Penn Personal Statement

At Penn football games, when the band sings, “Here’s a toast to dear old Penn,” slices of toast rain from the stands, blanketing the football field and track. To ease the cleanup effort, a few of Penn’s engineering students created the “toast Zamboni.” These students—who were capable of identifying a problem, designing a solution, implementing the final product, and improving an aspect of life—embody what I hope to achieve by studying engineering at Penn.

I am drawn to the teaching style in Penn’s Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics program, which promotes interactive learning. I would be able to understand both the conceptual foundations of engineering, as well as the practical applications of these textbook teachings. Furthermore, by gaining exposure to real-world problems as an undergraduate, I would be better prepared and more confident to face new challenges in the

With Penn’s encouragement of an interdisciplinary education and its flexible curriculum, I would be able to study both the fundamentals of engineering and its potential consequences. As a member of Project Green—an environmental awareness club at my high school—I am specifically concerned by the effect of technology on the environment. Therefore, along with a major in mechanical engineering, I wish to minor in energy and sustainability. After taking the respective classes for this minor and having an in-depth grasp of the environmental issues spawned from technological interference, I would aim to research potential solutions under the guidance of a mentor. Through Penn’s Engineering Faculty Expertise Directory, I found a professor who may fit this role: Professor Lior, who researches—among various other subjects—sustainability. I hope that he may be the mentor for my aspirations one day and that I will have the opportunity to collaborate in research with