State of Purpose: Mechanical Engineer

838 Words2 Pages

Ever since I was little I have always been interested in how things work, and I have always thought about how I could build them work better. As an example, I lived in Japan for two years while I was in first and second grade. I went to a small public school and loved to ski with my friends, we probably went skiing at least once a week during the winter. When I was skiing I would always be fascinated by the ski lifts and spend a good deal of time staring at them to try and figure out how they worked. And eventually I did. That is just one example of my everyday life. I want to have a career in what I already love doing -- learning how machines work and making my own. The first time I went to Maker Faire in Kansas City was the day I decided for sure that I wanted to be a maker, and I haven’t missed a Maker Faire since. Maker Faire is an annual event that lasts a weekend and is held in various different cities around the world. It is a place for makers to show off their inventions and projects to thousands of spectators.
I have always liked playing with Legos and will always like Legos, it is a way that I can build all the inventions and modifications I think up in my head and make them a working prototype. When I went to Maker Faire KC in 2011 and saw all the amazing inventions, I was in heaven, but the device l was most interested in and decided I must have was a 3D printer. 3D printing is like Legos, you can build anything you think of in plastic, but unlike Legos, everything is strong and just the shape you want it to be. When I first saw 3D printers at Maker Faire they were still using hot glue guns, (a primitive method in 3D printing), so everything came out looking like it was a large blob made of cobwebs...

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... reading is how I have acquired the knowledge and know-how to follow my interests.
Even though there are numerous different kinds of makers I have almost always wanted to be a mechanical engineer. I’m excellent at math and I like it, especially algebra, and I anticipate that I will love geometry. My current goal is to obtain my engineering degree at MIT. I have always looked at MIT as the holy grail of schools for makers. I plan to increase my chance of getting in by studying hard and doing well on the ACT and SAT. Creating my own projects that follow my interests, like building my 3D printer, and recording the process I use to make them will also help with admissions. I will try as hard as I can to get accepted, so I can become the mechanical engineer, Maker I want to be.

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