At UCLA Anderson, we believe our students are engaged, courageous, humble, and open. Describe a time when you demonstrated one of these traits in your personal life. (250 words maximum)

As an engineering student, one of my bucket list items is to visit all of the world’s tallest buildings. Learning how these massive buildings were constructed always fascinated me; however, I am afraid of heights. As a child, heights never bothered me, but as I got older I became anxious when going onto the balcony of my hotel room or riding tall rollercoasters. But I was not going to let my fear stop me! My hope was that by visiting these tall structures I could conquer my fear. In 2015, I visited the 103rd floor of Willis Tower in Chicago, former tallest building in the western hemisphere, and the 102nd floor of One World Trade Center, current tallest building in western hemisphere, in New York City. In 2016, I visited the 72nd floor of the Shard, tallest building in the European Union, in London. A year later, I spent a day in Dubai after a work trip to the UAE, so I visited the Burj Khalifa and reached the 148th floor. Reaching the 148th floor of the world’s tallest structure was the most liberating experience of my quest and the biggest step towards helping me conquer my fear to date.

Finding the courage to visit the world’s tallest buildings has not been easy, but these experiences have fueled my passion for engineering and for travel. Even though I have not fully conquered my fear of heights, I still plan on visiting the tallest structures in Asia and Africa next.