster, which cost the lives and health of thousands of innocent people, one of which was my brother. As a witness affected personally by that horror, I vowed never to give up my dream of helping people worldwide. I believe the best way to fulfill this promise is through the study and practice of medicine.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Why Vanderbilt?-major essay
The question posed asks, 'Why Vanderbilt?' However, anyone who knows of the school's history, its academic standards, and the character behind the name possesses the necessary facts to launch a powerful pro-Vanderbilt argument. In fact the question 'Why not Vanderbilt?' presents much more of a challenge. The prestigious academic reputation, the diversity encouraging environment, and the plethora of resources lead me to conclude that selecting Vanderbilt for undergraduate studies is one of the easier decisions during the college application process. As far as academic standards, Vanderbilt successfully compares with the best. Currently ranked 18th overall for college experience by US News, the university has enjoyed a ranking in the top 20 of private institutions since 1963. Vanderbilt offers a variety of undergraduate studies, each of which are taught by well-versed professors. The university also boasts a membership to the exclusive Association of American Universities. The rigorous curriculum has earned the school the nickname 'The Harvard of the South.' While Vanderbilt remains unique to any other university, to merit comparisons to Harvard still speaks volumes about the academic standards. Why is this so important? If a university never challenges its students, it cannot prepare them for the real world. The second key in selecting Vanderbilt lies in its diversity. A school with a diverse population enjoys different perspectives on life, relations, and education. Vanderbilt has enrolled students from all fifty states. And although, the statistics never lie, personal testimonies can offer an even more vivid and accurate description of the actual experience. Currently, my close cousin, Josh, resides as a freshman at the university. He actually plays on the football team. I honestly have never seen him so ecstatic about school life, which speaks volumes about the whole Vanderbilt community. A personal experience, especially that of a family member tells candidly the positive and negative. It acts as the '20/20 hindsight' for the younger member. He has yet to complain about his experience, as have his parents. In fact, his spirit for the university has had an infectious effect on the rest of the family as we have tailgated to many games and events. In saying this I am not deeming the university perfect; however, based on first hand experiences and published reviews, Vanderbilt seems the next best thing to educational utopia. The final key in selecting Vanderbilt lies in its resources. A variety of resources not only allow students to excel during school, but also after graduation. As cited in the information booklet, the university offers over 200 scholarships based on merit, talent, interests, background, and future goals. It also provides the educational resources to prepare one for the world. Life after graduation has the qualities of a long journey-as does life during college. College serves as a time of growth and discovery, which is nothing short of a journey, and the university acknowledges this. In order to make this journey triumphant, the university equips its students for success such as furnishing first year engineering students with specified laptops, the Senior Scholars program, and International Study. The third resource lies in what the university enables one to do after graduation. Located in Nashville, Vanderbilt offers connections to an urban city bustling with business. Not only that, but Atlanta, the hub of the South lies only two and a half hours away. These cities provide an excellent job market for recent graduates and the Vanderbilt legacy carries weight with employers. These three features at Vanderbilt make it attractive. The academic prestige presents a challenge. The encouragement of diversity insures an enlightening and enjoyable experience, and the resources give security to my college investment. These characteristics give Vanderbilt its renowned reputation and I want to take part in it. This is why I choose Vanderbilt!
