Emily Joseph

Honors 100 A
Who Are You?
My decision to apply to the University of Washington Honors Program was shaped by my
drive to learn about new things and how the world works. This drive manifested itself in many of
my decisions that made applying to the Universitys Honors Program not so much a choice for
me, but more of a foregone conclusion. One of these decisions was my choice to take AP World
History in my sophomore year of high school. This one choice may seem small, but it introduced
me to something about myself, my passion for history and the humanities in general. I can credit
this discovery partially to my drive to learn which inspired me to take the rigorous course, but
mostly to my amazing teacher, Mrs. Fletcher. She saw my interest in the course and pushed me
to study beyond the course material. She was my rock, even after I completed her course. I came
back to tutor her students and she continued to mentor me. She was the one who nourished my
drive to learn and later pushed me to apply to the Honors Program and wrote my letter of
recommendation.
A second decision that was inspired by my thirst for knowledge was my choice to join my high
schools robotics team, Team Pronto. Before I joined Team Pronto, I had never even considered
the STEM fields as a possibility for me. I was always good at math and physics but I had never
really enjoyed them. That is, until I was able to apply them to something that got my blood
pumping. Robotics was a great fit for me because I was finally able to apply myself to an
intellectual challenge that was exciting to me. Robotics is so physical, and it was great to see the
physical payoff of my and my teams thoughts.
In the end, it was the duality of my interests that pushed me to join the University of
Washington Honors Program. I knew I wanted to go into STEM, but I was still in love with the
humanities. This led me to exploring options that would ensure that I didnt have to sacrifice
either of my passions in the pursuit of the other. Now, as a member of the Honors Program, I am
striving to make the most of my time her. I plan on taking the engaging humanities classes that
the program offers to satisfy my curiosity towards the world around me in conjunction with the
STEM classes that satisfy my curiosity towards the universe our world is in. I want to explore
any topic that piques my interest, leave no stone unturned. Just this quarter I signed up for the
Honors Law 100 course, expecting to learn more about the legal system I live in. What I didnt
expect was to encounter another topic that made my blood pump. A feeling that I had
experienced most recently in my encounter with robotics. So, for now. I am going to continue to
look into law as a potential passion of mine, while continuing on with my pursuit of STEM and
see where all of this leads me.