There is the pure joy of playing, and competing, of the fun of woarking excpetionally hrd at a goal, the lessons learned, of being a kid (sorry "playing" in college is a job but it still has the kid aspect) for as long as you can, and chase you dreams as far as you dare...
...but there is also the fringe benefits...letters of reccomendation, the "wow" factor, the contacts...and the ability to put this on a job app...
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...Success however, has as much to do with character as it does with academic background. In order to best assess my candidacy you will have to ask, “What makes me unique? Will I represent you well?” What you may often see are academically qualified candidates, what you may not often see is one with a successful NCAA athletic background. My desire to be part of a team, my internal competitive nature, and my drive to be on the cutting edge have led me to compete successfully at the pinnacle of collegiate sport. While this designation may hold little pure numerical interest, the experience has forged and revealed my character, and my qualifications.
While I was a good athlete, I was not a great one. However at the highest levels of baseball I saw a unique opportunity to test myself and learn life lessons that could serve me in a future career. In the quest for athletic success I learned sacrifice, attention to detail, focus, patience and a commitment to excellence at a world class level. I am now intimately familiar with execution under great pressure and its responsibility and consequence. I understand the value of “team”; how to represent it and how to foster it. Perhaps most importantly to any research career I am patient, dogged and resilient. I possess a demonstrated ability to commit to/immerse in a goal and an ability to handle failure, regroup, and rededicate my efforts. It is my plan to take those skills and that experience and make a difference. I believe I am a good candidate and would make a good representative. I appreciate your consideration.
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