This blog post examines how science club activities involving diverse experimental designs and variable manipulation demonstrate the inquiry skills and problem-solving abilities required by pharmaceutical biotechnology programs, serving as key evidence to enhance the persuasiveness of academic plans.
Writing About Academic Experience and Reflections
“Moving Beyond Biotechnology to Encounter Biochemistry and Physiology”
By my sophomore year of high school, I had completed the entire biotechnology curriculum. Starting early preparation for the CSAT, I pre-studied and engaged in advanced learning. This led me to search for related life science textbooks, where I encountered books on biochemistry and physiology. Since I intended to major in biotechnology, I judged that studying major-specific books or introductory texts in advance would be beneficial. Therefore, I read books that explained foundational biochemistry and physiology in an accessible manner.
The simplified book on basic biochemistry provided a deeper explanation of concepts and elements I had previously learned through life science courses. I studied content explained using specialized terminology, such as the properties of amino acids, the structure of proteins, qualitative reactions for amino acids, color reactions for proteins, and the process of protein separation. Previously, I had only memorized related formulas for amino acid and protein separation and reactions, but reading this book allowed me to understand the detailed reaction processes. I also learned about enzyme structure, enzyme action, and factors influencing enzyme activity and inhibitors. While I was already familiar with the definition, concept, and characteristics of these factors, reading the book enabled me to integrate the fragmented knowledge from textbooks into a cohesive understanding.
Particularly, knowledge related to ‘metabolism’—such as carbohydrates and metabolism, lipid metabolism, fatty acid breakdown, triglyceride synthesis, and cholesterol and steroid metabolism—was explained using experimental knowledge. Since metabolic processes are highly complex, reading the content illustrated with actual experiments made understanding effortless. The Basic Physiology book primarily covered cardiac function, the circulatory system, and systemic blood circulation. It also detailed respiratory processes like external and internal respiration, digestive fluids and enzymes, and the kidney’s role in waste removal. Beyond this, I gained a deeper understanding than the textbook provided on body fluids and blood, the brain and nervous system, sensory organs, muscles and the locomotor system, cells and genes, reproduction, and endocrine function.
Major School Activities and Reflections
“Science Experiment Club Activities”
I participated in an after-school science experiment club starting in my first year of high school. Through this club, I challenged myself with various experiments designed to foster creative problem-solving skills. While conducting experiments in the science lab, I continuously generated creative ideas. However, I learned that creative ideas and creative problem-solving abilities don’t just appear instantly. It became possible to propose new ideas only after studying and researching various variables related to experiments presented in textbooks. Correcting flawed variables or modifying experimental plans made me recognize the importance of problem-solving skills.
In my first year of high school, I was in a position where I was simply learning the experimental process. Even when I came up with creative ideas, they were limited to slightly modifying the experimental procedure. Most of the experimental materials and procedures were provided by the science teacher who ran the after-school program. My peers and I followed the procedures as instructed by the teacher, and our collaboration mainly involved sharing information about the procedures. Then, starting in my sophomore year, I began participating in an experimental club. The existing after-school program expanded in scale and membership, eventually gaining official recognition as a club. Our club members’ active participation in experiments was crucial during this process. Under the science teacher’s guidance, the club was established, and the experimental content became richer.
Club activities differed significantly from the after-school program in that we gained greater autonomy in planning experiments. Instead of being given pre-designed experiments and instructions, we could completely redesign the experiment plans according to our own ideas. While the teacher often provided the basic design framework, we sometimes designed experiments entirely from scratch based on our own ideas when necessary. During the design process, we naturally varied the independent and control variables and designed experiments to allow manipulation of variables based on factors like temperature, pressure, and mass. When conducting experiments, we first developed them with a tentative hypothesis in mind. If the results didn’t align with the hypothesis, we identified the issues and redesigned the experiment.
