Directed towards the UC Berkeley Office of Admissions Committee,

I hope you are all well, especially during this admissions season. I appreciate your
consideration of my application! To begin, I would like to speak on behalf of my
accomplishments, since my application’s submission. By discussing why UC Berkeley is
the best place for me as an outlook of further accomplishment, I will be able to inform
the committee on how I plan on making an impact on the campus.

To begin, as an active and newly appointed lab-assistant for Genetics and Microbiology
students, my leadership-skills enable me to serve as an outlook of support for STEM
students. I have become an innovative thinker as I prepare for their labs, resulting in
students finding inspiration within me to study the STEM pathway through
biotechnology related coursework. With that effect, I myself have become passionate to
pursue studying in the STEM field.

As a prospective Molecular and Cellular Biology major with a concentration in

Neurobiology, UC berkeley is the ideal place for me to continue my studies on cognitive
brain development and behavior. The Institute of Cognitive and Brain Studies and the
Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP), both have valuable professors and
researchers that directly correlate with my interests. Professor Annaliese Beery’s research
has allowed me to realize the little known about biological mechanisms that promote
sociality. I am inspired by the research mission, that is to deepen our understanding of
the functions of the brain and the changes within our nervous system that are involved
with neurological diseases. This is why I will study within the neuroscientific field, and is
the main factor why I consider UC Berkeley a first choice school for me.

My first choice being UC Berkeley has also been influenced by its beautiful campus, rich
diversity, innovation and academics. As a mixed latin and east asian woman, I felt at
home on this campus when visiting. If admitted, this school will enable me to reconnect
with my Chinese ancestry that I have lost touch with, due to the prioritization of
Mexican heritage upon my upbringing. Like the way I will end the cycle of being first
gen, I want to further explore my identity. Joining the Asian American Association and
East Asian Union, I will reconnect to my ancestral roots and gain a deeper appreciation
for being Mex-Asian American. Which is why I am inspired to open a club at UC
Berkeley for first generation students of ethnicity who will pursue along the STEM field.

This idea of leaving an impact, creating outlooks of support for students who have
experienced unique circumstances due to being a minority like me, have been my central
motivation for becoming a STEM student at UC Berkeley. I hope to inspire students, the
way UC Berkeley has inspired me to continue my studies. I will forever be grateful for
that and the opportunity that has been given to receive your education.

Many thanks for your time and consideration,

Elizabeth Fong