"I come from a hard-working immigrant family, and obtaining post-secondary education is incredibly important to my parents. Upon the first try, I did not make it into my top choice university. This situation was incredibly disappointing because I worked tirelessly to keep my grades high, I took the time to volunteer, and I built up my experience by shadowing professionals in the engineering space. I felt that my application was strong. The feedback given to me was that the types of courses I took in high school did not meet the academic threshold even tough I performed well. Luckily, I earned acceptance into my second choice school. To overcome the disappointment, I decided to put my full enthusiasm into this experience and be thankful for the opportunities presented to me as a second-generation American citizen."