Engineering Personal Statement

The experience of growing up in Nigeria has provided me with an outsider's sense of perspective when it comes to the infrastructure of industrialized countries such as the United States, France and the United Kingdom. I remember vividly the experience of going on holiday to America with my family and seeing a train for the first time. My initial reaction was one of awe at seeing such a magnificent machine in real life. The experience provoked a life-long interest in vehicles and mechanics. Later on, my appreciation of train networks gained a new dimension through learning about the role that they have played in the industrial development of numerous nations. Railroad networks and rolling stock revolutionized the way goods and raw materials could be transported, playing a pivotal role in economic development. I therefore appreciate such feats of engineering both from a technical viewpoint and with regards to the role that they play in improving our lives. The more I learn about history, the more I come to admire the role that engineers such as George Stephenson and Karl Benz have played in shaping the world in which we now live. I am fascinated by the workings of virtually all machinery, from the overall function of the machine itself to the workings of its smallest components. Cars, trains and turbines all amaze me, and my enthusiasm for all things mechanical extends to other, perhaps less important objects such as tennis ball machines and CD players. What interests me about all of these things is that the engineers that have meticulously designed these objects have taken abstract scientific laws and put them to use to create objects that perform tasks that human beings alone could not possibly do. I have always been strongly interested in physics and mathematics, but I find engineering particularly gripping as it creates practical advances out of scientific laws.

I am a very hard working and dedicated person, both at school and in professional settings. In 2009 I worked at my mother's shop, where I was responsible for inventory and providing excellent customer service, as well as supervising staff. Through this work I learnt how to work under pressure and without supervision, and I also developed my communication skills. Last year I worked in my father's company, which specializes in logistics for the oil industry. I worked in the back office, which was an excellent insight into learning about how complex organizations are run. Although my position at the company was based around administration, I nevertheless highly enjoyed being involved in a company linked to the oil industry, because I have always been fascinated by fossil fuel extraction from an engineering point of view.

At school I am involved in several sports. I am a committed athlete, and have represented my school in several track and field sports, which I have enjoyed very much because it has allowed me to put my competitive side for the benefit of my school. For similar reasons I have also enjoyed being a member of my school's chess team. I like taekwondo and am also passionate about music, and in particular producing my own songs using software such as FL Studio. As a highly responsible person, I have also enjoyed in the past being my class captain, a position that allowed me to oversee the smooth organization of my class's daily activities.

I am exceptionally motivated to study engineering in the United Kingdom, not least because I would be honoured to be the first member of my family to undertake university study outside of Nigeria. After completing this degree, I intend to begin postgraduate study and become a chartered engineer, and then after gaining professional experience as an engineer I would like to return to Nigeria and become involved in engineering projects that will help Nigeria blossom as a country.

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