By: Graduate School Candidate3   

Subject:   Dentistry School

Ever since childhood I have enjoyed working with my hands. Whether as an eight year- old gluing together a model car or an adolescent assembling a bookshelf in woodworking class, I thrived on the challenges of precise and meticulous tasks. Throughout high school I have been intrigued by the sciences, but it was not until I read about late-breaking discoveries and research in the field of genetics that my interests in science intensified. When I entered the University of British Columbia (UBC), I naturally chose to specialize in Cell Biology and Genetics.

In my sophomore year at UBC, I first began to seriously consider dentistry as a career. At that time, I began to appreciate the important role that dentistry played in my life. Four years earlier, I began an orthodontic treatment program with Dr. Junni Wang to correct a severe crowding problem with my teeth. Both before and during the treatment, I was a most reluctant participant; not many teenagers look forward to braces filling their mouth during their last two years of high school, and I was no different.

However, at every monthly check-up for three-and-a-half years the office staff had nothing but kind words of encouragement and optimism. Now after the completion of the treatment I had reason to smile. Dr. Wang helped turn me from a shy adolescent who feared smiling into a confident, outgoing young man. His skills not only brought back my smile, but also my sense of confidence in all aspects of my life. Whereas once I feared drawing attention to myself and thus shied away from leadership posts and debates, now I am a completely different person. Hoping to feel as satisfied and gratified as Dr. Wang must have felt in improving not only my smile but my entire way of life, I look forward to improving the oral health of patients on a daily basis and participating in dentistry’s friendly, team-oriented work environment.

After this preliminary ‘patient-doctor’ exposure to dentistry, I substantially increased my involvement in the field to determine if dentistry really was for me. My participation with the UBC Pre-Dental Society allowed me to communicate with various professionals in the field. I also investigated opportunities to volunteer in the University Dental Clinic or participate in research work. After speaking to a couple of professors in the UBC Faculty of Dentistry asking them about research opportunities, I found a topic that interested me. Dr. Putnins, of the Division of Periodontics, offered me a position in his lab to conduct a semi-quantitative analysis to determine the levels of endotoxin in dental unit water lines.

After taking many water samples from the University Dental Clinic and quantifying the amounts of endotoxin (lipopolysaccahride) in those samples with an Limulus Abeocyte Lysate test, I prepared to publish dentistry’s first account of this type of experiment. I conducted the study over a 16-week span (Jan.-Apr.‘98), and the research work counted as 3.0 credits towards my undergraduate degree. Because the vast majority of my work was self-directed, I submitted my findings for evaluation by the faculty in a 32-page report with 46 references, and I also defended my methods before a panel of professors. Impressed by the findings and results, Dr. Putnins will use my study as a key component of a journal article he is currently preparing for the Journal of Dental Research (JDR). The school also submitted an abstract of my findings for presentation at the upcoming 77th General Session of the International Association of Dental Research (IDAR) to be held at Vancouver, Canada. I am keenly looking forward to this unique opportunity to have my work appear before distinguished members of the dental research community. My positive research experience definitely helped reinforce my goal of becoming a dentist.

In addition, my employment as a Canada Customs Inspector has helped me improve my level of social awareness and helped me develop qualities I can usefully apply to dentistry. As a Customs Inspector, I had the opportunity to communicate effectively with many different types of people in various situations. I have also developed the ability to resolve conflicts, defuse difficult situations, and show empathy even during cases of enforcement. In addition, my experience with team sports has provided me with leadership skills that can not be taught in any textbook. As the captain of my hockey team and the coach of a children’s team, I have developed excellent communication skills and the ability to identify and work effectively with kids. All of these qualities will prove very important to my future career in dentistry.

Attracted by the dental profession’s ability to positively impact people’s lives, just like my orthodontist, and by the profession’s financially rewarding and stable lifestyle, I look forward to one day opening my own practice and becoming a well-respected member of both the community of dentists and the community of patients. While my GPA may not be as high as some applicants’, my academic record shows a consistent positive. I know I have the intelligence, ability, and determination to achieve success in dentistry; I only need the opportunity. My dental research experience combined with my academic background, personal qualities, and leadership abilities makes me well suited to accept the challenges in the field of dentistry. I look forward to an interview and the chance to discuss my qualifications in person.

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By: Graduate School Candidate2   

Subject:   Stanford Engineering Masters

During my senior year at Purdue University, I made a decision that has impacted the entire course of my education. While my classmates were making definite decisions about their career paths, I chose to implement a five-year plan of development and growth for myself. I designed this plan in order to examine various careers that I thought might interest me, as well as to expand upon my abilities at the time. As I was attaining a BS degree in Electrical Engineering, I decided to focus primarily on fields

related to the VLSI (Very Large-Scale Integrated) circuits area. My main goals were either to gain work experience or to further my education by pursuing an MS degree in Electrical Engineering (MSEE). I saw an opportunity to both work and learn through employment at Xilinx Inc. Operating as a product engineer at a successful, high-tech semiconductor company has enabled me to utilize my technical and interpersonal skills in new and challenging ways. The position has also allowed me to interact with a multitude of departments including marketing, integrated circuit (IC) design, software/CAD development, manufacturing, reliability, accounting, and sales. I thus have gained an array of experience that extended beyond the parameters of my own responsibilities. In the workplace, I rely heavily upon the interpersonal techniques I developed as a counselor in a Purdue residence hall, as well as the organizational skills I had acquired through holding various leadership positions in cultural and engineering societies. I have also cultivated an interest in high-technology marketing that has continued to grow throughout my career.

