The Beauty of Numbers :: Graduate Admissions Essays

The Beauty of Numbers   There are three kinds of lies-lies, blame lies, and statistics.-Mark twain   Well, perhaps Mr. Twain didnt see the beauty of numbers the room that I do. Because ever since grade school, mathematics has been my favorite subject.  And once I was in college and could snap 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 low the middle so that the weight was perfectly distributed   I find a similar pleasure in seeing the numbers come come forward right.  When I first entered the work force, starting come to the fore in the actuarial area, the areas of my day-to-day work that I most get laided 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 bringing up 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.  Ive maintained a 4.0 GPA, and am surefooted that pursuing a Ph.D. and later entering a career in statistical consulting or teaching is the right step for me. Id like to focus on two qualities that I know will help me to keep abreast in graduate school and in my chosen field.  First, I go after what I want and dont 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 finished 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.