Free College Admissions Essays: Barnebey Letter Of Recommendation

Barnebey Letter of Recommendation

Persistent/Determined:

The end of my sophomore year, I had spent a lot of time reflecting on the classes that I wished to take going into Junior year. My options were limited: IB Math Studies or AP Calculus. I have always been an advocate for free choice and independence when it comes to your education and although I valued the importance of math, I knew that I didn’t fit in with the rest of the AP Calculus students. So, I signed up for IB Math Studies with the notion that I could improve my math skills in the areas that I was struggling in. However, the math department didn’t understand my reasoning. They believed that I needed to follow the path with the rest of the students into AP Calculus. And that was what bothered

me. I’m not a square peg that you can just try and fit into a round hole. Every student is different; they learn at their own pace and they have diverse interests that should be acknowledged. So, I challenged their demands. Trying to cater to their area of strength, I broke the argument down logically. I organized a parent-teacher meeting that would prove my parents were supporters of my decision, I coordinated with Ms. Barnebey who trusted my judgement and in the end, the math department saw their error in judgement: they simply couldn’t deny me a math class. Through perseverance and determination, I let my voice be heard and ended up in a classroom where I felt most comfortable and a class that I could get the most out of.
If tennis has taught me anything, it’s sacrifice. Spending four years of your high school doing anything is sacrifice. But, I also believe that my commitment to the Newport Harbor Tennis Program has demonstrated persistence and determination. There were time-many times-where spending four hours at practice was enough to make me want to quit, but I knew that I had an obligation to my teammates and to myself to push through. Tennis taught me to believe in myself, set goals and then go out and do everything possible to meet those goals. As cliche as it sounds, it taught me to believe in myself, trust myself and then go after whatever it was I wanted.

Adaptable/Leader
I clearly remember last year during our advertisement presentation when I was partnered with Kalev and Blake. The past few years, especially in the IB program, I became used to having classes and doing projects with kids who responded to your text the minute they saw the word “project” in the subject line. Essentially, they were kids who started their assignments weeks before they was due and offered extra, unnecessary help to make it more presentable than it already was. In short, they were overachievers. However, I knew that Kalev did not fall into that category. He was a hard worker who danced to the beat of his own drum and saw things differently than others. After a series of unanswered text messages and phone calls, I was ready to give up on the idea that this was a “group” project and just try to bust it out myself. Half way through the start of the assignment, Kalev called back and after a few minutes of small talk, he apologized and offered his immediate assistance. My first thought was to tell him that I could finish it myself and just give him a copy of what he needed to say, but I swallowed my impatience and turned down my control freak nature. We talked about our game plan and together made a list of ideas of topics and examples that would be best. The next few nights, to my surprise, I was the one missing Kalev’s many calls as he asked for clarification on instructions and examples. Although it took extra time, extra meet-ups and extra explanation, I was impressed with my ability to remain patient and understanding. However, I was most impressed by Kalev’s work ethic and diligence. Although, he wasn’t the typical “over achieving” classmate I was used to, we adapted to each other and I began to admire his hard work and willingness to ask for assistance. I stepped out of my comfort zone and took the reigns in a different way than I was used to; I didn’t do all the work, but pushed him to be an outstanding partner.
As part of my community service, I work with a mentally handicapped girl named Jordan. Work would probably be the wrong word for it, but I spend time with her, help her socialize with others, and simply make her feel important. Last year, I got the tennis program, Adriana and some of the faculty members to volunteer at the Special Olympics that was being hosted in Irvine. Nobody had met Jordan before, but I asked if she wanted to join. It’s difficult for Jordan to participate in the activities because she is mentally and physically handicapped, but I figured that being around others that supporter her would maker her feel special. We spent the entire morning packing lunches for the volunteers and athletes and then brought Jordan to watch the swim meets, basketball games, frisbee contests, etc. Everybody that volunteered had a great time and so did Jordan. So I started the Special Olympics Club on campus and have been inviting people to volunteer ever since. I am currently trying to organize with the Special Olympics Comity an event that will take place at the tennis courts and and give the athletes a chance to have one on one help from the Newport Harbor Tennis program.
Open-Minded/Dedicated
I remember the beginning of my junior year when you assigned us our first few essays. After years of analytical writing, I typed out some boring essay that sounded more like a research paper. You told me that you wanted to fall asleep reading this and I couldn’t believe my ears. How could she hate it? Wasn’t the point of high school essays to analyze a book in five paragraphs with a thesis, conclusion and a bunch of big words? I quickly learned that I was wrong. You told us that our writing should have a voice, should entertain in some way or another and that we should put some “poetry in our prose”. Then, you said to go home and rewrite it. That night, I sat at my computer and wrote nothing for about an hour. As hard as I tried, I simply couldn’t break past this idea of a five paragraph essay structure. It took me a long time to grasp the fact that high school writing doesn’t have to be boring, it can actually be entertaining and it should be. That idea changed my writing completely and although it took practice and a lot of risk, it was for the better.
2.

I’ve spent a majority of my high school working as a babysitter to make extra money. However, there aren’t a lot of days besides Saturday and Friday nights that parents need babysitters. So I decided that I should apply for a job-a real job. I thought that applying for jobs would be easy, but I was really, really, really wrong. After walking from store to store around Fashion Island, I ended up with about three job applications and I wasn’t convinced that they were even looking to hire. But, I spent the day filling out the applications and the next week sitting by my phone waiting for a call from them. I finally got hired at Muttropolis, a retail store for pets, and was thrown into something I wasn’t familiar with. I learned all about how to be professional, how to give good customer service and how to work the cash register. Frankly, I sucked at all of it. The first week there, I was convinced that I was going to get fired for not putting the collars in the right order, or for not giving back the right amount of change. But, I stayed hopeful and open-minded that I would find my groove. Through dedication and time, I found it and began to fit right in with the people who had been working there for

years.

2. Explain why you want to go to college.  What are you hoping to gain from the experience?
I’m not looking to change the world because I want to aim for something more realistic and doable, but I do want to make a difference. In college, I hope to find what drives me and what I am passionate about so that I can spread my gift to those around me. Also, I believe that a lot of growth and maturity occurs in college which in my opinion, is beneficial to every teenager. There are just some lessons that cannot be learned until you have spent time at a college, on your own, without the cushion of parents. Not to mention, aside from the overload of homework and assignment, I love learning because it helps me better understand the world and people around me. And in short, college is the perfect place for that.



3. For your top 2-3 schools, let me know specifically why you want to go there.  What is it about that school as opposed to the many, many other options? 
My dream, reach school is Brown University. It has what I believe every school should consider incorporating: freedom to take the classes you want. I think that students should be able to design their own education based on the classes that they are interested in, because, if they are interested and comfortable, they will naturally perform better. I am a person that naturally like to challenge myself, so I know that the flexible education system would encourage me to take classes I am both interested in and classes that I believe will challenge and benefit me. While there, I want to study international relations and incorporate that into business. I think that with my leadership skills and my Belorussian background, I can be a great fit.
Aside from Brown, I’d also love to go to Villanova or Boston University. I would study business and international relations at both of these school, but I also love that they are in the heart of Boston. Location, for me, is a really big factor because I want to feel comfortable spending 4 years in that particular place. Also, Boston has one of the best archeology programs in the country, which is an area that I am interested in and would possibly like to minor in. Not to mention, Villanova has a great business school and from what I’ve read, seems like a schools the students enjoy being at. As long as the students are happy, that’s all that matters.