In this blog post, I’ll summarize what I learned and how I felt, focusing on my academic work, school activities, volunteer experiences, and efforts toward my career goals during high school.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
During high school, I was heavily influenced by my friends as I considered my future career path. My friends were active in an entrepreneurship club, balancing study sessions with hands-on practice, and I joined their study group as well. In particular, since most of my friends and I were aiming for mechanical engineering programs, our math grades were crucial for college admissions, so we naturally focused on competitive math study sessions.
We introduced a tournament-style study method to test our math skills, which we called “Toner.” With 10 participants, each person solved problems nine times, and the top five with the most points advanced to the next round. In the final stage, the two participants with the highest point totals faced off in a head-to-head final, with the ultimate winner taking home the prize money. This format required thorough preparation and served as a strong motivator to maintain or reclaim the top spot, significantly increasing our level of immersion in the study sessions.
The preliminary rounds used mock college entrance exam questions, and points were awarded to the person who answered the most questions correctly within the allotted time. We used private mock exams to ensure no one had seen the problems before, and I practiced quick and accurate solution processes dozens of times to win. In the main competition, I competed against four others, solving Olympiad-level problems; the person who got the most correct answers out of five earned points. Since simply providing the correct answer without a solution process wasn’t counted, I was able to develop both my problem-solving skills and my ability to reason logically.
I felt a great sense of accomplishment when I advanced to the finals, competed on the most difficult Olympiad-level problems, and won the prize money by accurately presenting my solution process. Through this experience, I learned not only simple problem-solving skills but also how to systematically train in time management, accuracy, and problem-solving strategies, which greatly helped me develop the mathematical thinking required in the field of engineering.
Description of Major Campus Activities and Reflections
Through my participation in “It’s,” the school’s mechanical engineering entrepreneurship club, I expanded my knowledge, developed my creativity, and gained leadership skills. In the club, we primarily engaged in mechanical design practice and gained practical experience by participating in trade shows and designing products. During collaborative manufacturing after the design phase, I sometimes served as team leader to guide the project.
I primarily conducted drawing design using computers and CAD software in the multi-purpose lab. In the beginning, I built a solid foundation by drawing according to the blueprints provided by my instructor, and once I became more familiar with the process, I began attempting designs that reflected my own ideas. I focused primarily on designing electrical machinery, such as home appliances, in an effort to establish my own area of expertise.
As for extracurricular activities, I participated in the International Machine Tool Exhibition in Tokyo. At the exhibition, I was exposed to a wide variety of machinery, ranging from ship and aircraft machinery to vending machines, and I noticed distinct technological differences between countries. Even among vending machines, the internal configurations and delivery mechanisms varied, and I found it fascinating to observe differences in electronic product specifications and household voltage standards.
As a senior, I worked on a team project to build a mini-crane as part of an entrepreneurship club’s business plan assignment. We designed the mini-crane with the goal of reducing industrial accidents. Inspired by the safety equipment examples I saw at the Tokyo exhibition, I led the team as the group leader and managed the project.
As team leader, I took the lead in completing and submitting the business plan and securing funding and consulting support. Using our well-equipped activity room and the funding, we began developing a crane that minimized vibration, applying the mechatronics design and control knowledge I had learned in my advanced major courses. When problems arose, we held meetings to identify areas for improvement; by listening to various opinions, reaching a consensus, and implementing solutions, I developed strong teamwork and practical decision-making skills.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
My club teammates and I have consistently participated in home repair volunteer activities in partnership with a local senior welfare center. We actively participated in any volunteer opportunities related to mechanical design or equipment maintenance, finding meaning in volunteering because of the sense of fulfillment that comes from providing necessary help to others. In particular, the home repair volunteer work allowed us to directly experience the values of sharing and cooperation.
The beneficiaries introduced to us by the center were elderly individuals living alone or households with elderly members who had mobility issues. After learning about the center’s mission and volunteer programs and discussing our specific roles during a meeting, we decided to take on the physically demanding tasks that male students could handle. Specific tasks included delivering rice, replacing worn-out doorknobs, replacing old light switches and light bulbs, and delivering furniture.
We divided up the tasks and worked together; I was in charge of replacing old light switches and light bulbs. We selected a total of 16 households and conducted on-site assessments for each one. As a result, we determined that light switches needed to be replaced in 15 households and light bulbs in 10. We brought the necessary supplies from the center and, together with my teammates, repeatedly collected the old light bulbs, connected the wires, and secured the new ones in place.
Since the work finished more smoothly than expected and we had time to spare, we volunteered further by helping with rice and furniture deliveries. Seeing the elderly residents’ joy after the volunteer work made me feel a deep sense of fulfillment, and I truly experienced the happiness that comes from sharing and the importance of cooperation.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
I have a strong tendency to set my own study plans and act based on them. My dream is to become a mechanical engineer and develop home appliances, such as refrigerators, on my own. To this end, I led a project in high school to design and build a natural refrigerator.
Since there were limitations on materials and workspace for building a refrigerator that actually used refrigerants and catalysts, I instead set out to develop a natural refrigerator using the school’s basement space. I used the club’s lab as my workspace, and the plan was to utilize the basement as a natural cooling element.
The body was constructed of wood, and I used heat-dissipating plates and plastic bottles as insulation. The lid was designed with a double-layered structure: the outer lid was wrapped in plastic bottles to ensure insulation, while the inner lid was made of a metal heat-dissipating plate to induce radiative cooling at night. Cutting one side of the lid at an angle to make it easier to open and close was another design choice made with functionality in mind.
When we first tested it, we realized it wasn’t cooling as expected, indicating a problem with the internal insulation. We reinforced the internal insulation, cut and joined together PET bottles, and filled them with ink. The black ink increased the infrared emissivity, helping to improve the nighttime radiative cooling effect, and the cooling performance improved noticeably.
During installation, I stacked stones to level the surface, taking the slope of the ground into account. As a result, the cooler performed so well that my friends in the neighborhood used it frequently. Through this project, I became convinced that the process of defining a problem on my own and refining the product through a cycle of experimentation, feedback, and improvement was extremely helpful in preparing me for my future career.
