John Navarro - Personal Statement Student Version 1

Personal Statement
1. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have
furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
The subject that inspires me is math. I have my strengths here because I am

really good with numbers and being able to remember them. Math is also universal. It’s
not like you have to learn a new language. At first math was really hard for me. I wasn’t
the fastest at multiplication, but I pushed myself and studied day and night to learn all my
multiples. It took me some time but at some point I was one of the best in my class.
Everything else I have learned for math was a breeze. Now with my math skill I have
been able to learn many lessons in a week. It was during quarantine where I had all the
time in the world to learn math. At first I was behind because I wasn’t doing my classes,
but once I found out I had to do my work to pass the class I started working as soon as
possible. I was doing three weeks worth of lessons a week. Things that helped were
Khan Academy and my teachers videos. I learned the work fast to the point where I only
had to watch twenty second snippets of the videos and I would already know what to do.
I was able to finish all my work in time before the due date. I also was able to use math
to be able to help my nephews with their homework. I have helped my niece with her
math homework for the past week. She is having trouble and I am the one there to help
her. Sometimes even I don’t remember how to do math problems. All I need is a
refresher video then I remember how to do the work and I can teach it to her. She likes
the way I teach because the work that was hard for her becomes easy. She is slowly but
steadily becoming one of the top students in her grade. I still enjoy math and it is one of
my favorite classes to do. I am still looking forward to learning more.
2. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and
demonstrated that talent over time?
My greatest skill is my determination. When I put my mind on something I

become really determined. For example with my first personal statement I talked about
being able to learn math even when it was difficult. I was able because I was
determined. Other examples are when I had to turn in my spanish work, my partner and I
had no idea what to do. We had half of two days and we didn’t have anything, in the last
thirty minutes of that class I was able to finish our work. I was determined to finish it and
be able to present something that was great for the class. I was able to finish just in time
for the teacher to read it. This skill can also be my weakness, sometimes I lose that
determination and start slacking in my classes. It’s a bad habit that I need to break out
of. I started having this by the end of my first semester in my freshman year of high
school, and sometimes I just need a push or a boost to help me get back in the groove.
It sucks because then my grades end up paying for it. Some boosts that help are talking
to my counselor and having them help me. I have done this method and it does
ultimately help. It gets that fire light up in me and I get that determination that I had in the
beginning. The biggest boost I had was in my sophomore year where I felt like I wasn’t
learning anything in my english class. I eventually talked to the counselor and they put
me in a different class with a different teacher, and it helped. I became motivated again
and was able to pull up my grade in english. I felt like I was learning. It felt refreshing as
if I was taking a sip of cold water on a hot summer's day, or like taking a sip of hot
chocolate in the cold winter. My determination is my weakness but also my strength,
when I have determination there is no stopping me.
3. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity

or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
Like in my second statement I have overcome my mental block. This block’s me

from being able to go on with school work. I get unmotivated and bored with school. I
start to slack and stop doing my assignments. I always get this block either mid through
the first semester or by the beginning of the second semester. I don’t know why I get this
block because it does affect me in a gradual way with my grades. What does help is
being able to change something in school that makes me refreshed and brings me back
to reality. With this, I am able to get focused again and start improving my grades. This
has happened to me for the past 3 years of high school. Ways I coped with this was
either moving from a different class, for example when I was really unmotivated in my
sophomore english class to the point where I had an F, with this I didn’t feel like learning
in any of my classes. It was really bad. I then decided to take it with my counselor. He
helped me by changing my english class, I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew
that when I went to the class that they weren’t going to slow down, and I was right. I
started off with having to write an essay. The essay was about someone famous. I
remember this essay because I had full creative freedom with it. It was an easy essay for
me. Then after that they started reading one of Shakespeare's works. I knew I had to
work twice as hard to be able to catch up with everyone else. I did learn in this class and
all my grades for each class started to go up. I felt like I was learning a lot. That class
was fun and I really liked it. I was able to bring up my F to a B. I felt accomplished and
glad. I was motivated and determined to pass my classes.
4. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe
makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to University of
California?
One challenge I faced was in my junior year of high school. It was back to school
and I was preparing to perform for the back to school rally. Everything was going fine
and then it was time to perform. I remember being excited to be in front of everyone and
show them our performance. Everything was good until the end. While I was running I
got my foot stuck on the mat and it pulled forward. I didn’t feel anything until after the
performance. I knew that I had to pull through. After the performance I saw that I popped
my knee out of socket. I went straight to the athletic nurse and they put me on ice. After
that I had to go in an ambulance to go to the hospital, when I was there I found out I
needed surgery. I was taken to Valley children's hospital. After the surgery I was able to
go home. I was excited to go back to school but I was unable to. I was on bed rest until
October 1st, 2019. I was bummed but I had to be homeschooled. Being homeschooled
was the worst for me because I missed being in a classroom with classmates and
everything. I still had the same classes like everyone else except someone would come
to help me. It was the worst. I didn’t learn anything I slacked off and I never did my work,
now that I look back at this I am grateful for the experience of having school at home
now I have to do it all over again except having a cast on my knee. Now that I have to
learn from home again it is easier because I know what works for me and with learning. I
have been able to do my school work on time. This challenge changed my life for the
future of home learning.

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Personal Statement

The subject that inspires me is math. I have my strengths here because I am

My greatest skill is my determination. When I put my mind on something I

3. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity

Like in my second statement I have overcome my mental block. This block’s me

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