73 Essays that Worked at Cornell University (New York)

Prompt: Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. Specifically, how will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cornell University help you achieve your academic goals?

After boarding a Harbor Tour at the Port of Long Beach, what was once the fresh smell of seawater quickly transformed into the rotten smell of decayed eggs. As the nauseating odor wafted towards me, ambiguous thoughts confronted me: What is this stench? What exactly is causing it? This obscure predicament ultimately spurred my passion and curiosity for marine conservation research (MCR).

To further this passion, I joined the Hawksbill sea turtle conservation research group at UC Santa Cruz’s Science Internship Program. In joining this team, I was able to further my MCR interest at the species level. From the inspirational conversations I had with my sixth-year graduate student mentor about the tagging and mapping process of sea turtles to the Google Maps tours my fellow intern and I gave each other of our respective neighborhoods, I not only gained a new understanding of the scientific world outside my city bubble but also gained a new appreciation for my local community’s academic diversity and determination. The research feasibility limitations of today’s climate have inspired me to search my local community for these opportunities. While species-level inquiries within MCR are most popular, many overlook unconventional methods--my evaluation study on the effectiveness of the Aquarium’s new Ocean Neighbors program for my AP Research class. In finding myself beside like-minded individuals, I obtained new-found confidence and strength, allowing me to flourish in this collaborative academic environment where sharing one’s thoughts is both encouraged and praised. Before these societal constraints, my supervisor tasked me with assembling a mock abalone release crate for one of the Aquarium’s exhibit-interpretation stations. With a limited amount of resources at my disposal, I learned the importance of strategizing beforehand. Instead of carelessly using a hand saw and hot gluing the pipes together, I created drafts upon drafts of sketches, detailing the measurement and placement of each straggling piece of kelp and each hand-made clay abalone. Hence, this intellectual journey allowed me to enhance my creativity in painting the rocky California substrate and finding unconventional solutions to any problems. It turns out that the rotten egg smell comes from hydrogen sulfide, a hazardous chemical that can arise from rotting organic matter--including seaweed, algae blooms, and deceased fish. Yet, research is neverending; it presents even more questions - that is why I love it. With a Cornell postsecondary education, I hope to search for these questions to further the scientific field of biological sciences. With a concentration in marine biology, studying at Cornell will allow me to immerse myself in marine science both on-campus at Professor Harvell’s Marine Ecosystem and Sustainability course--a CALS faculty member who helped place the Sunflower sea star on the IUCN Red List - and off-campus at the Shoals Marine Laboratory - a remote island field station in the Gulf of Maine. Having over 30 minors, CALS would also allow me to pursue interests in other fields of study, such as climate change. Within this minor, the Climate, Archaeology, and History course demonstrates CALS strength in the humanities while the Business and Economics of Energy course displays similar depth in the social sciences--thereby providing students similar academic flexibility to those in the College of Arts and Sciences. As a federal land grant institution in New York state, CALS gears towards giving back to humanity. Through civic engagement in my local community, I have made similar strides. According to the City of Long Beach, "residents and businesses throw away approximately 368,000 tons of residential, commercial, and industrial waste"--that is 1,494 pounds for each 450,000+ individual! For this reason, I helped initiate sustainability workshops throughout our community to help counteract this crisis. Aiming to continue my academic journey to graduate school and beyond, I aspire to have as much an impact on the state, national, and global scale. To me, civic engagement means solving prominent issues facing society--by oneself or, even better, alongside others. Collaboration reaps the ultimate benefits!

Prompt: Students in Arts and Sciences embrace the opportunity to delve into multifaceted academic interests, embodying in 21st century terms Ezra Cornell’s “any person…any study” founding vision. Tell us about the areas of study you are excited to explore, and specifically why you wish to pursue them in our College.

“Can you pass me that shirt?” my father asked me, simultaneously stuffing the suitcase. We were embarking for Colombia, but not all of our baggage would be returning with us. From old shoes to cellphones, unneeded belongings from our Colombian familial diaspora would be brought with us and then given to our foreign family members. In addition to monthly remittances, our donations helped sustain our struggling family, helping my cousin in obtaining her education. Growing up, this was merely a fact of life. I understood the financial needs of my foreign family, but I didn’t recognize the underlining causes of wealth inequality between nations.

Self-studying AP World History and AP Human Geography, I became enthralled by the concepts of migration patterns, globalization, and the injustices of imperialism. Seeking to gain more insight into the stratification of power between the Global North and Global South, I read critical literature on unjust and self-interested foreign policies. How to Hide and Empire and Open Veins of Latin America introduced me to the seizing of the guano islands, the overthrowing of foreign governments, and the ominous banana republics.

