Global Scholars Application Essay

Here's my application essay for the Global Scholars Program. 

I think seeing the distinction between pure science and the applications of science has opened my eyes to what we as a society need to do on a global scale to create greater general well-being. I have always had a strong connection to the sciences as a whole, but have only recently been aware of the repercussions technology has on the global scale. While we in the United States have the freedom to worry about creating cutting-edge technology, people in many parts of the world still have to suffer from problems that for the US would be easy to solve, that is, they require no new innovation to implement. I was struck by a statistic brought up in the last unit of AP Biology, that millions of children still die from diarrhea each year despite hypothetically being a problem one can easily resolve with antibacterial substances such as a chlorine tablet. Many of the problems on a global scale don’t yet warrant radically new technology, they rather require the successful implementation of already existing technologies. Unfortunately, this is evident given the nature of pure science and the application of science: pure science is a lens useful for discovering something deeper about this world, and the application comes from how that can be used to better society; that is, pure science does not necessarily prioritize activism. This problem is the reality behind many global issues the impoverished suffer from today: we should be considering not whether we as a society are on the knife’s edge of technology to gauge our success but rather if we have used our existing technology to the fullest.

Solving global issues also has a lot to do with the implementation of technology and the persuasion of governments to accept such changes as well. I realized this during my paper written in APUSH, concerning the rise and fall of thorium-based nuclear power in the United States. The element “thorium” might be unfamiliar to many because of its major proponent, Alvin Weinberg’s failure to successfully advocate for the usage of thorium-based nuclear reactors, despite their proven efficacy in energy production. In his case, thorium-based nuclear reactors were a type of radical technology that required both a demonstration of its feasibility and also the convincing of other individuals who may be invested in another technology to give the radical technology thought. While this example certainly does not apply to all technologies that should be implemented in developing countries for instance, such as pharmaceutical drugs, their use may be novel in the region of interest.

Finally, we have to have perspective on the people who are supposedly the perpetrators of actions against the environment, for example. Charles Hamilton James, a National Geographic photojournalist, gave a presentation that opened my eyes to how the definition of sustainability was warped in the present day. The people who continue logging and environmentally destructive activities are themselves good people, and in essence they are making use of the resources they have available to them. Like the old adage “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” I learned that there is a key distinction between those who commit acts harmful to the environment and the acts themselves. In order to separate the people from the task that they do that creates harm, there needs to be some kind of incentive (usually financial) that weans them off of the damage they cause. While just an example of a lesson that is vital to solving the world’s issues, I have found that gaining an understanding of why global issues persist is integral in then addressing them.

I’d like to learn about more what we can do to solve issues of climate change and issues concerning pathology, an increasingly relevant topic given that global warming will lead to greater disease propagation in general. Since I have always been interested in Biology, I have found that I have felt a sense of lacking stemming from the sense that I cannot put my knowledge to use. I believe the Global Scholars program will provide an amazing opportunity to hopefully apply my knowledge in ways that will benefit others in the Poly and hopefully, global community. Of course, since the Global Scholars program will be filled with talented students studying fascinating topics on the global scale, I’d love to teach and learn from them on any topic they research.

I hope that the knowledge and experience I provide to the Global Scholars program will be of benefit.