Personal Statement

Jan 2012 Egypt Sharm el sheik desert

From the very beginning of my life I was amazed about how things work in the inside and what holds them together. One of the questions that I always asked myself was “How does this work?”. I really enjoyed opening up everything that arrived to my hands, so for instance I tried to open my toys and look inside so I could figure out how they work. On the other hand, I was strongly influenced by my uncle who is a civil engineer. When I was eight years old, I used to go to the garage and spend many hours assisting him repairing his old car. I was deeply fascinated by all the different parts of the motor and so I asked my uncle a million questions.  I think I must have been really annoying by asking him about everything but my uncle had the patience to answer every single question. When I was ten years old I was already able to explain how a gasoline motor works. Those moments marked my life and motivated me to study something related to machines. When I went to primary school I found mathematics, physics and chemistry very natural and easy subjects so my family encouraged me, even back then, to study engineering.

I was born in a family where the virtue of helping people is very important. My grandfather, my father and also my two uncles have been voluntary firefighters. My mother is a bacteriologist, and was a volunteer in the Colombian army helping with some sort of blood test for the soldiers. Taking into account all of this I knew from an early age that we are living in this world to help others.

At the age of fifteen, I joined “Defensa civil Colombiana”, a state organization which tackles natural disasters and accidents by taking care of the people involved. While I was there I studied vertical rescue, search and rescue in collapsed buildings and also took an instructor course. The time there was very valuable because I experienced how to work under pressure and also learned how to work in groups. I was honored with three distinctions for my work there.  When I was nineteen years old, I moved to another city to study Electronic Engineeing at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali. At that time, I joined a Rotaract Club, which is a Rotary program that provides an opportunity to enhance knowledge and to address the physical and social needs of communities. It also promotes better relations between people throughout the world by creating a framework of friendship and service. While I was in Colombia I was secretary and president of the Club Rotaract Cali. I think that was a good opportunity to improve my leadership skills.

I have always been interested in building things. While I was studying  my bachelor’s degree I joined the aeromodelism group at university and also took wood carving lectures. Nowadays, my hobbies are photography, reading and developing application in microcontrollers. Furthermore, I have an interest in do-it-yourself activities.

While I was carrying out my bachelor thesis, one professor offered me a position as an assistant engineer in his company. I accepted the job and I worked there for three years. I think it was a really good opportunity to work in that company because I realized that I was definitely doing what I liked. I enjoyed the time there; I used to program two days per week and give support and install three days per week. It was a very beneficial time because I was dealing with questions and specifications from costumers, giving them support but also developing software and hardware. The most important part about it, though, was that everyday brought different problems to solve. While I was working there, I decided that I needed to take my studies to the next level.  To do so I needed to improve my standard of English and, therefore, I looked for a university that has a program related to electronical and mechanical controlling.

In April 2011, I arrived in the United Kingdom, where I’ve been studying general English for ten months. The studying was my preparation for the IELTS test. At my first attempt I achieved an overall score of 7. During my stay in the UK not everything has been about studying. I joined the local Rotaract Club and I have also been working in a pub. I enjoy the social side of the club where I have to take responsibility for organizing the social activities and fundraising events. This gives me an opportunity to develop my organizational and planning skills. In the bar I was working as a glass collector in the beginning. But once my English got better I was promoted to  barman. Although, working in a pub is a difficult place to learn English, it gave me the opportunity to deal with native speakers by learning how to interact with customers and handle complaints. This experience highlighted the importance of positive communication between a business and its customers, which definitely helped me to develop my communication skills.

Colombia has been and still is a developing country. Nowadays, the economy is growing and there are a lot of companies opening new branches in Colombia. I intend to undertake a masters degree related to electronical and mechanical engineering. Having completed my masters degree, it is my plan to go back to my country and join a factory or a service company in order to gain valuable work experience, and also to learn about how work in the industrial automation market in Colombia is. After that, my plan and ultimate goal is to open and run my own company.

Most people in my country didn’t and don’t have the opportunities that I have had, so it is my duty to take advantage of this and put all my abilities into doing well in my masters studies. I know that I’ve got talent and am willing to learn more and study hard. I also know of what I’m capable of doing if I really want something. Therefore, I know that I would really  like to put all my knowledge, skills and energy to the service of my people and my country. It is my hope that a combination of technical competence, good management, communication and business skills will help to make Colombia a better place to live.

JUAN CARLOS PADILLA VIVAS

hey Fabbienne, Many thanks for your help, teacher !!! ;)