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Personal Statement
November 2004 Vanderbilt University Seeing Forms There are moments where the noises in one's surroundings are audible but not comprehensible, the images before ones eyes present but not recognizable, the thoughts in one's head are amplified and monopolize the mind. It is precisely at moments like those when I reflect upon my seventeen years life, which my mother believes does not contain enough 'life experiences' to yield such intense moments of thought as I imagine to involve myself in. The essence of those moments - thinking, is something that I truly believe I had not learned to do until a few years ago. Perhaps this is a ludicrous statement. Of course the very nature of humans is that one must think in order to survive, to carry out even elementary actions. However that type of thinking only allows us to carry out actions but not to understand their purpose or meaning. We look through a fogged window, where its transparency allows us to make out the general shape of the forms on the other side but not determine their identity. I have not completely wiped the fog from my window but I do wish that I had begun the process much earlier. This desire had become an infatuation, a fear that guided me, and a goal that I somehow found the medium to realize this past summer. Usually when people ask me about my summer, I tend to provide an answer that it is simple but at the same time entirely vague: 'teaching seventh graders'. Just in the moment that the words escape my lips, the inquirer usually throws a glance at me that radiates a comical attitude. I am sure I would exhibit the same reaction were the roles reversed. After all, how competent was I really to teach students, whose place I had been in so very few years ago? The training I received in the week preceding the first day of classes was extraordinary helpful but probably not a replacement of a college degree in the field. I began writing extensive lesson plans driven by my fear of not being though 'provoking enough', but whose rigid structure I detested. At the end they proved particularly helpful in those moments where I found myself standing at the front of my students attempting to think fast in search of words to verbalize my next sentence but of course failed to do so fantastically and had to resort to the lesson plans I had once disliked. But it was not this type of thinking that I tried to teach in my humanities classes when discussing Jonas' own evolution into a thinking person in 'The Giver'. It was instead the type of thinking where one takes what they know and somehow realizes that all the planes of life are not positioned in a parallel manner but instead at different degrees of angles, thus eventually connecting, and meeting at different points in time. In moments, when my students' comments on the book were connected to a past experience or something that had happened in the world not so long ago and I stroked my chin in response, than I realized that not only had they began wiping the fog from their windows but I was also clearing my own.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
What is your interest in journalism and why should you recieve our award
In researching education at Vanderbilt University, I desperately looked for an
outlet of study that applied to my field of interest. As a young aspiring
journalist, I deem college as the next great step to bringing me closer to my
career goal of becoming a broadcast journalist. When informed about the John
Seigenthaler Scholarship, which both affords the quality education of a
internationally renown institution and provides the media outlets to aspiring
interns such as myself, my enthusiasm for the school multiplied exponentially. I
have spent my entire high school career pursuing journalism, and an opportunity
such as this would provide the perfect complement to my investment.
From the start of my freshman year, I have participated in various functions and
extracurricular activities that aid in developing the essential characteristics
for broadcasting journalism. I began primarily by working on my communication
and
public present presentation skills. Through my selection and involvement in
Turner Broadcasting Station's Great American Moments commercial, I gained
exposure to the camera, thus enabling me to practice my presentation skills
through an array of hand gestures and facial expressions. Not only that, but my
participation in the American Legion's National Oratory competition over the
past
four years has improved my communication skills substantially as I have excelled
in both prepared and impromptu orations.
A respectable public image and personality are also important characteristics of
journalism. Since my freshman year I have maintained such an image at Sprayberry
while announcing yearly events such as our multicultural day celebration, our
school fashion shows, and school pep rallies. Also my public personality
continually strengthens as I serve as the official voice of our Sprayberry
varsity boys' and girls' basketball teams.
Finally, as any student of the media world realizes, a journalist must be
versatile. This versatility not only applies to the aspects of journalism and
its
production, but also to the vastness of the topics one must cover throughout a
career. I see this as no tedious footnote. In August of 2001, I took part in the
Asian American Journalism Association's J Camp in Fort Worth, TX. There I
mingled
with the likes of Aaron Brown, Joie Chen, and the late Ralph Wiley. I benefited
from enriching seminars on various production phases. I experimented behind the
scenes of the Dallas Fox 5 affiliate and learned techniques in producing,
directing, filming, and anchoring. Not only did I learn these skills, but I have
also utilized them in the weekly news show that I helped start at Sprayberry.
I
currently produce, film, and anchor most of our footage. Realizing the
importance
of experience in order to succeed in the media industry, I applied and gained
acceptance into the Emma Bowen Foundation, which networks aspiring journalists
with major media corporations through internships. Currently, I intern at Turner
Entertainment in the TNT website department. The opportunity affords me
experience in journalistic writing, as I have written articles, movie reviews,
and trivia for the online publication. Even more experience such as this will
come my way, as this internship will follow me throughout my college career.
However, as I mentioned before, versatility does not exclusively apply to
aspects of journalism production. One must also have a base knowledge in a
variety of subjects in order to present an educated response. Throughout high
school, I have studied the most vigorous and advanced courses available. I also
participate in multiple extracurricular activities ranging from chorus to
outdoor
sports, and I continually search for other outlets to plug into in order to
learn
more.
