- #1
USN2ENG
- 108
- 0
Hi all,
I am about to send in my transfer app and I was hoping that someone to look over my PS. You don't have to worry about grammar too much as I will have my English professor father in law 'grade me' but your thoughts or suggestions would be very much appreciated! I am not overly happy with the last paragraph, so I might try to spark that up, but overall I hope it is pretty descent. Thanks!
__________
Most personal statements begin with something along the lines of, “Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to be a [insert engineering discipline here]”. For me, this has not been the case. To be fair, yes, I have always been a problem solver, a researcher, and a doer. Still, my professional life has been varied. I have worked in the military as an electronics technician, the non-profit sector as a software technical analyst, and in health care as a physical therapy aide. Within each of these positions I found commonality: an innate desire to fix, to improve, and to innovate.
In the Navy I utilized and built upon these qualities to perform at my very best. While on my first ship in the Persian Gulf I realized that problems arise quickly. Being the most junior member, and sole communications expert, on the ship was at first a daunting responsibility. I knew that gyrocompasses would break, GPS would go down, and engine communications would fail. I focused this uneasiness on attaining systems knowledge and began to learn beyond the basics of what specialty school previously taught me. I was correct, systems did fail. Yet, my preparation and desire to learn about the inner workings of these systems paid off through minimal down time. Ultimately these qualities led to my award of Junior Sailor of the Year and eventually leading my own team of 15 electronics technicians.
Following the Navy I carried this desire to understand into a Psychology degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. As the first person in my family to attend college, picking a major was not easy. From the choices available, attempting to understand the motivations behind people’s actions seemed the most natural inquiry; as I was interested in more than just objects. Fortunately, understanding interpersonal communication, how backgrounds shape lives, and the investigative nature of the subject proved to add a valuable facet to my analytical mindset as I progressed into post-college employment.
Working in the non-profit and healthcare fields was interesting, but ultimately I was left needing more. With each job I began going above my requirements to fix or improve processes. Whether assisting co-workers to find more efficient troubleshooting methods, or streamlining physical therapy plan-of-care processes, I realized these extra investigations were what actually kept me engaged and excited. Upon researching career paths I realized the skills and desires I held were aligned perfectly engineering. Having read about how industrial engineer’s make processes more productive by integrating people, machines, materials, energy, and information I decided to call an old shipmate and current Manufacturing Engineering Manager at Micron Technology, [Name Removed]. After a lengthy conversation about daily problem solving methods and his use of mathematics and statistics to increase production output, I quickly realized industrial engineering was the ‘extra’ I was looking for.
As a Raleigh native I have set my sights on NC State University. Currently, I am enrolled in another ABET accredited ISE program and just completed my first semester of remaining pre-requisites. Driving three hours round trip daily, tackling a full engineering load, and staying active in Toastmasters and the IIE professional society was not easy, but earning a 4.0 GPA while doing so attests to my dedication and was well worth the effort. It is my dedication, along with my uniquely broad background, that I feel will couple well with NC State’s top ranked ISE program.
Having begun studying Differential Equations over winter break I am excited to learn more about its application to modeling and simulation as I continue further into the curriculum. I am certain a degree from NC State will not only provide a solid base, but provide the opportunity for a career that will constantly present me with new and interesting challenges as I look to make a significant impact on the manufacturing community and the industrial engineering profession as a whole.
I am about to send in my transfer app and I was hoping that someone to look over my PS. You don't have to worry about grammar too much as I will have my English professor father in law 'grade me' but your thoughts or suggestions would be very much appreciated! I am not overly happy with the last paragraph, so I might try to spark that up, but overall I hope it is pretty descent. Thanks!
__________
Most personal statements begin with something along the lines of, “Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to be a [insert engineering discipline here]”. For me, this has not been the case. To be fair, yes, I have always been a problem solver, a researcher, and a doer. Still, my professional life has been varied. I have worked in the military as an electronics technician, the non-profit sector as a software technical analyst, and in health care as a physical therapy aide. Within each of these positions I found commonality: an innate desire to fix, to improve, and to innovate.
In the Navy I utilized and built upon these qualities to perform at my very best. While on my first ship in the Persian Gulf I realized that problems arise quickly. Being the most junior member, and sole communications expert, on the ship was at first a daunting responsibility. I knew that gyrocompasses would break, GPS would go down, and engine communications would fail. I focused this uneasiness on attaining systems knowledge and began to learn beyond the basics of what specialty school previously taught me. I was correct, systems did fail. Yet, my preparation and desire to learn about the inner workings of these systems paid off through minimal down time. Ultimately these qualities led to my award of Junior Sailor of the Year and eventually leading my own team of 15 electronics technicians.
Following the Navy I carried this desire to understand into a Psychology degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. As the first person in my family to attend college, picking a major was not easy. From the choices available, attempting to understand the motivations behind people’s actions seemed the most natural inquiry; as I was interested in more than just objects. Fortunately, understanding interpersonal communication, how backgrounds shape lives, and the investigative nature of the subject proved to add a valuable facet to my analytical mindset as I progressed into post-college employment.
Working in the non-profit and healthcare fields was interesting, but ultimately I was left needing more. With each job I began going above my requirements to fix or improve processes. Whether assisting co-workers to find more efficient troubleshooting methods, or streamlining physical therapy plan-of-care processes, I realized these extra investigations were what actually kept me engaged and excited. Upon researching career paths I realized the skills and desires I held were aligned perfectly engineering. Having read about how industrial engineer’s make processes more productive by integrating people, machines, materials, energy, and information I decided to call an old shipmate and current Manufacturing Engineering Manager at Micron Technology, [Name Removed]. After a lengthy conversation about daily problem solving methods and his use of mathematics and statistics to increase production output, I quickly realized industrial engineering was the ‘extra’ I was looking for.
As a Raleigh native I have set my sights on NC State University. Currently, I am enrolled in another ABET accredited ISE program and just completed my first semester of remaining pre-requisites. Driving three hours round trip daily, tackling a full engineering load, and staying active in Toastmasters and the IIE professional society was not easy, but earning a 4.0 GPA while doing so attests to my dedication and was well worth the effort. It is my dedication, along with my uniquely broad background, that I feel will couple well with NC State’s top ranked ISE program.
Having begun studying Differential Equations over winter break I am excited to learn more about its application to modeling and simulation as I continue further into the curriculum. I am certain a degree from NC State will not only provide a solid base, but provide the opportunity for a career that will constantly present me with new and interesting challenges as I look to make a significant impact on the manufacturing community and the industrial engineering profession as a whole.