Success Never Comes Without Failing

I have known Bill Wong since my sophomore year of high school. I often observed him whenever he talked, because he was one of the quietest people in my class. From his intelligent responses, I was curious to know how he thinks and views things. It was not until my senior year that I got to know him well.

I do not remember a time when Bill was mean or arrogant towards anyone. He is a down to earth person who manages to keep his accomplishments in private and help others whenever he can. Despite being quiet and mindful of his own business, it is still easy to know a lot about his struggles and goals.

It was Bill’s dream since freshman year of high school to be accepted to a college with a reputable urban planning program. When he checked out the rankings, he found out that Cornell University is ranked first in the nation for its architecture/urban planning program. At first, he believed that his chances of entering the school are very low. However, he decided to do his best to meet all the requirements needed for admission.

Bill lived in Hong Kong for fourteen years and came to the United States at the start of ninth grade. In the beginning, he struggled a lot with English. He told me that he was advised to watch cartoons and interact with others in his community. He went by the advice and volunteered in his local Brooklyn Public Library to help children and the elderly use computers to extract information. His three years of volunteer work improved his communication skills. But, there were still other problems…

Throughout high school, Bill lived in the basement of his uncle’s house. Since his parents lived in Hong Kong, Bill was responsible to take care of himself during the school year. His parents’ income only paid the bills in Hong Kong. Bill had to find a way to pay for food, electronics, clothes, etc…

To get into Cornell, Bill had to receive a high SAT score. He felt confident about the writing and math sections, but found the reading section to be very difficult. When he asked the librarians for help, they recommended several books and essays that represent the reading section’s difficulty. After taking the test twice, he did not receive a score that falls in the average range of accepted students. He was told that his alternative solution was to write jaw-dropping personal statements. When he asked his English teacher in senior year to proofread his essays, she told him, “your story of struggle is very captivating to the ear. It should outweigh your reading score.”

By the end of March 2013, Bill was very pleased with his acceptance to Cornell. However,  a few weeks later, the financial aid package disappointed him greatly. He told me, 

Since he didn’t want money to continue causing him problems, he wrote a 900 word essay to the president of the university explaining his financial and family situation. Within a few days, he received a better offer that wouldn’t keep him indebted long after graduation.

During my video chat with Bill, I asked him why he is so tired. He told me that in a ‘normal’ week, he has to read two hundred textbook pages and write at least three essays. He said, “the initial challenge of being accepted is incomparably easy with the challenge of maintaining my GPA and research position.”

When asked about his future goals, Bill responded chronologically. First, he wants to attain an internship position at MetroNorth every summer until graduation. After that, he wants to be part of an architecture company that hires people to help developing countries build homes and have access to potable water. When I asked him about why he is going through all of this trouble just to help people, he said,