One of the USC supplemental questions is “USC students are known to be involved. Briefly describe a non-academic pursuit (such as service to community or family, a club or sport, or work, etc.,) that best illustrates who you are, and why it is important to you.”
I want to write about an internship that I found myself at a UC Berkeley bio lab. I spent two summers interning at this lab and it really helped me to grow both in independence and in discovering what I want to pursue. I did NOT receive the internship through a formal academic program from UC Berkeley or my high school. It took a lot of cold-emailing and motivation on my end.
Based on all of this, would it be safe to write about the internship as my “non-academic pursuit?”
Thanks!