As in life, there are ups and downs in every student’s educational experience. I believe students have different aptitudes for subject matter and learning styles. Every student has classes that come easily while others are a struggle, including myself. However, when a subject is too much to handle on your own, you should never be afraid to ask for help. As the great Albert Einstein once said, “You never fail until you stop trying.” With the right combination of self-motivation, hard work and perseverance, you can turn any scholastic challenge into a scholastic achievement.

I graduated 10th in my class from high school (GPA 4.6) and cum laude from the University of Southern California with a degree in Biology (GPA 3.5). I was incredibly fortunate to receive a merit based half-tuition scholarship to attend USC. My undergraduate experience was a journey for discovering myself and my passion. Four years and thirty-two classes later, I realized I have more than just one passion: a love of science and teaching. I would love the opportunity to combine those two disciplines into one.

For two years in college, I worked for an outreach program called USC ReadersPLUS in which I was trained as a tutor for local elementary students in advancing their reading/math proficiency. Each week, I created novel, self-made lesson plans for my individualized tutoring sessions. It is by far the most rewarding job I’ve ever had, and I absolutely adored working with the young kids.

Throughout all of high school and college, I played flute in the marching band. I even had the honor of being elected section leader of the flutes as a senior. I was also a Dornsife Ambassador for the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences of USC. I served as a representative for the school at campus recruitment programs and events, conversing with prospective students and answering questions.

I received the following ACT scores: 30 on the composite, 34 on English, 32 on reading, 27 on math, and a 28 on science. In the GREs, I received a 157 on the verbal, a 156 on the quantitative, and a 4.0 on the analytical.