An Indian-American, our student was an expert in playing the tabla, a traditional Indian drum. He also had a passion for helping the deaf, since his cousin lost his hearing in a car accident. ThinkSTEP suggested a way to combine his two interests, and after some research, ThinkSTEP discovered that percussion instruments are excellent conductors of sound through solids. As a result, our student created drum lessons and taught over 20 students at a local school for the deaf. When he wrote in his essay that he wanted to create the next generation of hearing devices, Penn genuinely understood his passion for bioengineering and admitted him forthright in Early Decision!