My own ideas during this process included making plastic from milk, extracting nylon from liquids, and experiments with inelastic fluids. These experiments were modifications of existing procedures, often involving slight changes to variables. During the experiments, we also discussed and incorporated variables into the process with our team members. Additionally, we developed experiments based on other team members’ ideas, such as stripping the surface of a 10-won copper coin to make it silver-colored, and collecting roots of invasive plant species from a stream to extract DNA. Through these numerous experiments, I gained an understanding of basic experimental procedures and practiced systematically writing experiment reports based on the results. Most importantly, working in a team with others taught me the importance of communication skills among team members.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
“Introducing the Chemistry Experiment Process to Middle School Students”
By my senior year of high school, I had been conducting science experiments for over two years. In my freshman year, I participated in an after-school science lab program, and in my sophomore year, I joined a science experiment research club. Consequently, I gained extensive experience conducting various science experiments. Initially, I only performed assigned experiments, but later I began designing the experimental process myself. When I conceived an experiment and its purpose, I could directly design the process and manipulate variables. Sometimes I would set hypotheses to adjust outcomes, and by designing experiments that matched the results, I could plan entire experimental lessons.
As these skills developed, I often participated in science experiment classes for middle school students during my third year. When middle school students came to our school for lessons, it was a process where high school students presented lesson plans they had designed themselves. In short, it was educational volunteer work where we tried to prepare content that would spark curiosity in middle school students during the lesson. We aimed to present fresh, novel experiments beyond textbook activities. We believed that if students found the lessons interesting, the classes would naturally unfold more actively. Then, to ensure there were learning points within these engaging processes, we meticulously planned the experiments. Consequently, we often conducted hands-on experiments like making glow-in-the-dark bracelets and hand warmers.
Additionally, we conducted experiments like making cooling pads using refrigerants, creating ice cups with cooling materials, and crafting special-function chemical lotions. Throughout this process, we didn’t rigidly follow our pre-designed lesson plans; instead, we incorporated students’ ideas during experiments, allowing them to pursue the experiments they wanted to do. Whenever there were precautions or hazardous elements involved, we always provided clear instructions, controlled the experiment’s progression, and guided them. Through this volunteer activity, I experienced the joy of designing experimental lessons.
Motivation for Application and Future Career Plans
“Dreaming of Becoming an Evaluation Researcher in the Health Food and Pharmaceutical Fields”
Since high school, I have been interested in the life sciences field and studied related subjects like biochemistry and physiology. These two subjects required separate introductory textbooks, and I self-studied to deepen my learning. This led me to plan a career in biotechnology, ultimately choosing Pharmaceutical Biotechnology as my major. In short, my motivation for applying to Pharmaceutical Biotechnology was my desire to study this field in greater depth. My ultimate goal is to become a professional evaluator in the health functional food and pharmaceutical sectors, capable of comprehensively assessing compliance with standards for food hygiene, HACCP, functional foods, and packaging materials.
To achieve this, I will need to acquire various standards and learning content related to the duties of a professional evaluator during my university years. For example, courses I will take include Quality Control, Food Processing, Microbiology, Hygiene, and Pharmaceutical Engineering. By diligently studying these foundational subjects, I will build the basic knowledge necessary for comprehensive drug design within the pharmaceutical field. Next, I will become a student researching specialized subjects to evaluate the quality and functionality of the designed drugs and acquire the knowledge that serves as the basis for evaluation criteria.
Practical subjects related to pharmaceutical evaluation include Clinical Trial Practice, Licensing Practice, and Process Specification Interpretation and Licensing Practice. Since these subjects are offered as part of the major curriculum, I will study these courses to become familiar with licensing procedures through the examination process. Ultimately, I aspire to work as a civil servant at a national agency like the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. To achieve this, I plan to undertake internships at relevant research institutions during my university years to gain familiarity with testing, inspection, and research work in the medical field. Internship experience at national and government agencies will provide valuable opportunities to acquire information about the work and lay the groundwork for passing the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s recruitment process and securing employment there.
