The Beauty of Numbers :: Graduate Admissions Essays

The Beauty of Numbers "There are three kinds of lies-lies, damned lies, and statistics."-Mark Twain Well, perhaps Mr. Twain didn't see the beauty of numbers the way that I do. Because ever since grade school, mathematics has been my favorite subject. And once I was in college and could focus on many areas of math, I realized that I had a genuine interest to applying mathematical and statistical theories to real-world concerns. Hey, even Twain the skeptic realized the importance of balancing the cargo on shallow, difficult-to-navigate riverboats so that the port and starboardsides were equally laden-he even advised the captains to part their hair down the middle so that the weight was perfectly distributed! I find a similar pleasure in seeing the numbers "come out right." When I first entered the work force, starting out in the actuarial area, the areas of my day-to-day work that I most enjoyed were researching and analyzing data so that I could logically apply the information to the business opportunity at hand. Consequently, I realized that the most prudent path to accomplishing this would be to further my education in the advanced studies of statistics and I have been preparing myself by taking a year of higher-level math and statistics courses at Ohio State. I've maintained a 4.0 GPA, and am confident that pursuing a Ph.D. and later entering a career in statistical consulting or teaching is the right step for me. I'd like to focus on two qualities that I know will help me to succeed in graduate school and in my chosen field. First, I go after what I want and don't stop until I get it. And second, I quite genuinely find research and analysis fascinating and enjoy doing that kind of work. My strategy in attaining success is to identify my goal, figure out the best way to attain it, and then do it. When I was an undergraduate, I wanted to start my own business. I assessed my skills and founded CalcWizards, a mathematics tutorial service. I developed and marketed the service to other students and taught all disciplines of mathematics, from beginning through advanced. Not only was my business a financial success, but I really enjoyed the time I spent teaching others. This go-get-it attitude served me well in my career at Cigna Life Insurance as well.