Right now I am in the midst of applying to grad school. 99% of the schools I want to attend wouldn't take a second look at me due to some issues I experienced during my academia. Nevertheless, I applied to a particular school and sent the personal statement listed below.
Nothing excessive, nothing flashy-just truth-and a love for my craft.
Dear Admissions Committee:
My friends are
convinced that I am a “hacker” because I know how to navigate the Command
Prompt on Windows computers.
Conversely, I am anything but.
The illusion of an über-chic, cyberpunk-clad, Mountain Dew ravaging
young male asserting his dominance by weaving effortlessly through “Matrix-like”
monitors fueled the connotations that powered their assertions. (It didn’t help that my screens possessed a
black background with a cascading green font however.) If anything, I “hack” to master as much as possible about internet security so that I can
attempt to quell my mother’s fear of purchasing the latest upgrade for Candy
Crush Saga for her smartphone from an application store.
My name is Sammie L. Johnson, Jr. and I would sincerely appreciate
an opportunity to learn from your university.
Raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey I was surrounded by
what, to the outside world, seemed to be a consistent resort paradise-this was
not the case. Although my city is
famous for casinos, the Miss America Pageant, great food, boardwalks, and salt
water taffy, it lacked major diversity when it came to job security. As a young Black male you had three options:
become a professional athlete, get a record deal, or profit from illegal drug
transactions. The first two options were
feasible-not realistic. As for the last option-let’s just say I know
individuals who served as an example of “success” (of lack thereof) from that
life; it wasn’t for me. I knew I wanted to live a life where I could help
others, but I could make a great living as well.
College seemed like it was the best option; not because I
necessarily wanted to go, but because I could pretend that the evils that I had
been subjected to in my 18 years of life didn’t exist…at least for four years.
I was wrong. I quickly discovered that I
had not escaped from the evils; instead, I encountered them head-on covered
only by cloak composed of my faith in God and an impending degree. My matriculation was anything but pleasant as
my guarded cloak was slowly degraded thread by thread at each instance of life’s
rips, pulls, and tugs: failed classes,
unemployment, eviction, and hunger. However, although my journey was elongated, and my garment
no longer luxurious, I proudly wore my severed cloak across the finish line-I
graduated.
Throughout my life I have always been fascinated with
electronics, particularly with computers and system workings. However, it was
not until I became a victim of identity theft that I realized no matter how
much I can compile data, build a system, or maintain a server there must always be someone who knows how to
protect a system and its data. I aspire
to be that person.
I am firmly convicted that NYU Polytechnic School of
Engineering will bestow upon me the tools to become not only a CIO of a
technological organization, but a world-wide authority in the field of
Cybersecurity. My perseverance is rooted
in the fact that there are people who have suffered from the same level of
anger, confusion, and disarray that I endured.
I strive to prevent that-and I will.
Thank you.