Thus, I believe that my continuous involvement in journalistic endeavors has
provided a firm base to build a journalism career. Journalism has remained my
passion, and I continually research the field and other fields with similar
characteristics in order to better myself. Therefore, I would love to represent
Vanderbilt and the John Seigenthaler Scholarship.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Why Vanderbilt? Please use the space provided to discuss the factors that have led you to consider Vanderbilt University.
Attending Nightingale-Bamford, a small private school in New York City, I've become accustomed to small class sizes. I like that I can sit in my women's history class with 10-15 girls and engage in casual conversation about how the suffrage movement of the 1920s relates to the feminist movement of the 1970s. Vanderbilt can afford me that opportunity as well. The smaller class sizes also ensure that I will not just be another face in the crowd to my professors. If I were to attend, I would enroll in the Peabody College. Having my own small college within the university will provide extra attention. Also, students differing in academic ventures only make the university more diverse. At my school some of my closest friends are captains of the dance team, regular leads in our drama productions, heads of our cultural clubs, and student council representatives. It would be interesting to engage in conversation with a student from the Blair School of Music and be able to tell them about the interesting coursework that I would have in Peabody. Also, I like the fact that I will have the chance to study core courses in the College of Arts and Sciences or take additional classes in the School of Engineering if I choose. I have found out that what I like most about school is open forums and the ability to engage in intellectually stimulating conversation with my peers. In the Peabody School, I can really focus on those public policy issues that I have grown so accustomed to from my summer internship in Prep for Prep's Leadership Development Summer Institute or from my participation in Prep's student advocacy group, Students Advocating for Young Children, which focuses on children's issues. The greater university will give me the opportunity to do extensive research in my field of study as well. I like that the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies (VIPPS) is available for students to research different policies and issues that our policy makers are discussing during this present time. Peabody will allow me to not only develop my leadership skills, but also show me how I can positively affect the lives of others. Throughout high school, I have put a lot of my energy into helping my small community as well as the greater community around me. I feel that Peabody will train me in service and prepare me for fields in public policy and public affairs. The required internships will force me to take what I have learned into the real world and engage in hands-on experience.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Please discuss your academic area(s) of interest and the reasons you have applied to the undergraduate school(s) or college(s) you indicated on Part 1. Peabody and Blair applicants must also discuss their intended major. "minor essay:
Vanderbilt's Peabody College suits my interest because of the Human and Organizational Development (H&OD) major. Studying public policy and local government issues appeals to me. I want to study the effects of certain policies within the public and private sectors. This particular major can help me to also understand how the public and private sectors work together to affect social, political and economic change. This summer, I participated in Prep for Prep's Leadership Development Summer Institute (LDSI). We spent the entire summer interviewing key decision-makers in New York City in different sectors including government, business, media, education, and criminal justice. I was able to understand how policy is formed, how these sectors interrelate, and how New York City works as a whole. We spent a great deal of time analyzing different public policy issues that faced the city such as land use and economic development. At the same time, we discussed how leaders in these different sectors must tackle these issues to satisfy not only special interest, but also the greater common good. We discovered how the people in power make decisions for our city, how they come to these conclusions, and whom they take into account. I learned a lot about group dynamics and how to interact with people in order to get everyone's views across. For the past three years, I have been involved with Prep for Prep's student-run advocacy group, Students Advocating for Young Children (SAYC). We strive to make people aware of the many issues that are facing young children and tackle many of the problems such as healthcare and education. SAYC is an advocacy group and not just a community service activity. We have met with many different elected officials and have expressed our concerns. We also have worked with other credible agencies and advocacy groups such as the Citizens Committee for Children of New York to further our cause. I am able to voice my opinion and state what the people feel are best solutions for the issues that affect our children. People with institutional power are able to hear directly from us about how their decisions and policies are going to affect our lives. I want to be able to continue to participate in activities that allow me to delve into public policy issues and I want to be able to immerse myself in these studies as well. With the Human and Organizational Development major, I would be able to learn about the different problems that face society today and learn what methods and steps need to be used in order to tackle these problems and find viable solutions. I know that decisions on the federal and state level also affect what happens in cities and I want to gain a broader perspective on different public policy issues while in turn strengthening my leadership skills.
