Anderson/UCLA Admission Essay
Uploaded by EssayEdge on Jan 07, 2002
What do you consider to be your most important personal and professional accomplishments to date? (Please limit to three.)
With no money, no direction, and no goals, I graduated from high school in 1987 not knowing if I would ever be a man, if I would ever know what life means. Unable to afford college tuition, I worked odd jobs for a few months before deciding to join the United States Marine Corps. A scrappy kid who needed structure and support, I entered the Marines unprepared for the next thirteen weeks of extraordinary physical and mental challenges.
Arriving at the recruit-training depot in Parris Island South Carolina on February 3,1988 not knowing what to expect, I watched my hair fall off my head, had vaccinations for every disease ever discovered, and learned to live with sixty other young men in close quarters. The days were long. I would wake up at 4 a.m. and work nonstop for 18 hours until I could collapse on my bed. Exposed to individuals from many different cultural and economic backgrounds, I learned the value of teamwork and the work ethic essential to leadership. When we first arrived on the island, my platoon was a jumbled mess of disobedient, out of shape, undisciplined boys. After three months of exhausting training we were molded into a group of highly motivated, physically fit men. On the proudest day of my life, I marched in the graduation parade to become a United States Marine.
After being discharged from the United States Marine Corps, I became determined to attain an electrical engineering degree from Florida State University. I wisely invested in the GI Bill early on in my Marine Corps career in order to go to college. Although a substantial amount of money, the GI Bill only covered my tuition; to pay for food and rent, I took a full time job with the VA work-study program. In the beginning I had difficulty adjusting to working full time while maintaining a full coarse load, and I began to feel hindered by my years outside the classroom. However, determined to succeed, I learned to manage my time well, and I established good study habits, which have continued to the present. In the spring of 1997 I obtained a Bachelors degree in Electrical engineering, a full year ahead of schedule. I take pride in the fact that I am the first...