In this blog post, we will introduce two ways to effectively convey a clear vision for your career and a consistent attitude toward learning in your academic plan for civil and environmental engineering.
Write about your academic experience and what you learned
“Learn by seeing often and memorize by writing often.”
I am a case study of how memorization can be frustrating. I have good application and comprehension skills, but my memory is poor, so I always ranked at the bottom of my class. I was upset and angry. Why is my memorization so poor? However, after spending a year just getting angry, I realized that it was even more futile and frustrating. I realized that when I encounter a problem, I have to overcome it and move forward, because nothing will be solved by just sitting there. So, I worked hard to improve my memorization skills.
Every day, I wrote notes and filled pages and pages of paper. I also set aside an hour every day just for memorization. I tried to memorize what my teacher wrote down right then and there, and I even memorized while walking down the street. However, the more I tried to memorize, the less I could remember, and I felt my concentration slipping. Then, one day, I decided to try a new method. At that time, I was not feeling well and had given up on the exam, so I just spent my days reading books. On the day before the exam, I memorized only the things I didn’t know well. However, I got the best score of my life. I was really surprised. Why did I get such a good score even though I didn’t study as hard as usual? Then I suddenly realized that what I had been “reading” every day had helped me memorize things. In other words, if you read something many times, you can memorize it well. In addition, I found that I could memorize things that I couldn’t remember by writing them down.
Realizing this, I discovered a study method of using my hands to memorize things by looking at them many times, and eventually I was able to find a method that suited me and study hard. Through this process, I realized that if I don’t give up and keep trying, I will eventually be able to achieve what I want.
Major school activities and impressions
“My first volunteer experience taught me how to move forward without running away.”
My first volunteer experience after entering high school led me to continue volunteering. It was also through this volunteer work that I had the most intense experiences of my life and learned so much.
The first volunteer organization I joined was an organization that helped people in rehabilitation. These were people who had lost part of their bodies in accidents but were training to return to normal life and adapting to new prosthetic limbs. Rehabilitation requires a lot of people to take care of the patients, and the rehabilitation equipment is very expensive, so the volunteer organization I joined was helping with those things. The first thing I did was to raise donations to cover the rehabilitation costs.
At first, I was embarrassed to ask for donations. Standing in front of people and proclaiming my goal, and standing in front of people and asking them to donate, felt like I was begging. On top of that, when I stood outside for 12 hours, my legs hurt and I felt exhausted, and I became angry and frustrated, wondering why I was doing this. However, when I endured the hardship and delivered the donations, I understood why I was doing this. The first donation I collected was for a friend who was much younger than me. He lost his leg in an accident, and although it wasn’t all of the money, it helped him to undergo rehabilitation. Seeing him happy gave me even more hope. The joy I felt at that moment was greater than any joy I had ever felt from getting good grades or receiving a gift. That’s why I wanted to continue volunteering here.
And while helping with the costs of rehabilitation and assisting with rehabilitation itself, I gained strength. Even though they were in so much pain and suffering, what my friends wanted was very basic. To walk properly, to sleep properly, to speak and hear properly. They were trying with all their might to do things that are basic for ordinary people. Seeing their efforts made me reflect on my own lazy lifestyle. And that reflection gave me strength. I decided to follow their example and become a person who never gives up, no matter where I am.
“Let’s spread the power of hope!”
When I was in my second year of high school, I worked hardest to promote our volunteer club and organization. I wanted to let people know that volunteer work is beautiful in and of itself, and that even though it is hard, it is also very rewarding. I worked hard to promote our club, and as a result, I was able to experience the rewards of volunteer work together with many people.
Examples of consideration, sharing, and cooperation, and what I learned
“Let’s be people who stay by each other’s side until the end and clean up together.”
What I learned from volunteering is that it’s not difficult to get started, but it’s really hard to finish. For example, when we volunteer to distribute kimchi, it’s a lot of fun to buy the cabbage, salt it, and talk with people while making plans. However, when the whole process is over and it is time to clean up and throw away the trash, the work becomes hard and difficult. This is because I am tired. At times like that, I was very grateful to the people who helped me and gave me strength. Realizing this, I decided to become someone who helps clean up at school.
So I always stayed behind in the classroom to help clean up. Even when we went on field trips, I worked the hardest to clean up. Also, during sports days and festivals, when everyone was playing noisily and going home, I stayed behind with the teacher, class president, and other leaders to pick up trash and return lost items to my friends. Even when cleaning every day, I was responsible for putting things back in their places after cleaning was finished. No one told me to do it. I just thought that cleaning up was the hardest job, so I should do it.
The best thing about doing this job was that I was able to make friends who liked to organize things. There were other students who thought like me and worked quietly behind the scenes. I didn’t realize this until I started cleaning up. However, those friends were responsible for cleaning up with a unique sense of responsibility and sincerity. I naturally began to see them often, and I was able to make some really nice friends. This had an impact on my daily life and vision, and I think I was able to grow by following the example of those friends who had a unique sense of responsibility. We also became a source of strength for each other.
Efforts and preparations related to your motivation for applying and career plans
“I dream of a South Korea that is a little more convenient, a little safer, and a little more beautiful.”
I applied to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at XX University because I thought it was a department with a vision that could move South Korea forward. Civil and environmental engineering is, as the name suggests, a department that deals with civil engineering and plans and creates what we use, such as roads, buildings, and other so-called public goods. I think it is a department where you have to learn a lot because it is large in scale and there is a lot to do. And I thought that if I worked in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, I would be able to put into practice what I had only thought about until then. That is “change.” I thought that South Korea could no longer develop based on convenience alone. It must become a country that promotes shared growth and considers a wider variety of people, rather than just convenience. To do that, everything from public facilities to large buildings and the environment must change for the better. I thought that civil and environmental engineering would enable me to do that, so I decided to apply.
I believe that the thing I prepared most to enter the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at XX University was “sincerity.” I learned the importance of sincerity through volunteer work. Through volunteer work, I saw friends who were constantly striving for rehabilitation and friends who were passionate about helping them, and I realized that this was what it meant to be sincere. Because my sincerity is based on this realization, I believe that it will serve as a foundation for me to grow into a talented person. I am also a person with a vision. People with vision do not just run forward, but have the 여유 to look around and walk together with others. I have not only pursued my dreams, but also strived to become a person who is suitable for society, and I have tried to cultivate that spirit through volunteer work and challenging tasks. Although it is still abstract, I will become a talented person who is equipped with two essential qualities, vision and sincerity, and will spread my wings to the world.
