个人留学申请书个人留学申请书1Inaworldthatiscontinuallygrowingandevolvingandproblemssuchasglobalwarmingandpopulationgrowthbecomingevermorereal,theneedforinnovationandfreshideasfromtheengineeringworldbecomesincreasinglyevident.ItisthisthatattractsmetocivilengineeringasacareerbecausealthoughIamawareofthemanypressuresanddemandsIwouldbefacing,thesenseofachievementandtheknowledgethatIwouldbemakingadifferencetothelivesofotherswouldbeofgreatpersonalrewardtome!MyfascinationforengineeringstartedwhenIwasyoung,andhasonlyincreasedsincethen.Ienjoyedplayingvideoandcomputergamesthatrequiredplanningandstrategy.Iwatched?ExtremeEngineering???whenitfirstairedontheDiscoverychannelandtodayIhaveseeneveryepisodeuptoseasonfiveandamwaitingtoseethesixthseason.Ihaveagamecalled???WestPointBridgedesigner???thathastaughtmeaboutthedifferentpropertiesofeachtypeofbridgeandallowsmetoexperimentwithdifferentbridgedesignsaswellasusingdifferentmaterialsinthemostcosteffectivewaypossible.Unfortunatelyformyparents,thisfascinationextendedintoreverseengineeringaswellandrangedfrommytoysasachildtounusedhouseholditemsandbrokencarsandmotorcyclesasanadolescent.Thisinterestwasthennurturedduringmyschoolingandcollegeyears-atschoollearningaboutthehistoryofartandhowthesmallestengineeringdiscoveriesledtothebiggestarchitecturalbreakthroughs,forinstancetheimpactthatthearch,concreteandthedomehadonAncientRomanandproceedingarchitecture.IncollegeIthoroughlyenjoyedmathematicsandphysicsparticularlyintheappliedsections,andalthoughmygradesdonotreflectthis,abigportionofmygapyearhasalreadybeenspentonpreparationtowardsoftheirimprovement.Aswellasalotofrevision,mygapyearsofarhasbeenawealthofnewexperiencesandchallengesfromthingsassillyaslearningtojuggleandrideaunicycletoteachingmyselftoplaythekeyboardandgettingmymotorcyclelicense.IalsohadajobasagenerallabourerworkingunderthesitemanageronabuildingsitewhereIworkedalongsidethetradesmenandoccasionallythearchitect,therebygainingvaluableexperienceinkeepingtothestrictrequirementsofworkingtotimeschedulesandregulations,planning,problemsolvingandkeepingqualityofworkupandexpensesdown.PrevioustothatIworkedatmylocalsupermarketasageneralassistantandwaseventuallypromotedtoateamleader.Iwasresponsibleforliaisingwithmymanagersandkeepingthemuptodatewithwhatwashappeningaroundthestoreandmakingsuremystaffknewwhatwasexpectedofthemthroughouttheirshiftsaswellasdoingmyownworkaroundthestore.Thistaughtmehowtodealwithpeopleinavarietyofsituationsinapoliteandprofessionalmannerwhilealsogreatlyimprovingmycommunicationalandsocialskills.BeingbornandraisedinSouthAfricaandhavingmadethetransitionandadaptationtoEnglishcultureandwayoflifewithease,IhavenodoubtIwouldadaptinmuchthesamewaytouniversitylife.AlsoIthinkitisimportantthatIhavewitnessedthedifferencesininfrastructurebetweendevelopedandthirdworldcountriesandtheirrespectiveeffectsonthesurroundingpopulationsandfeelIcouldusethisknowledgetomyadvantage.Iamaveryactivepersonandsporthasalwaysbeenabigpartofmylife.InhighschoolIcaptainedmycricketandrugbyteamsandwaspartoftheswimming,tennisandathleticsteamsandrepresentedmyhomeprovinceincricket,athleticsandsurfing.LivingoverhereIamamemberofthelocalcricketandrugbyclub;Itakepartintheoccasionaldartsandpooltournamentsandamaregularatthelocalhealthcentre.AllofthismeansIhavealotofexperienceinperformingunderpressure,pushingmyselfandworkingwellasa...
