Submission Number: 331
Submission ID: 1152
Submission UUID: 5e35e0c1-a37f-42a6-a476-53cf116966a2

Created: Sun, 03/26/2023 - 16:36
Completed: Sun, 03/26/2023 - 16:36
Changed: Mon, 05/05/2025 - 04:56

Remote IP address: 71.237.13.248
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
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Charlene
Yee
she/her/hers
Aurora
CO
United States
80016
Computer Science
English (5), Cantonese (3), Mandarin (3), Spanish (2)
Although COVID-19 has restricted my ability to travel internationally over the past few years, I have traveled to Hong Kong and mainland China a few times before to visit both of my parent's families. Through these experiences, I have gained exposure to speaking Cantonese with my relatives, who are native speakers. I have also attained more cultural awareness from doing daily activities such as taking buses as a main source of transportation, purchasing things in local markets, and going to family gatherings in traditional Chinese restaurants. Additionally, other more festive experiences that I have taken part in while visiting Hong Kong, such as viewing firecrackers during Chinese New Year or eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, have contributed to my overall perspective and understanding of the Chinese culture. Apart from my personal opportunities to travel internationally, my interest in studying abroad is reflected in my participation in the National Security Language Initiative for Youth Mandarin Program the summer before my junior year of high school. Although I was supposed to study abroad in Shanghai, the program transitioned to a virtual setting due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Despite this, I was still able to speak with native speakers at least twice a day and participate in significant cultural activities weekly. This program was perhaps the most influential towards my aspirations to pursue an international career in the future, as it not only inspired me to grow even more passionate about the Chinese language and culture, but widened my viewpoint on the global impact that knowing a language, such as Mandarin, can have. Overall, from both my personal and educational experiences of traveling and participating in a virtual study abroad program, I am more prepared for the Global Engineering RAP in the sense that I have been exposed to different languages and cultures in the past. I show a high level of interest in learning more about the diversity of cultures I encounter and adapting to them. As a result, I'm highly interested in studying abroad during my time at CU Boulder, and will take full advantage of the Global Engineering RAP to continue learning Mandarin and develop into an individual more capable of making a global impact. Due to my passion in technology as well, I hope to be able to discover how my interests in Chinese can connect to my major, computer science, within the Global Engineering RAP in CU Boulder.
As a pretty flexible person who enjoys making friends with diverse groups of people, I would likely be accepting of anyone living down the hall from me in the Global Engineering RAP! However, there still are a few characteristics of a person who would be ideal living down the hall and becoming a potential friend with me. As an open minded individual who likes a balance of being sociable and independent, I would enjoy interacting with someone who is accepting of different perspectives and considerate of other's time or lifestyle. Everyone has their own traits that make them unique, and I would get along easily with someone who is interested in learning about and accepting of other's differences. I'm excited to know about the interests, culture, and even music taste of this person, and hope we can develop a close bond! Some of my hobbies include listening to music, being outdoorsy (hiking, biking, trying new active things!), and spending time with friends. From taste testing different foods to visiting museums around campus, I hope we can spend some time with each other when time permits! At CU Boulder, I hope to pursue new hobbies by joining student organizations. If time allows, it’d be fun to join something together to learn a skill! In terms of academics, I would prefer the person living down the hall from me to have a similar level of seriousness about their commitment to classes and learning. While we can have many fun experiences together, I also hope we can inspire each other to stay on track and perform our best in classes. Together, we can motivate each other to get through the year and make the most of the Global Engineering RAP.
My interdisciplinary passions between computer science and the Chinese language have motivated me to believe that the Global Engineering RAP at CU Boulder is an ideal community where I can explore both of my academic interests freely. As an engineer who aspires to pursue an international career in the future upon graduating university, I know that this program will equip me with the skills to become more aware of the impact technology possesses on a global scale. Being a part of this program would also allow me to continue learning Chinese, as I hope personally to grow fluent in the language. As I was never able to study Mandarin abroad during high school, I hope to participate in study abroad in university. The Global Engineering RAP will encourage me to take advantage of such opportunities to learn internationally. Working towards a minor in Global Engineering would additionally help me more easily integrate into the international workforce in the future as an engineer. Throughout high school, I have pondered about my future career quite extensively, considering whether it would involve advancing translation systems in movies or creating new platforms to improve Mandarin proficiency for non-native speakers. I am excited to uncover the possibilities of pathways that intermix both technology and Chinese within the Global Engineering RAP. I believe that living amongst other students who likewise possess multifaceted interests, will encourage me to grow as a person with many different perspectives. Within such a distinctive student community, I can more easily integrate into the school culture, becoming an active student on campus. Furthermore, from my previous experiences of interning for a tech company to volunteering at a coding camp for Fast Enterprises, I have gained insight as an engineer on how to apply topics learned in the classroom to real world applications that can benefit others. With my additional interest in Chinese and global studies, I want to utilize my problem solving skills to improve communication on a global scale. I appreciate the interactive learning environment of the Global Engineering RAP, in which discussing my ideas or working on projects among the student body to innovate solutions are welcomed. I believe that my open-mindedness, eagerness to share ideas with others, and interdisciplinary focuses will allow me to make meaningful contributions to the Global Engineering RAP at CU Boulder.
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