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I sat in my first college statistics class when I was just ten years old. Of course, I was not taking
the course as a student. In fact, I was sitting in the back corner of the classroom, watching my
father teach it. Although the equations and distributions on the board were unlike anything I had
seen in my own math classes, something in that lecture kindled a fire that is ablaze within me
today. Numerous times along my academic path I have been asked “What do you want to do for
a living?” or “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Since the age of ten, I have only had
one response: “I want to become a statistics professor.” Professors are the educational backbone
to higher knowledge and innovation, and supportive educators can single-handedly change the
course of a student’s life. As I journeyed through my first advanced mathematics and statistics
courses, I felt the warmth that came with my professors believing in me. It is this nurturing of
students and ability to guide them to a better educational path that draws me to this profession.
Especially with regards to underprivileged students, I believe that a supportive, caring instructor
can be the difference between total lack of motivation and stellar performance. Many students
come to class with stresses of financial uncertainty, deep personal issues, and self-doubt, but a
caring, motivated professor can bolster that student’s academic confidence to help make a
positive impact on their life.

As a professor, I will also be able to continue my journey as a student of statistics for my entire
career. Statistics is one of the most important scientific fields in the modern age, and I am
excited to explore this rapidly developing expanse. The field has continuously evolved since its
birth, engendering new important areas of study such as biostatistics, statistical computing, and
statistical learning, just to name a few. Even since high school, my appreciation and passion for
statistics burned bright as I took on science fair projects that utilized methods such as Kaplan
Meier curves, Cox proportional-hazards models, and principal component analysis. In 2016 and
2017, the American Statistical Association awarded these projects with its special awards at the
State level and regional level. This paved the path for the research I have conducted as an
undergraduate, through which I have gotten to experience mathematics and statistics at a higher
level than what is taught in most undergraduate courses.

My first publication, in Complex Analysis and Operator Theory, was through an REU at X
University, and my two research projects this summer really helped establish my specific
interests in statistical learning and data science. One of those research projects was an REU at
the University of Y in which we developed a new method, RP (repeatedly randomized Pseudo
Group Bi-level Selection), that outperforms standard variable selection techniques such as the
Lasso, GLasso, GMCP, MCP, Enet, Mnet, Wlasso, and Plasso in the highly correlated, big data
setting. In fact, I developed the R package “Z” which will be publicly available once the paper is
published (manuscript is complete and will be submitted to a journal soon). As I learned, this
type of problem is becoming increasingly pertinent as computers are burdened with
computations involving increasingly large, correlated data sets, such as in gene expression data.

In the other research project, I demonstrated the strength of neural networks over their more
standard counterpart, logistic regression, through NFL position classification. In particular, by
using height, weight, and speed data, I was able to show that neural networks outperform logistic
regression in terms of both prediction accuracy and area under ROC curve. This research,
currently under review in SIAM Undergraduate Research Online, demonstrated to me the new
leaf that we are turning in the statistics world, and I am wildly excited to be at the forefront of
this rapidly developing field. In my higher studies, I would like to work in the area of statistical
learning and data science, with the aim of advancing the frontiers of artificial intelligence and
data processing.

The Department of Statistics and Data Science at Cornell University consistently produces
graduates that secure faculty positions at prestigious universities, and cutting-edge research is
conducted in the fields of machine learning, data science, and statistical computing. In the
program, I would love to work with X,Y,Z. I strongly believe that I will be able to reach my full
potential through the Statistics graduate program at Cornell, and even beyond the school itself, I
would love to live in the Ithaca area and experience the beautiful nature of the city, explore the
unique local culture, and attend those thrilling Big Red ice hockey matches.

My deep-rooted passion for statistics and desire to become a professor who contributes to the
field has so far culminated in several research projects and a 4.0 GPA at X University, and I am
ready to take the next step in my higher studies. I am confident that Cornell Statistics and Data
Science is the best-fitting department for me, and I would love to take my passion and skills to
Ithaca. It is my dream to become a world-class statistician, and I am excited to take this next step
in the journey.