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Sample Personal Statement for Aerospace Engineering
"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar"
I must say that I am genuinely grateful to Helen Keller for
articulating what I have long cherished in the innermost recesses of
my mind. At the same time I also congratulate myself on having chosen
flying as my one-time career, for it has imparted to me both the
impulse and the desire to soar in my life.
Ten years ago when I was an undergraduate from the Department of
Mechanical Engineering of Tsinghua University, or even 5 years ago
when I just entered the China Civil Aviation Flight University, I had
the stubborn notion that, for the rest of my life, I would stay on the
ground working either as a mechanist engaged in mechanical designing
and the technical improvement of materials. It never dawned on me that
I would transcend all the matter-of-course outcomes resulting from my
five-year undergraduate studies to become a pilot of international
flights, for at that time the idea had never occurred to me that a
person could fly so freely in the infinite universe of his life.
In 1990, I sailed through the highly competitive National University
Entrance Examination to become an undergraduate in Tsinghua
University. Out of my instinctive interest, I chose to study in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering. My 5-year solid studies at this
most prestigious university in China allowed me to establish a
profound theoretical groundwork in mechanical engineering and to
develop an in-depth understanding of mechanical dynamics and its
operation principle. During my graduation internship, I discovered
that, because of the airborne sand, the cylinder piston ring of the
desert vehicle which did not receive alloy surface treatment
frequently incur friction damage and breaking. This not only created
great hindrance to the normal operation of desert vehicles but also
seriously jeopardized the life and security of personnel doing field
work in the desert. Driven by my sense of responsibility, I chose The
Surface Alloy Treatment of the Cylinder Piston Ring of Desert Vehicles
by Laser, a highly difficult technical subject which constituted part
of a research program of the National 9th Five-Year Plan, as the topic
of my graduation design. I was responsible for organizing a research
team to conduct designing, processing and analyzing involved in the
investigation. In order to arrive at the perfect ratio of different
substances to be contained in the alloy, I undertook innumerable
experiments which were coupled with innumerable failures. Sometimes I
would stay in the laboratory for days without knowing the lapse of
time. During this difficult but equally exciting period, it was
Edison's motto Success Means Standing up Once More After Failure that
sustained me. With due efforts, we concluded the research
satisfactorily, not only scoring significant technological
breakthroughs but also yielding impressive practical profitability.
After graduating as an undergraduate from Tsinghua University in 1995,
at the strong recommendation of the University, I took part in a
screening test administered by Air China for the recruitment of civil
aviation pilots. With my impressive personal performance, I
distinguished myself from the a total of 20,000 participants as a
qualified candidate and entered China Civil Aviation Flight University
in Sichun Province where I studied aviation theories and techniques,
aerodynamics, meteorology and other relevant knowledge. In the first
year of my studies at this university, I received the honor of Model
Student. On account of my prominent performance in my studies and
flying practice, together with my strong adaptability, especially with
my impressive organizational and communicational capacity, I was
dispatched by Air China in July 1997 to the Flight Safety Academy
located in Florida of the United States to undergo a one-year
specialized training in order to develop myself into an outstanding
pilot on international flights.
During my studies at Flight Safety Academy, I was confronted with even
greater challenges. I made utmost efforts to perfect my English
aptitude within the shortest possible time. I continued to study
advanced courses in flight principles, aerodynamics, federal
regulations and a series of subjects directly or indirectly related to
flying. At the same time, I was subjected to the most rigorous flight
training. I did not shrink from any of those challenges. Instead, I
surmounted them one by one, supported by the powerful spirit of
perseverance and confidence cultivated in me in my early childhood. At
the end of this one-year training, I received the Certificate for
Flying Commercial Multi-Engineer Aircrafts issued by the Federal
Aviation Administration of the United States. Hard as it was, the
one-year experience in the United States not only enabled me to
acquire the necessary qualifications as a pilot of international
flights, but also helped me to develop some initial understanding of
the American society. In July 1998, I returned to Air China and
formally became its qualified pilot on international flights.
As a pilot, one must be in possession of a strong sense of
responsibility and the spirit of teamwork. This requires that a pilot
must be meticulous in every detail, able to deal with emergencies, and
effective in interpersonal communication. Before each routine flight,
I would make detailed flight plans, conduct careful analysis of the
conditions of the airfields that we would land on, familiarize myself
with the air routes and the weather conditions. I pay special
attention to enhance my ability in analyzing and handling emergency
situations. On those occasions when the flight is delayed due to
irresistible factors, my patient explanations to the passengers tend
to make them satisfied and their excited emotions would naturally calm
down, facilitating the smooth settlement of the problems. In
recognition of my prominent achievements, my company conferred on me
the Model Pilot Award. All those gradually cultivated qualities serve
as my strong assets for commencing new stages of my career.
Over the past four years, I have traveled to virtually all the major
countries of the world and I have accumulated a 3000-hour record of
safe flight. After arriving at each destination, I can enjoy a brief
vacation of 3 to 4 days in the local city. I would invariably take
advantage of such occasions to make extensive visits to the local
society, coming into close contacts with local traditions and customs.
Those experiences have not only significantly broadened my cultural
perspective and enriched my mind, but also developed my ability to
accommodate myself to different cultural backgrounds. Exposure to new
ideas, a cosmopolitan awareness, and increased receptivity are the
greatest benefits that I have been able to derive from those
experiences.
My pleasant work experiences make me increasingly interested in my
career as a pilot. But at the same time I have also come to develop a
strong concern for the existing condition of China's civil aviation
industry. Because of its lack of fund and backward technology, plus
its belated development, China's civil aviation industry currently
lags far behind the developed countries, particularly in the field of
aerospace engineering. Once again, motivated by my sense of
responsibility to help develop China's civil aviation industry, I am
determined to relinquish my present career and apply to study
Aerospace Engineering at your distinguished university, to embark on a
new stage of life. Technically, I have established a solid foundation
for apply for an advanced degree program in aerospace engineering
because of my undergraduate training in mechanical engineering. My
actual experience as a pilot further contributes to my readiness to
combine theoretical knowledge with practical expertise. The most
essential point is that, psychologically, my extraordinary sense of
responsibility for the safety of passengers has cultivated in me the
spirit for pursuing perfection. Such an awareness and spirit will
undoubtedly ensure the maximum success in my prospective degree
program as in my heretofore career as a pilot.
Admittedly, to relinquish my present career means to give up many
advantages: a relatively high salary, a comfortable life, and a
respected social status. But I should say that flying constitutes for
me not only a form of career and a form of working experience. It has
also ignited my passion for the future, for it enabled me to
understand the true significance of horizon, that, as a matter of
fact, the horizon of life is akin to the horizon of the sky in which I
fly in that they both promises infinite possibilities. It made me
further realize that an individual's universe is as infinite as his
heart is ambitious. In order to pursue a more exciting future of
personal development, it is often necessary to transcend the mere
past. The present decision that I make is by no means a form of
relinquishment, but a form of pursuit, seeking to transcend the status
quo and to strive for excellence, to fly to even higher destinies.
I could never understand why "To be or not to be / That is the
question" can become such a celebrated soliloquy and why the
protagonist Hamlet, the prince of hesitation and indecision, could
become such a worshipped hero. For me, who is well equipped with all
my previous qualifications and at the same time confident about the
future, I would say : To Soar or to Creep / That is no Question! |
