Sample cover letter for Full Time position at Embry-Riddle

Throughout my childhood I have often wondered what the future would hold for me. Curious in nature, I always had a strong interest in many different fields but I was also guided by the determination to find the one path I could follow fully and with complete dedication.

Encouraged by my parents, I decided to choose not the easiest path, but the one to which my passion guided me, the one I could really follow with my heart; perfectly convinced that doing so I would have had the opportunity to demonstrate to anybody, including myself, that I had something to contribute to the society.

One of the key moments in my life was when I received my first telescope as a present. I spent entire nights on my house’s roof studying the sky through that toy, marveling on what science enabled mankind to reach.

Once in high school, I still had not found a solution to the dilemma on how to follow my two outmost passions: physics (in particular astrophysics), and engineering, as I was also attracted to more “concrete” things. It was at that point that my future in aerospace engineering started to outline itself.

Since I knew that English was fundamental in this field and I realized that spending some time in the United States would have improved my language skills, it was at that time that I enrolled in an Exchange program. This allowed me to spend my senior year in the United States where thanks to my tenacity and determination I graduated with honors.

Then, once I obtained the Italian high school diploma “Liceo Scientifico”(with scientific orientation), I was accepted in one of the best engineering universities in Europe: “Università di Pisa” where I now attend the third and last year of the Bachelors of Science program. In this university, I have had many prominent professors who allowed me to reach an advanced approach to engineering problems. I have learned a lot, and I have grown tremendously; yet, I feel that something is still missing.

It is clear that to reach an advanced study methodology as required by a particularly complicated field like aerospace engineering a number of years of study must focus on the theoretical approach. However, in a thorough and well-rounded education, theory must be duly complemented by research and laboratories.

It was during my senior year of high school spent in the United States that I was introduced to the American educational system. At that time I realized that the strength of the American higher education is that of being able to provide solid theoretical foundations paired with a practical approach for their implementation – knowledge has value when it can be used in practice. This could not be of greater importance in the field of aerospace engineering.

Completing my studies in the United States has since become one of the main objectives of my personal development. I believe that being accepted in the graduate program at Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University will be the keystone of my education and I am firmly determined to succeed.

I am aware that it will not be easy but I am prepared. My language skills are sufficient to face the challenge in an American institution of higher education, and after my experience in New Jersey I am prepared for life in the US. My undergraduate studies in an institution as prestigious as the “Università di Pisa” provided the challenge I needed to acquire the knowledge and the personal strength to face a program of the highest level. One of the things I learned is that if you really want something you need to put all your heart in it, fighting with all yourself: this is the key to success. I am a hard-working and determined person, I am ready for a new leap in my aerospace engineering career, and I am ready to do whatever it takes.

In conclusion, I have to say that I would look at my admission to Embry-Riddle not only as a great honor and success but also as an obligation for hard work. An environment characterized by such outstanding faculty and a highly competitive atmosphere and research can only yield an education of the highest quality. The only reasonable decision for me was to aim for such a place.

All this gives me the motivation to apply to ERAU.