I'm glad to be able to send you this letter.

From an early age my day was full of things that were useful to me. I went to school in the morning to get A's in all subjects every
day to make my parents proud, because I wanted to show my gratitude for what they had given me. After school I had additional
courses like mathematics and the Russian language. Since I was six years old, I did karate three times a week in the evenings. I
always had a busy schedule and I liked it because I knew I was progressing

At the end of sixth grade, I decided to apply to the "Bilim Innovation" Lyceum. After I was accepted into this school, I had to drop
out of karate, but I discovered something else. As a boy who has always been interested in exploring the world, for a long time my
main task was to find something that would satisfy my curiosity. For this reason, I became interested in chemistry. Since the
beginning of the year at the new school, I started to study chemistry intensively and to participate in the Olympiads
During my education at school, I always tried to do good with my knowledge. For four years I taught junior classes in chemistry -
helping them to deepen their understanding and get good places in the Olympiads. This made me understand that it is much better
to develop with others than to be alone. Apart from teaching in school, I have also been involved in extracurricular activities. I was
the DJ of the school's comedy show team, "Abidin balalary". It is worth mentioning that we won first place in various republican
tournaments for four years, raising the school's reputation. Comedy show tournaments are popular and competitive in Kazakhstan.
To win such competitions, you need to be creative, have a good sense of humour and behave professionally on stage
You may wonder why I put my old routine at the beginning. Although I have been used to a busy schedule since childhood, certain
phases of my life have been morally challenging. When I started studying chemistry in seventh grade, I dreamed of a successful
Olympiad career to make my parents and school proud. I did my best and tried very hard. Sometimes I forgot to sleep or eat during
the preparation. Yes, I won some major Olympiads along the way, but unfortunately, despite all my efforts, I lost twice in the
Republican Chemistry Olympiad in two years. Two years does not seem like a long time - not for me. During that time I worked
hard and failed; I was very upset, but I found the strength to continue; then I worked even harder and failed again. I blamed myself
for not being good enough in chemistry. But then I realised that there is a clear difference between Chemistry Olympiad and
Chemistry Science. I could not stop reading Jonathan Clayden's organic chemistry, even though this advanced level of chemistry
was not on the syllabus of many of the Olympiads I attended. I wanted to give it all up, but I realised that I could no longer live
without studying chemistry. I thought I was losing the last two years, but it turns out that I won and only. Paradoxical, is not it?
Even though I did not have any gold medals in the Republic Olympics, this bitter feeling of defeat only strengthened me. If we look
closely at this situation, we will see that I deepened my knowledge of chemistry. I learnt to be stress -resistant and do what I love
regardless of the short term results. I learned to study chemistry for myself, not for my parents or the school.
When I finally found my passion, I looked for opportunities to continue my chemistry studies. Studying in Hong Kong appealed to
me the most because there is a well-developed field of science and unlimited opportunities in universities. I choose chemistry not
only for my own pleasure, but I also want to solve and prevent global problems. At your university, I would like to research on the
design and synthesis of organic materials and try to find a cure for widespread deadly diseases like Ebola and COVID -19. CUHK
offers a programme that is not only equipped with a profound knowledge of chemistry, but more importantly, a sense of scientific
thinking (not to mention very experienced and strong academic staff, great labs and exchange programmes). After carefully
researching the chemistry department's site, I am convinced that CUHK is the perfect fit for me and that I will be able to reach my
full potential at this university. Participating in Olympiads for years has taught me that giving up is not for me. As I will challenge
myself in the next Kazakh national Olympiad, I will also apply to CUHK multiple times, if required. And one day, I hope I will see
you soon.
Sincerely,
Kenzhemurat Baktybayev.