A. Mariana;B. Mendes Martins;C. Coelho;D. No;E. Female;F. May/01/1996;G. Oliveira de Azemis;H. Portugal;I. Portugal;J. Portugal;K. Travessa Ator Alfredo Ferreira Silva, Passos, Santiago de Riba-Ul, n19, Oliveira de Azemis, 3720-524;L. 256085940 (home number)/913611777 (cell number);M. 912729685 (mother)/914617129 (father);N. marianinha.coelho@hotmail.com;O. None;P. Secondary School Student;Q. Agrupamento de Escolas Soares Basto;R. Science and Technologies;S. I take English lessons in a private school, which give me the opportunity to have an English certificate later on (CPE - ESOL). I have won the second place in the contest "Traduzir2013", from Universidade Catlica de Lisboa, in which I had to translate a text from English to Portuguese. Moreover, in 2012, me and my team were second place in the Chemistry Olympics' semi-final, which was held in Universidade de Aveiro. Also, in January, me and my team won first place in a cross country race. As you might be aware of, last Summer, I was selected by the US Embassy to the Intercultural Youth Camp;T. I am an active member of my school's Eco-Club, in which we organise different activities, related to the environment, such as volunteering and gardening, and we have also visited some primary schools from our town, to teach the little children how to plant a tree. Also, this Eco-Club allows me to take part in my town's radio station, AzemisFM, by reading a weekly informative text about some environment-related issues. I have participated in the Youth Parliament, in which the participants were supposed to discuss and find ways to increase birth, and decrease the demographic crisis. In my free time, I play the piano, which I've been learning for twelve years now, I usually read and write a lot, because I love literature, and I am presently starting to write a little story about a girl (which I can gladly attach to my e-mail, for you to read it, as my language and its writing is so important to me). Also, I practise swimming, and I've taken karate lessons for four years. Recently, I have found out about a website, coursera.org, that provides interested people with a huge range of courses in which we can enrol, that are certified by their universities, so I am presently taking a Philosophy course;U. None;V. I currently am in the 12th grade, so I don't learn English at school anymore. However, as I have already referred, I am still learning this language, and I'm planning to get my CPE, from Cambridge University, in May 2014. My CAE certificate is attached to this document. Last year, at school, my English grade was 20 (in a scale of 1 to 20) (also attached);W. In the future, I am planning to study Bioengineering, in FEUP (Oporto University), which is a very recent course that gives lots of opportunities for the graduates to work and make research abroad, as there are not much developed technologies in this field in my country (Portugal). In a more long-term view, I would also like to take a Masters Degree in Philosophy, because I think that it enriches every mind, and helps us getting know ourselves better;X. I have been dreaming, ever since I can remember, about going to the US. Not because I want to stay there, as I love my country, but just to have the opportunity of getting to know a totally different, and certainly very rich culture, that would indeed give me a lot of knowledge about the diversity of the world, all the different traditions... Moreover, I think it would be really positive to apply my knowledge in English in one of the countries where it is mostly spoken. I think that I am a very responsible and sociable person, with capability and eagerness to learn more and about diverse topics, so it would really be grateful to be able to confront myself, and my manner of being in the world, with a whole new reality, with new people from all around the globe. PS: Attached to this, there is the short story I have been writing, because I have been trying to find a way of showing you a little more of who I am, as I don't really think that it is enough for you to read this file, and get to know everything you need about me. So, this story, that is something I have been writing with all my dedication and love, will certainly help you understanding my participation in this contest, and also my willingness to live life in a different way.