About Myself:
Columbia University
Economics major comp sci minor
Ncaa qualified swimmer
Dedicating over 20 hours a week
Outside of athletics, leadership as private coach and as english tutor in other countries
For starters, I am a student at Columbia University currently studying Economics with a
Computer Science minor. I'm also a NCAA-qualified swimmer so I spend about 20 or so hours a
week training and competing for Columbia. Outside of my academics and athletics, I also find a
lot of fulfillment giving back to the community through volunteer work. In my free time, I’ve taken
on a leadership role as a private swim coach coaching swimmers of all skill levels and ages. I
have helped athletes reach their competitive goals and tutored beginners to overcome their fear
of the water. Over the summer, I have also had experience tutoring students abroad. I taught
Chinese students English and helped familiarize them with western culture which I found as a
very rewarding experience.
Strengths:
Swimming: Mental Fortitude
I believe my greatest strength is my mental fortitude. A good example of this is, I have swam for
over 10 years. And as u may or may not know, Swimming is an extremely difficult sport and
definitely one of the harder sports to be successful at. What makes me special is not only how
hard I work, but also my consistency not just in the pool. I consistently maintain healthy habits
such as balancing my diet, maintaining my sleep schedule and staying on top of my studies. I
think many people struggle when it comes to simple habits and have trouble being disciplined. I
definitely think my mental fortitude is a great strength and gives me confidence when facing a
challenge because I know i can persist and come out on top.
Why do you want to work here:
Growing up in Canada, I was fortunate enough to have access to many strong community
programs which have helped me get to where I am today. Since coming to NY I noticed many
underrepresented communities here dont have the same resources and support systems that
were available to me. Which is why I am interested in political consulting, but specifically at your
company because I admire the impact that you make in connecting policy and community
through your work.
A good example is, as you know Canada’s health care is universal and free. And this makes the
shortcomings of the healthcare system here in NY much apparent to me. I really admire your
team and how you have promoted countless non profit clients. Especially work with clients such
as the children’s health fund or the Campaign for Healthy Children which inspires me greatly.
Moreover
I'm interested in the fundraising division because I think it plays a critical part in any successful
campaign. As an Economics and Computer Science major, I'm really interested in how to plan
strategies that will lead to successful fundraising. I’d love to gain experience incorporating my
skills in finance, critical analysis, and communication to help plan better fundraising strategies.
Where do I see myself in x years
In [X] years, I see myself working as a political consultant. My goal is to bring about meaningful
change to underrepresented communities regardless of whether it’s through or advising larger
organizations or campaigning for community initiatives or even just simple public services. I
hope that with my experiences I will be able to take take up a leadership role at a company and
hopefully make a good impact in the world
how would you be a good fit
I think I'm a great fit for this role because of my strong work ethic, my leadership experience,
and my passion of wanting to make a positive impact in the community. I have the background
experience needed right? In economics and computer science, and even my ability to balance
academics, athletics, and other hobbies, all these experiences have taught me how to work
hard, adapt quickly, and collaborate well in a team environment and yeah I'm confident these
skills will help me to contribute meaningfully to your team.
What are you interested in doing?
Recently, I have been playing a lot of pick up volleyball with people from the local community. I
find that it is a great way to meet with people and make new friends. I love socializing and
getting to know people of different backgrounds which is why I am also a fanatic when it comes
to travelling. I have visited many parts of China as well as places in Europe. My favourite so far
has been Luxembourg where I even got to compete at a national level swim meet. I also thought
the architecture and the public transportation there were really cool. When I'm not socializing
and meeting new people, I also like reading novels and manga. It’s routine for me nowadays to
always read before going to bed which also helps me get into the right headspace for sleeping
One weakness you are working to overcome
You know as someone who grew up outside the U.S., one challenge I may face is not having
the same foundational understanding of American politics that many peers might have.
However, since moving here, I’ve been actively making up for my weakness by taking classes
such as american economy and reading up on U.S. history. I am also attempting to keep up with
current events and I see this internship as a great opportunity to deepen that understanding
through real-world experience.
Questions:
I'm very curious about what I would be doing in this position. Could you describe what an
average day as an intern at your company would look like
Following up, Are there any skills that made a previous intern successful at your company or
stand out to you
Are there opportunities to transition into a full time role after this internship
Private coaching: leadership
An example of me taking on a leadership role would be my time as a private swim coach. This
role challenged me to give tailored coaching programs to each athlete's unique needs. Not only
did I have to write practices that would be beneficial to each individual swimmer, but also had to
instruct these swimmers and keep them focused on their tasks. I was very proud when a
swimmer I had coached contacted me later that year and told me I had helped him get recruited
to their dream school
Animal Advocates Club Activities: community engagement
I enjoy being involved with my community and contributing in meaningful ways. My time as a
board member allowed me to organize and lead fundraisers and educational events to help
bring awareness to my community and protect native wildlife. It also enabled me to give back to
my community through events such as the Tynehead clean-up event where we helped pick up
trash and restore plants and other wildlife.
Tutoring International Students: cultural appreciation
I used my summer vacation as an opportunity to tutor foreign students. Since I have grown up
being exposed to both Chinese and Canadian Culture I designed and led lessons that focused
on grammar, pronunciation, and conversational fluency. This experience was incredibly
rewarding as it allowed me to help childhood friends and their peers gain confidence in a
second language while also bridging the cultural gap
School Work: Attention to detail
This was one of the biggest school projects I had taken on, and it proved to be the most
challenging. Building a functional poker game in C++ from scratch meant we needed to have a
very thorough design, a step by step approach during implementation and rigorous testing for
smooth user interaction. This project challenged me to think critically and adapt quickly to
unfamiliar problems but most importantly, pay special attention to detail as any small errors in
such complex and large scale code would lead to countless other problems.