Dreams Goals Sample 2

For me, it all starts with a visit to an orphanage in Soweto during a family vacation when I was in elementary school. Seeing one boy light up when I shared a piece of bubble gum, I was overcome by the idea that I could make a difference in someone’s life with the smallest of gestures.

Fast forward to middle school, where I discovered that my academic strength was math and learned about engineering thanks to two summers of Explo at Wellesley and Explo Yale.

It was the summer after my tenth grade year when it all came together in a realistic and achievable vision for my future during a month-long program in the Dominican Republic. There we built biomass stoves for families in need -- a sustainable solution conceived by some engineer. Again, we were making a big difference with a relatively small act. It dawned on me then that engineers could change the world and that I could be an engineer.

My heart lies with using engineering to help people in the developing world. From my point of view, one of the most serious problems the world faces today is the looming water crisis. Traveling, I have seen many families in Africa, Asia and Central America who have no reliable source of clean drinking water. Recently I wrote a paper on the subject and learned that 783 million people have no access to clean water. For me that is almost inconceivable and I firmly believe that my generation must find a solution to the global water problem.

I ultimately want to be part of the engineering team that conceives of and implements a sustainable solution to this crisis. As I have explained in another essay, I believe the next step on the path to achieving this dream is attending Princeton where I will combine study of environmental engineering with entrepreneurship and international affairs.

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