My experiences with Xilinx have heightened my hunger for knowledge in the VLSI field. Two months after joining the corporation, I applied to several part-time programs in the vicinity that would allow me to acquire an MSEE degree within two to three years. San Jose State seemed an ideal choice,

for its evening MSEE courses would allow me to pursue two independent, full-time positions concurrently. The San Jose program has complimented my Xilinx duties well; both demand large levels of energy and enthusiasm while guiding me to my ultimate goal a high degree of education in VLSI sciences.

The resources that I poured into both endeavors have reaped many gains. I have been promoted to a Product-Yield Engineering position within Xilinx's Coarse Grain Static Memory (CGSM) Product Engineering division. My extensive coursework plays a key role in my continued success at Xilinx.

Relevant classes in advanced digital and analog VLSI design, as well as sub-micron ULSI technology, have allowed me to understand more completely the workings of Xilinx, a fab-less semiconductor company that also functions as a software and hardware design, testing, and marketing center. The gains in knowledge I have made through the combination of work experience and education have indeed been exponential.

The academic records of my senior year at Purdue, coupled with my MSEE coursework, are ample proof of my dedication to learning. I feel I have overcome through hard work and dedication the brief "dry phase" I underwent at Purdue during the close of my sophomore and the first semester of my junior years. My performance at that time is in no way indicative of my usual achievements; they are instead the result of urgent family difficulties that required much foreign travel and serious attention to resolve. In May, I shall graduate with an MSEE degree from San Jose well ahead of my original estimates. This early graduation with Dean's Honors is the result of my firm belief in the value of diligence, as well as my renewed determination to strive for perfection in both work and school.

I am now embarking on another five-year plan, during which I hope to fulfill several specific career goals. For instance, being part of a very dynamic and results-oriented Yield team at Xilinx calls for continuous development of computational and statistical techniques. The Yield team is divided to focus on specific process/fabrication issues and process (manufacturing) optimization. My own position is an integral part of the optimization group. Speed and cost issues continue to press high technology atmospheres towards optimization, probability and stochastic processes and systems, and rigorous simulations of mathematical models. The MS in EES&OR offered at your university will grant me the statistical knowledge that is crucial for process and production optimization in a fab-less environment.

In addition, product engineering requires fundamental research on mathematical models for linear and non-linear programming, as well as the utilization of efficient computer software. I continuously employ the

knowledge I gained at Purdue in Operations Research and advanced mathematics courses. Yet despite the value of these classes and my high performance in them, I now require further education to best fulfill my duties. An MS in the EES&OR field, will give me knowledge that is invaluable to a career in product development, project management and strategic planning. The program will allow me to improve decision-making skills in operations, strategy, and policy issues. I will strengthen my theory and application in countless areas:continuous, discrete, numerical optimization; probabilistic and stochastic processes; dynamic systems and simulation; economics, finance, and investment; decision analysis; dynamic

programming and planning under uncertainty; operations and service; corporate and individual strategy; and private and public policy issues.Thus, the EES&OR program will not only help me to excel at Xilinx

but will also further any future career. My commitment to work and education over the last three years proves that I will pursue this MS with enthusiasm and zeal.The technical edge that the MS would provide is

incomparable.Since I will be working while attending Stanford, I shall mingle education with practical application, and bring to the table interesting problems from my experience and past education.

Technical challenges encountered through projects in the EES&OR program will provide motivation and opportunity for methodological innovation.The data collection, processing and presentation issues presented are integral to my future goals, and the management challenges raised will provide

invaluable experience for professional practice. This will in turn build a solid foundation for a life-long career that can overcome any problem in decision-making. In addition, taking courses in economics, finance, and investment analysis will allow much growth of knowledge in investment issues in different industries. The EES&OR program thus appeals not only to my engineering, economics, science and mathematical background, but will compliment my technical abilities with the conceptual frameworks needed to analyze problems in operations, production, strategic planning, and marketing in the realm of emiconductor/IC/engineering systems. I feel that I am prepared to meet the challenges of the curriculum. My coursework in intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics, international trade, operations research, linear algebra, and probabilistic methods, along with my extensive calculus background, will allow me to function well within the program.

My long-term career goals include a move into marketing and product management. I believe that attaining this MS degree is the cornerstone to achieving my goals. It will give me the academic background necessary to succeed in product development, project management, and strategic planning.

It will improve decision-making skills necessary for optimizing performance. The integration of two excellent programs in Economics Systems and Operations Research thus suits my current position and ties in with future goals perfectly by improving decision making in operations, strategy and policy. At present I desire to continue at Xilinx; attending a program that provides the flexibility and convenience of the SITN, is therefore imperative. Hence, being at Stanford as an HCP student alsoattracts me. I believe that Stanford is the best environment for me to achieve my goals while gaining exposure to and experience with a diverse student body and faculty. It is my belief that one continues to learn throughout one's life, and the most effective method of learning is through interaction with others.Stanford's diversity offers an environment for learning, both inside and outside the classroom. I hope to share my varied knowledge with my classmates and to take from them a new understanding of topics that are foreign to me. I believe that no other school provides students with the combination of education and environment offered by

Stanford. Its outstanding academic reputation, mingled with its diverse environment and thriving Bay Area location, creates an opportunity for growth that is second to none. I have many ambitions for myself as I

embark on this stage of my life. I believe that an education from Stanford will provide invaluable experiences and skills that will allow me to become a successful and innovative business leader in the new millennium.