The Ability to Wonder and Yearn - Personal Statement Example

Personal ment The abilities to wonder and yearn are crucial assets that human beings possess. For centuries, the human race has used these important abilities to its advantage. By understanding the complexity of our behavior through science, we as humans, have tried to understand the true essence of our life and our existence. And it may not be wrong to say that we have greatly benefitted from it. The yearning to understand how genes and other molecules play an important part in the functioning of human organs has made me study microbiology as the field of my interest and research. I have been interested in biochemistry since my childhood. I still remember my school days when our teacher taught us about biology and how it fascinated me. That fascination enabled me to understand how organisms function. On the other hand, chemistry enabled me to comprehend what atoms are and how they bond with one another. Studying chemistry has helped to understand biology in depth, and hence I consider it as an advantage that I have a chemistry background, which is vital for studying biochemistry. In chemistry, I enjoyed studying the protein synthesis and neurotransmitters in particular. Also, by studying psychology, I got the opportunity to understand behavior and mental processes, helping me to appreciate what happens at the back of our mind when we decide to do something. Mathematics gave me a deep insight into logic, providing me with the ability to work accurately, and hence increasing my problem solving skills. All of these disciplines play a vital role in the study of molecular biology and biochemistry. As I studied biochemistry, I found the study of genes as the area of my interest, and so I want to pursue my master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology discipline. I want to pursue my education in this discipline because I want to learn about the various systems that exist within cells, including the interaction between DNA and RNA and how these interactions are regulated. Furthermore, I want to understand the differences that exist between the genes of various organisms. I did a four month internship at the Dow Agrosciences in the field of biology. This internship proved to be of grave importance to me as it helped me to get hand-on experience of how it is to work in an industry. Also, it helped me to become proficient in laboratories and other places such as a greenhouse, as I dealt with insecticides and other products of biotechnology. This internship boosted my confidence level and taught me about the importance of teamwork. I learned a great deal of things from this internship about my field of interest, and it also helped me in learning management skills. I learned how to separate a single gene through gel electrophoresis, which is one of the key tools in microbiology. This was something very interesting to do, especially if one is able to deduce about his/her own genes. I have worked in several laboratories related to molecular biology; so I have a great deal of hand-on experience. By working in these laboratories, I was able to engage with other molecular biology techniques as well, such as PCR. Furthermore, I have attended several seminars and workshops pertaining to biochemistry and molecular biology at various community colleges in my area. At one of the seminars which I attended, I learned about the biochemistry of mitochondria, the focus being the molecular structure of mitochondria. This seminar increased my curiosity about molecular biology, and for this reason I am pursuing my master’s degree in molecular biology. As part of my community service, I volunteered at the Cancer Research Center, and I found it to be fruitful not only because I was serving a noble cause but also because I acquired many skills. This helped in increasing my confidence level. As I was doing this for a very noble cause, it helped me to be calm and optimistic. As part of my community service, which lasted for about six weeks, I was appointed at one of the hospitals where I had to work in several different departments such as hematology, pathology, and imaging. I had to take measurements, analyze statistics and observe the staff as they performed their duties. Nuclear imaging and hematology were quite exciting as it involves diagnosing diseases through various methods. These can be linked to my area of education, as they help in diagnosing and curing health issues faced by community members. This community service had deep down effects on me as it helped to appreciate what biochemistry was all about and the reason for which I wanted to pursue it. I have indulged myself in the reading as well, in order to remain informed about the latest updates taking place in molecular biology. I believe that we need to remain informed because it helps in understanding of the discoveries that are taking place in the world as a whole. Also by reading through different journals and research papers, I believe that I can get to know about the various researches being conducted, and the results of such researches. I have subscribed to Molecular Cell and New Scientist. The article that mesmerized me was “Circular Intronic Long Noncoding RNAs” that was published in Molecular Cell dated September 2013. This article was basically about the circular intronic RNAs that accumulate in human cells in their attempt to escape from disbranching. Near to the site of the branch points is an 11 nt C-rich element. A 7 nt GU-rich element is close to the 5% splice. A consensus motif contains both of the mentioned elements. This consensus motif is responsible for the processing. Expression vectors may be used to summarize its formulation. The research reveals the fact that nuclei have plenty of ciRNA and the CiRNA also has a small enrichment for target sites of microRNA. Additionally, a cis regulatory role on the parents coding genes is evitable, regarding the intronic nonoconding transcripts. Ci-ankrd happens to accumulate the transcription sites and connect to elongation pol II machinery. It also acts as a positive Pol II transcription regulator. I have set future goals that I believe are attainable and realistic. I want do my major in Biochemistry and molecular biology. I want to complete my master’s degree and then along with that I want to pursue my career as molecular biologist. I want to be a molecular biologist because it is my area of interest. I am in the process of acquiring the skills and qualifications needed to become a molecular biologist. Apart from establishing my career as molecular biologist, I also plan to indulge myself in research as well. My research area will be genes as I am very interested in studying and learning about them. To prove my interest in genes, my past experiences , be it the internship or the seminars and workshops attended or the work experiences gained, say a lot on my behalf. This research area is of grave importance to me. I explained earlier that I want to study genes and their impacts on our lives, if they are distorted, n great depth. I am a very hard working student who is eager and determined to satisfy her quest for knowledge. I look forward towards the opportunities that university life will offer to me. Be it the academics or the extracurricular activities, I am very keen to have my share of what university life has to offer to me. If I get admitted to this very reputable university, I will bring many skills to the university. I have a lot to offer to the university. I am not only a very good student who has excellent academics record but I am good extracurricular activities as well. As I mentioned earlier about my community services as a volunteer, I don’t hesitate to take part in making my society and its members better. I love doing community service because it brings happiness and satisfaction to me as I help in bringing smile to other people. I feel very refreshing and rejuvenated. Also, I am a good at sports as well especially basketball and soft ball. I was on my school and college’s team. I believe that hobbies provide an excellent past time and so I usually remain indulged in them whenever I get some free time. I am a freelance writer and I love to write in my free time. I used to write for school’s magazine. Also, I have recently started two new hobbies that are dancing and learning piano. I always wanted to learn how to play piano, but I could not do so earlier because of certain reasons. I have started taking classes’ in order to acquire this skill. I practice dancing with my friends. If I am accepted at your university, it will be an honor for me to study here and be part of the university’s program for molecular biology and biochemistry. I will try my level best to be a worthy asset for the university. Read More