Our enrichment programs aim to bring together a diverse cohort of students who are highly engaged learners and who care deeply about serving their current and future communities. Please expand on at least one of your extracurricular activities, hobbies, service experience, part-time work, or any other meaningful experience - outside of assigned work for class or an academic course - that you feel connects to the mission of the enrichment program(s) you have applied to (Recommended: 200 words).
I started and invited 30+ developers from all over China to create the innovative 3D rhythm game “Domain Echoing”. More than 10 renowned artists from around the world were invited to create “avantgarde” music for the game, and we will invite more artists in the future. I spent a lot of time contributing to it, including sending requests to famous composers around the world to help create music for the game. Dedicated to raising people’s music literacy and promoting music of the avantgarde genre. The game has been released on Testflight for some players and will be released on App Store/Google Play later this year. In the meantime, the editor for making Domain Echoing levels will be open-sourced on Github. For other rhythm game developers to use. That intensive communication between members makes the project even better, with a lot of extra ideas. In this precollege program I will also be eager to share ideas with other genius students. Since the STME resources are quite limited in our school, I would like to meet more students in the program. To contribute to a much more progressive science atomasphere.
Essays are a great way for us to get to know more about you and your goals. Please be as honest and detailed as possible in your responses.
Why did you choose this enrichment program? How are the goals of this program or the topics covered related to your current interests and future plans? Please be as specific as possible, and if you wish to be considered for more than one enrichment program, make sure your response covers each of the enrichment programs you chose. (Limit 500 words.)
As a member of the precollege program, I will be in an environment where innovation is spread, which is fundamental to my STEM identity. In the communities where I grew up, especially my school, advanced STEM resources were quite scarce, and I often witnessed my classmates disengage from science due to a lack of guidance. We don’t even have basic physics lab equipment in our school. In contrast, those precollege programs, especially Neubauer Phoenix STEM Summer Scholars, bring me the most advanced resources available. In the future, I will find ways to integrate what I have learned into my school. Not only bring in more hardware resources but also add a STEM environment where the students can participate and co-create. I feel that achieving any goal like that is a boost to my passion. For all other programs, it’s the same. As for why I prioritize the weekly event, it is because it introduces me to very deep content in a very short period. I also like to tackle things quickly. For example, developing a website usually takes me only two or three days; developing my game demo only takes me two weeks, etc. This style of activity suits me perfectly. The two-week event also allowed me to meet some friends and practitioners. This helped me a lot. I want to create another great event with this group of people in the future. Especially the interviews with the professionals. These are resources that I would not have been able to find in the community. Even though I want to get resources or learn quickly, I think longer events can give me a decent boost. Longer programs would allow me to acclimate to the college environment ahead of time as if I were studying in college. At the same time, this is something I am interested in, even though I have little time and resources at home to do physical activities and can only complete some computer-related ones.
Since its founding, the University has been committed to the idea that a culture of rigorous inquiry requires an environment where diverse perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas inform and stimulate intellectual exchange, challenge, and engagement.” -UChicago Office of the Provost. How will you contribute to our culture of inquiry in this program? What do you hope to gain by engaging with peers from all over the U.S. or from different parts of the world? (Limit 300 words)
I think the most important thing in this program is, of course, to interact with the educational culture of the United States and beyond. I was born in the U.S. but grew up studying and living in China. I received a Chinese education until 9th grade, when I entered an international school. My mannerisms, personality traits, and way of thinking are entirely a product of my Chinese education. The purpose of Chinese education is usually achievement-oriented. Students are expected to achieve a certain grade in certain subjects no matter what, and if they don’t, they are not good learners. The shortcoming of this kind of education is that there is no diversity. Students can’t do anything they want to do or are interested in. But American students are different. They have their independent minds and explore their interests a lot. I hope to meet these interesting people through the Precollege program. I want to know what they think and what they do every day. I will study in the United States in the future, and I want to integrate into American society. I want to learn about diverse cultures while exchanging skills. In addition to American students, I get to meet students from all over the world, and if I can be a part of that, I’ll be very satisfied.