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| "Life interests me. I try to involve myself in as many learning opportunities as I possibly can. Because I enjoy doing math problems, I have entered several math competitions and won some. Joining clubs and community activities in mathematics have enriched my experiences. I have gone through math books, solving each and every problem. But there are still so many challenging questions that are just waiting for my attention. The feel of looking at a math problem and having absolutely no idea how to begin it is becoming very familiar. |
"Numbers fascinate me. Math is what I live for. The various properties are so simple, yet elegant. However, math has also been my challenge; a challenge that I have had to struggle through, a challenge that I have shed many tears over but also a challenge that taught me many important values of life. My father helped me advance in math. After learning a new topic in class, he would expand it and deepen it. I knew each concept above and beyond what was taught at school. I even learned the basics of calculus in middle school, although I never fully understood it until later."
Scholarship: 3.993 GPA; ranks 15 out of 705; 33 composite ACT.
Awards and projects: National Honors Society; captain of Academic Decathlon team; honorable mention as outstanding Asian student by the Asian-American Advisory Council; Mathematical Association of America Certificate of Distinction; Math Club president; French Club president; Chamber Orchestra second violin section leader and string quartet leader.
| "No real success comes without struggle, and no understanding comes without price. I remember one day working hours trying to find a formula that I thought must exist. I wasted pages and pages of scratch paper doing work that got me nowhere. After spending all that time, I was ready to just forget about it. But something within me wouldn't give up, and I gave the search all my powers until I finally discovered the solution. |
"Math has taught me that only through that kind of dedication and strain does personal achievement come. The human mind has incredible capabilities that are greater than any computer, but its true potential can only be accessed with sacrifice and discipline.
"I've always been driven to succeed. I don't do it for the recognition, but for the self-fulfillment that comes from plain hard work. It is challenging because often people think I'm just naturally smart at subjects such as math and don't have to work for any achievement. Despite this I've tried to dedicate myself to constant self-improvement."
Scholarship: Ranks first out of 776. Cumulative GPA is 4.0. 34 composite ACT.
Awards and projects: National Honors Society; AP Scholar Award; National Security Agency silver prize winner; 2001 and 2002 USA Mathematical Olympiad; Academic Decathlon; Shop With a Cop; Eagle Scout; Close-Up Program participant; first place winner of the University of Utah Calculus Challenge in 2002; piano instructor.
| ""One of my personality traits is a tendency of obsession, especially toward math. During the summer before my junior year, I attended the University of Utah's Summer Math Program for three weeks. I was taught number theory for three hours each morning and various mathematical applications for three hours each afternoon. |
"I plan on majoring in mathematics for college studies and continuing my math education until I have a doctorate degree. While pursuing that degree, I hope to have the opportunity to teach math courses to undergraduates and to do meaningful research that will help further the frontiers of mathematics. To me the most interesting field in mathematics is cryptology. The art of making secret messages appeals to both the mathematician and the little boy inside of me.
"Most mathematicians do their best work while they are young. Perhaps the most fulfilling thing that I could accomplish in life is setting a bright young student on the path to greatness, whether that be in mathematics or life in general."
Scholarship: Ranks 23 of 774; overall GPA is 3.989; 35 composite ACT.
Awards and projects: National Honor Society; LDS Hospital junior volunteer; captain of Alta's hockey team; member of the Japanese American Citizens League; officer in Alta's student government; first place in State Math Contest, 2004; 800 on SAT II; AP Scholar with Distinction; National Honor Roll; DECA competition; summer seminar at the U.S. Naval Academy.
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