Sunday, September 13, 2009

Personal Statement: Otaku Huahua


Chemistry has always intrigued me ever since I studied it in secondary school. Consequently, I chose to study Chemical & Pharmaceutical Technology, a subset of chemistry, at a polytechnic to broaden my knowledge of the subject. During this time, I had the opportunity to train in production processes at the Chemical Process Technology Center, as well as undergo a short stint at a pharmaceutical company, Wyeth Nutritionals Singapore.

My training experience in these two very different working environments helped to develop my passion for working in the petrochemical industry. Working inside the plant allowed me to appreciate things differently. These crucial experiences taught me the differences between working and studying, and prepared me for my future working life, by dampening any cultural shock.

Other than being awed by the unique working field, I enjoy drawing during my free time. Doing so relieves my stress and, by being creative, I am also stimulated to develop my own characters and story. I was inspired to draw when I was in secondary school, even though the market for games and media design was still not prominent.

I invested time to improve my skills and build up my confidence gradually. In order to keep up-to-date, I forced myself to learn Adobe Photoshop and how to use it to colour my artwork. I had to learn from scratch on techniques such as how to find the angle of light and where to shade the shadows all by myself. It was a slow learning process and it was only recently that I gained enough confidence to present my artwork to the public.

Striving to improve my skills, I would find every opportunity to challenge myself by creating personal web pages to derive satisfaction and recognition. Being actively involved in the arts also encourages me to attend art festivals, concerts and seminars. This allowed me to develop positive attitudes towards learning.

Even if the skills of a comic artist are not appreciated enough in Singapore, I think it is something unique for me to gain and perfect. It has definitely shaped a distinct character in my style and myself.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Huahua,

I have learnt more about you.The trainings you had sounds interesting. It must have been a fulfilling experience!

I like how you explain your interest in chemistry, and link it to your skill in drawing. This entry could be improved by checking on some grammar issues, and sentence structure. You might also want to include the laboratory skills you've acquired during your course of study?

Ruth

_x_nAp nAp_x_ said...
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_x_nAp nAp_x_ said...

Dear Hua Hua,

Your post allows me to know you more! Your involvement in both Science and Arts encourages me to be more versatile in the things that I do. (: Your positive attitude inspires me to want to learn more and I think it is something the employer will look for.

Probably you can describe more of yourself (like the 4th paragraph) in the front part like how developing the various skills are important to you. I think it will make the statement more influential. (:

Thanks do much for the post I do learn a lot from this! (:

Love,
Nappy

shiny_eatsmudpie said...
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shiny_eatsmudpie said...

Dear Hua Hua,

I think the way you express your interest in chemistry is fantastic. You also explained in detail how your honed your interpersonal skills through attachments. well done!

Maybe you should share some lab experiences and CCA activities to tell us more about you. It's definitely a job well done and i really learnt alot about you in this article!

Love,
Shinye

Brad Blackstone said...

This is an interesting personal statement, albeit one that seems to have two very different focal points: your fascination with chemistry and your art. Both are valid (and I like learning this about you), but I feel like you've actually got two different statements here. Depending on what is requested by an employer, you might just focus on one point or the other, or do a better of job of showing some sort of commonality.

Other than that, there is some confusion with your use of verb tenses. See the next to last paragraph in particular.

Thanks for the good work, Yuanhua!

p.s I love the title. But again, that would be good for the statement about your art; maybe not for a statement on your interest in chemistry.

Z Bang said...

Hi Yuan Hua, your personal statement shows that are very all-rounded, excelling in both science and arts.

I noticed that you write the chemistry part in a more formal way compared to arts. The chemistry part is more like an application letter. Maybe you can write more about who and what inspire you to love chemistry and your personal view about chemistry. This will make ur essay more coherent.

Indeed, this personal statement is a very impressive one. =)