Why Stanford? (400 word sample)
Why Stanford?
The rhythmic beep of my wife’s insulin pump is a comforting reminder of technology’s benefits. Rooted in this experience, I am passionate about how technology betters the human condition. The GSB’s joint MBA/EE program is aligned with this passion, as it intertwines the human side of business and technology.
My wife has always managed diabetes with a standard blood glucose meter, an insulin injection pen, and many finger pricks. I felt helpless to assist her through this suffering; quick to care, yet powerless to make anything better. As she started using new technologies, however -- a bio-sensor, data app, apple watch, and insulin pump – she handles less discomfort and feels more empowered. The seamless, user-focused design helped analyze trends, set predictive analyses, and transmit data. My wife’s experience has shown me the power of using bio-sensors for my military staff’s self-awareness – heart rate, breath control, stress management – and I applied them in my unit. Each endeavor highlighted the potential of human-focused technology.
The GSB’s diverse perspectives align with my own professional challenges as an electrical engineer who works in the military – I’ve enjoyed the people-centric challenge of leadership alongside the technical underpinnings of my unit’s digital work. Visiting the Stanford campus, I attended Rob Siegel’s lecture and was impressed by his human-driven approach to technology; no matter how good a product, the team is still vital. Stanford’s curriculum embodies this unique blend. Interdisciplinary offerings such as “Designing AI to Cultivate Human Well-Being” and “Biodesign Innovation: Concept Development and Implementation,” focus on the end user and how technology impacts humanity, concepts dear to my heart.
My wife’s experience demonstrated the proactive transformation technology can drive; I want to bring this transformation to human performance in fast-paced, high-stakes endeavors through real-time physiological monitoring – my goal is to develop an Internet-of-Things based bio-sensor solution that provides actionable, data-driven insights for stressful, performance-oriented professions, such as a team of trauma surgeons providing care during a natural disaster. With real-time data about human physiological states, leaders can proactively adjust to rapidly-changing environments. Stanford’s innovative approach to education is the ideal incubator. In the Start-Up Garage, I will blend engineering, business, and design expertise to shape the future application of bio-sensors.
I’ve embraced the dichotomy of my engineer’s logical left brain, merged with an Infantry leader’s intuitive and creative right brain, and I see Stanford’s interdisciplinary, yet people-focused culture, as the ideal catalyst for the next chapter in my career.