Wllllam nelbergall

8arreLL Ponors College, Admlsslons Lssay

1here are a number of reasons l belleve myself Lo be well sulLed Lo 8arreLL's
model of rlgorous honors educaLlon aL ASu's dynamlc 1empe campus. 1he flrsL and
mosL obvlous Lo me ls 8arreLL's lnLeresL ln sLudenLs wlLh dlsparaLe lnLellecLual lnLeresLs
LhaL cover Lhe full breadLh of ASu's offerlngs, hlgh school has been lmmensely
lnfluenLlal ln shaplng my lnLerdlsclpllnary orlenLaLlon. 8elng feaLured as a performance
arLlsL aL a Museum of Modern ArL evenL ln new ?ork ClLy sophomore year lnLroduced
me Lo Lhe fun and creaLlve world of applled aesLheLlcs and arL, and quallfylng for Lhe
naLlonal lorenslcs League's naLlonal uebaLe 1ournamenL ln 8lrmlngham my [unlor year
provlded me wlLh an lnLense and unforgeLLable research experlence, plLLlng me agalnsL
Lhe naLlon's besL debaLers ln a compeLlLlon of lnLelllgence and advanced academlc work.
My prlmary lnLeresL ln phllosophy, my background ln arL and my orlenLaLlon Lo lssues ln
Lhe physlcal sclences (such as ecology) make me a sLudenL of breadLh as well as
sLrengLh, wlLh Lhe klnd of scholasLlc dlverslLy 8arreLL speclflcally searches for ln
appllcanLs.
Secondly, l'm a sLudenL ln consLanL pursulL of challenge boLh ln and ouLslde of
Lhe classroom, whlch ls why 8arreLL's requlremenL of a Lhesls or creaLlve pro[ecL of
undergraduaLe sLudenLs ls an exclLlng prospecL for me. l see an undergraduaLe Lhesls
pro[ecL as an opporLunlLy Lo pracLlce my skllls as a researcher and exerclse my LalenLs as
an analyLlc wrlLer. 8esearch pro[ecL opporLunlLles are scarcely offered by undergraduaLe
lnsLlLuLlons, whlch ls anoLher reason why 8arreLL ls aLLracLlve Lo me and why l would be
an ldeal candldaLe for admlsslon Lo 8arreLL. noL only would Lhls rare undergraduaLe
Lhesls opporLunlLy be consLrucLlve for me ln bulldlng my LalenLs as a sLudenL and
preparlng me for a successful graduaLe educaLlon, buL addlLlonally l belleve LhaL my
work ln undergraduaLe courses could conLrlbuLe poslLlvely Lo Lhe communlLy as a whole
Lhrough lnLellecLual collaboraLlon and conversaLlon wlLh professors and sLudenLs.
1hls prospecL of collaboraLlon hlghllghLs my Lhlrd sLrengLh as an appllcanL: Lhe
lnLellecLual openness and curloslLy fosLered by my prevlous educaLlon. noL only are my
lnLeresLs dlverse, buL also l have slgnlflcanL lnLeresL ln expandlng Lhe breadLh of my
knowledge and dlrecLed academlc work Lhrough consLrucLlve dlalogue wlLh professors
and fellow sLudenLs. ln parLlcular, my leadershlp ln dlscusslon-based clubs on my hlgh
school campus llke AmnesLy lnLernaLlonal and my membershlp ln Lhe naLlonal lorenslcs
League's SLudenL Leadershlp CommlLLee have puL me ln poslLlons of lnfluence, all of
whlch have requlred close and respecLful collaboraLlon wlLh lnLelllgenL peers. 1hese
collaboraLlve opporLunlLles have fully convlnced me of Lhe lmporLance of dlscourse ln
shaplng Lheory and acLlon, whlch ls whaL l Lhlnk l could conLrlbuLe Lo 8arreLL's
communlLy of drlven sLudenLs. My openness Lo change and challenge has helped me ln
worklng wlLh Leachers and frlends Lhus far, and l have no doubL LhaL Lhe value of LhaL
openness would only lncrease ln magnlLude lf l were Lo be lmmersed ln Lhe
academlcally sophlsLlcaLed envlronmenL of Lhe 8arreLL Ponors College.