Ubc Personal Statement

Born and raised in a small city in the northeast of China, I did not experience much diversity in my life till I moved abroad for my PhD study. I joined University of British Columbia, Vancouver for my PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2004. UBC is home to a colorful mosaic of cultures, beliefs, ethnicities, sexual orientations, ages and appearances. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and make friends with different cultural backgrounds. However, I did experience prejudice as a non-native English speaker even though in most times they were not intentional. I also had a few awkward moments of being discriminatory when it was pointed out by others because of my lacking of understanding. Encouraged by my supervisor,
For a group of students from different education backgrounds, I encouraged all the students to ask questions, present their own comments, and freely respond to my questions. During these activities, I made a conscious effort to let all the students feel comfortable in articulating their opinions and actively engaging in discussions. From such efforts, I understood the specific challenges faced by different students. This really improved my teaching effectiveness and helped me quickly identify the needs from different students. I also found that each student brings his/her own perspective to the class, and that the group as a whole benefits from the
As a faculty member, I will devote my time and effort to advance diversity in engineering education. As an advisor, I will work to recruit graduate students who are under-presented including women and other minority groups into my research team. As an instructor, I will fully appreciate the specific challenges faced by students from different educational backgrounds. I will make a conscious effort to pay attention to the needs of students from different backgrounds, especially those from underrepresented minority groups/families to make sure that all students will keep up with the class progress. I will try my best to build a diverse working environment that provides all students with an equal opportunity for academic