In this blog post, I’ll summarize my academic experiences, school activities, examples of consideration and collaboration, and my plans for college and my future career.

Academic Experiences and Reflections

Since our school was designated as a Creative Education Pilot School by the Board of Education, our teaching methods differed from the typical lecture-style format. Although they weren’t held regularly, I always felt excited on the days when research-based classes took place. I was curious about what I would learn in these new types of classes, and I had high hopes that they would help me grow even more.
The classes that helped me the most were the team-teaching sessions. Normally, a math teacher would come in for math class and a science teacher for science class, but during team-teaching sessions, both teachers participated simultaneously and presented problems that covered both math and science at the same time. I found this teaching method to be very novel and beneficial.
One of the problems covered in class was as follows: “To dilute 1,000 ml of ethanol, 8.3 million ml of water is needed, and to purify 1 ml of milk, 20,700 ml of water is needed. Find the relationship between these functions.” Although this problem wasn’t excessively difficult or computationally complex, it could have been unfamiliar and confusing to students accustomed to traditional computational problems. It was also difficult to distinguish whether it was a science or a math problem.
At first, I viewed it as an applied math problem and tried to apply math formulas without hesitation. However, during the team-teaching process, the teachers advised me that the process of solving the problem was more important than simply arriving at the correct answer quickly. The science teacher explained that the key was to find clues to solving the problem by designing an experiment.
So, together with my group members, I planned and conducted a simple experiment. Through the process of deriving the function equations by making inferences based on the experimental results, I gained the experience of understanding math through science and finding a scientific approach while looking at math. Through this experience, I realized the value of interdisciplinary integration and deeply appreciated the importance of a proactive attitude toward learning.

Description of Major School Activities and Reflections

In my first year of high school, I was assigned to an advanced class and took advanced math and science courses. Within that advanced class, I applied for and was selected to join the regional gifted program, which gave me the opportunity to participate in its activities. The process of meeting the basic grade requirements and preparing my portfolio for the application served as an opportunity to reflect on my own motivation for learning.
The gifted class did not focus solely on an excessively fast pace or on preparing for academic competitions. Rather, it provided an environment where students could autonomously choose topics and carry out projects. I expanded my learning by applying the theories I had learned in the advanced class to experiments during gifted class sessions.
The strengths of the gifted class were autonomy and collaboration. The qualities required were not exceptional memorization skills or a vast amount of knowledge, but rather the will to take initiative and a spirit of challenge. In this environment, I strove to set creative tasks and carry them out with determination.
The topic I chose for my independent project was “Why Does Iced Coffee Dissolve Better in Cold Water?” I decided it was a topic that could be easily observed in daily life and was suitable for a team experiment. Our team prepared regular coffee grounds and instant coffee powder to compare how well they dissolved in hot and cold water.
The results showed that regular coffee grounds dissolved well in hot water but not in cold water, while instant coffee powder dissolved well in cold water but, surprisingly, did not dissolve as well in hot water. Given these unexpected results, we decided to examine the samples under a microscope, which revealed that one of the causes was the smaller particle size of the iced coffee powder.
We considered that components such as granules might also have an impact, but since that aspect required more specialized knowledge, we were unable to conduct an in-depth investigation. Through this project, I was able to develop an interest in independently selecting topics and enhance my problem-solving skills through collaboration.

Writing About Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections

Upon completing the gifted education program, we were required to submit a final project. The project presentation served as an opportunity to summarize the experiments we had conducted and what we had learned, and the rules stipulated that we must complete the assignment as a team. After discussing it with my teammates, we decided to create a device that was both practical and scientifically meaningful.
We decided to build a simple water purifier that could help address environmental issues and selected coarse gravel, small gravel, charcoal powder, and cloth as our experimental materials. Since each material had different water filtration rates and purification effects, we conducted multiple experiments to find the optimal combination.
The results showed that water filtered through charcoal powder contained the least amount of sediment and had the best purification effect. While the coarse gravel produced a large volume of filtered water due to its large particles, it contained a significant amount of sediment, resulting in poor purification performance. Consequently, we concluded that the most effective sequence was coarse gravel → charcoal → the remaining materials.
After writing the lab report, we built a makeshift water purifier by placing the materials inside a plastic bottle and submitted it to the project competition, where we achieved excellent results. Above all, through the process of collaborating with my teammates—dividing roles and coordinating opinions—I learned the value of teamwork and consideration.

Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans

I applied to the Department of Applied Chemistry because the experiment-based learning and research experiences I had in high school aligned well with my aptitudes and interests. While designing and conducting numerous experiments in the regional gifted program, I found the process of applying theory to practice extremely fascinating, and that experience had a decisive influence on my choice of major.
In college, I will study subjects that are much more in-depth than those in high school, which could create an environment where it’s easy to become overly focused on theory alone. However, because I believe that the essence of science is revealed through experimentation, I intend to continue learning by setting and designing creative experimental topics on my own throughout my undergraduate studies.
In particular, I consider “Fundamentals of Creative Design” to be a course that aligns well with the nature of Applied Chemistry. This course teaches how to creatively design experiments, and I believe it is directly connected to my academic values and career goals.
In the long term, I aspire to become a chemical researcher and plan to pursue graduate studies, where I hope to conduct research in a laboratory for many years. While gaining practical experience in the chemical industry is certainly meaningful, I personally love experimentation and hope to follow the path of a researcher who can deeply immerse myself in specific research topics and make meaningful contributions. To this end, I will strive consistently to become a professional capable of diversifying and advancing applied experiments in analytical and organic chemistry.