Passions in Life Are My

¶ … passions in life are my academic studies and my pursuit of breakdancing. Despite their obvious differences, both have taught me the value of perseverance, hard work to maximize what I can achieve with my natural abilities, and the importance of teamwork in a collaborative environment that emphasizes respect for the contributions of others. I have learned to concentrate, focus on tasks, and to deal with the pressure of competition and of time limitations in two very different contexts.

Both of those interests go back to my high school career, and in the case of life sciences, my first two years of academic study at the college level have only confirmed and strengthened my potential interest in pursuing a career in that direction. My participation in both areas of interest has helped me develop the attributes of self-discipline, internal motivation, and perseverance over the long-term to achieve a specific goal.

Whether in dance or in life sciences, I have learned that one can progress by learning from others as well as from the first-hand experience of teaching others. To date, I have worked very hard through my sophomore year to maintain a 3.4 GPS at UCLA and that hard work has allowed me to be fortunate enough to have been selected as one of the relatively few UCLA Life Science students who were able to participate in the Honors Seminar program.

That series of seminars provided the opportunity of exposure to the fascinating research project presentations of current Life Science Ph.D. candidates. My completed academic studies in Chemistry and in the Life Science course in Cells, Tissues, and Organs, and in Evolution, Ecology, and Biodiversity, have provided a background that I believe I will be able to build upon to succeed in the HMRI summer student intern research program, and, ultimately, to pursue related areas of future study and professional dedication.

My success in those challenging courses also contributed to my growing sense of confidence in my academic abilities to pursue this highly-competitive area of study in the future. As an Asian-American, I am most interested in liver research projects such as those of Dr. Tong and Dr. Corey, because so many Asian-Americans are afflicted with hepatic problems, including some of my very close family members. Likewise, I am interested in molecular pathology research, such as that of Dr.

Imam, in relation to the identification and accurate diagnosis of cancer and other diseases through molecular markers. These areas are especially meaningful to me because of the experiences of some of my close friends and family members who have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer. More particularly, I hope to explore and eventually contribute to areas such as.