Disturbed by these injustices and motivated by my cultural heritage in Latin America, I’ve been inspired to become a foreign service officer for the State Department to aid in bridging the gap between developing and developed nations. The ideal place to pursue these passions and goals is definitively Cornell’s Department of Government, specifically in the broad subfield of International Relations. With a diverse range of courses and opportunities, it is evident Cornell values creating the next generation of world leaders to combat global issues. I would be pleasured to take Controversies about Inequality, opening my eyes to debates on the catalysts of inequality and potential solutions. Colonialism and Anticolonialism will give insight into the past to amend the future, confronting neocolonialism and inequity to form a more just world

Seeking to gain more insight into disparities and policy issues, I intend to pursue a minor in Inequality Studies. Among numerous courses, Comparative Public Policy: Political Pathways to Equality will broaden my understanding of the variation in intranational politics and policies, providing numerous policy measure solutions needed to acknowledge and confront disparities in countries’ standards of living.

At the most recent Global Grand Challenges Symposium, Cornell hosted the panel: International Collaboration: Taking Action for Our Global Future. Centered around the challenges and opportunities in developing mutually beneficial partnerships in an unequal world, the inclusion of insightful panels and commitment to annual symposiums reflects Cornell’s devotion to education and progress.

Granted Cornell’s diverse language offerings and the Department of Government’s newer courses largely emphasizing quantitative skills, I’ll be amply prepared to conduct research in Latin America and other areas abroad on inequality and reform. Utilizing the Department of Government’s opportunity to conduct an independent study of my own concept with a faculty member, I already imagine my guidance under Professor Gustavo A. Flores-Macías. With expertise and publications in state building and economics in Latin America, Flores-Macías will provide the substantial advice needed for researching inequality in Latin America and potential solutions. At Cornell, the prospects awaiting me are endless.

The next time I depart for Colombia, I’ll pack the knowledge provided to confront some of the greatest social challenges of our time. Although these are multifaceted geopolitical issues that foster countless questions and proposals, I’m assured the answers await at Cornell. “Any person, any study.” With an education from Cornell, anyone can change the world.

Prompt: How do your interests directly connect with Cornell Engineering? If you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at Cornell Engineering? If you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with Cornell Engineering. It may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about.

In Texas, children face a higher risk of fatal car crashes than in any other state, a reality I witnessed first hand after losing friends to the car-dependent infrastructure of the state. In Cornell's strategic plan for 2030, environmental and coding systems are its research directions of priority, making it an ideal environment for smart grid research, contributing to the future of cities made for pedestrians. The EEC major is primarily located in Phillips Hall, directly attached to Duffield Hall, Cornell’s massive nano-technology facility. Making my way in and out of class, I can see myself fascinated by the world there. I hope to further explore nano-technology and how it can more specifically apply to the smart grids of the future, improving the efficiency of current technology. I would cross my classes in ECE in Dr. Albertson’s concentration called, “Engineering Smart Cities,” to understand exactly how power grids need to be improved for the future of cities. Collaborating with Dr. David Bindel, I’d like to explore how coding contributed to making smart grids smart by exploring the algorithms diagnosing its line failures. The Systems Engineering program is interdisciplinary in nature, with Professors like Lang Tong forming a bridge between computer and electrical engineering by exploring how cloud computing can reduce costs in grid optimization. Working with Cornell’s professionals in the CESI, the hub for energy-related research at the university, Cornell proves the most promising in intersecting my dreams of pursuing engineering and contributing to the future of sustainable urban living.

Prompt: What three words best describe you?

There’s the physical aspect: Naomi’s OnShape profile popping up onto the CAD document as I adjust the dimensions of the intake mechanism, me stabilizing the robot as Peter removes the lock-nut behind the motor, Emily spotting me as I bandsaw a sheet of polycarbonate, or Lucas debugging the Java helper function I was working on. Collaboration is the concrete foundation of my robotics-team and manifests itself in every one of our tasks. Yet, there is more to collaboration than its physical embodiment. 

There’s the intangible aspect: valuing my team members’ opinions, respecting their unique perspectives, adapting to new approaches, learning different techniques, conceding to my mistakes, and compromising in cases of polarity. It’s the reason the word “team” ensues whenever I say robotics.

Collaboration is the fertile ground for growth, where my strengths become successes. It is the ground where my proficiency in seven programming languages, aptitude in spatial visualization, resilience against obstacles, innovative approaches in engineering, and passion for problem solving can nurture a competitive robot. Whether I am inspecting componentry as the Director of Electronics, researching as the co-founder of [Name Redacted] Science- Publication, or organizing code as the Software Development Project-Manager,  collaboration is how I tie my team together.