7/25/2019 Frank Personal Statement

1/1

UC App PS

PS1:

My intended major is computer engineering. My interest first developed in high school during my junior year when too! aComputer Management class that aimed to teach students a"out computer software and hardware. learned a little a"out

programming and it interested me enough to get me to enroll in a ro"otics class the following year. #hen learned how to"uild computers found that enjoyed learning a"out hardware which further encouraged me to ta!e ro"otics. n my senioryear with the school$s ro"otics program% learned how to code "asic games% and later how to create our own gamepad tocontrol it. Using "read"oards% my group and learned how to wire electronics for e&ample adding joystic!s% and spea!ersfrom other electronics onto our "oard. 'earing the end of the school year my group and undertoo! our final project tocreate an Android application that would help parents stay informed a"out school activities% and help them navigate thecampus. (he last project was my most programming intensive project% and my first e&perience with )avaScript% and *(M+.(his e&perience in programming showed me how developing an application would "e a real possi"ility. Coupled with the"read"oard project found that enjoyed "oth aspects of computers software% and hardware. t further solidified my goals to"ecome a computer engineer.My early e&perience in ,o"otics% and Computer Management class was fun% enough to persuade me to join the school$stechnology clu"s% and programs. "ecame a part of the Pioneers clu"% the M-SA program% and the e& program. n M-SA learned how to wor! with hardware to "uild a windmill. (he group wor!ed in was so interested in the project that instead ofjust creating a windmill that drags a car% we made one with a motor so we could covert wind power to electricity% to power amotor vehicle that we made. (hrough this process we learned a"out tor/ue vs. speed% and how to "alance it. (his was myfirst major project with hardware% and it helped me greatly in planning my e& project the following year. n e& "uilt ro"ots

and learned how to program them. 0ur group o"jective was to "uild a ro"ot that could drive itself autonomously% and then"e ta!en control of "y a human operator. rom my e&perience in learned the importance of colla"oration2 the a"ility for usto focus our wor! on one portion% and then wor! together to integrate it together. 3y constantly adding modifications to thero"ot% and then su"se/uently repairing it% learned the importance of "uilding a device that allows for disassem"ly.

PS4:

have heard would need impressive grades to get into college% "ut it was not until my junior year that understood. was

late% "ut it was not a reason to not try and ma!e the "est of it. (he 4.5 6PA received in my sophomore year served as my

wa!e7up call. ,eflecting on my sophomore year saw that if wanted to succeed had to challenge myself% so enrolled in

a Calculus class at community college during the second semester of my junior year.

#ith a wea! understanding of math to "egin with% Calculus seemed insurmounta"le. 3asic concepts such as simplifying

polynomials were a challenge. (he !nowledge that lac!ed was a fundamental part of past math courses that werea"solutely essential in Calculus. Simple properties such as radicals e/uating to powers were alien to me. 3ecause of that%

received an on my first test% a pit had to get out of /uic!ly.

t was clear that needed more help. spent time after class with my professor at the community college for clarification on

lessons. sought additional help from my teachers at school in order to /uic!ly catch up with my classmates$ level of

understanding. urthermore% joined a small study group to discuss homewor! pro"lems and study for tests. Although it

re/uired a lot of time and effort% and was sometimes frustrated "y my ina"ility to understand% eventually finished the class

with a 3%a grade felt was hard earned.

Ultimately% my grade in Calculus "enefited me more personally than academically. (he long nights in the math la" prepared

me for the more rigorous classes am ta!ing this year. (he wee!ends spent on assignments have e&posed me to a new

way of solving pro"lems. (he sense of team7wor!% an often overloo!ed component in addressing pro"lems% too! meaning as

had to dedicate myself to a team to overcome o"stacles. (he calculus class was more than a semester long e&ercise in

math% "ut a life lesson that has rewarded me with a new mindset. Success comes from hard wor! and colla"oration.