Nathan Dong
399
With thirty minutes left in our TEAMS engineering competition, tensions were high.
Teams across the hall were testing their structures, while my team was still struggling to
assemble a working build.
Our task was to design a one or two story building that could withstand a fan for 20
seconds, using rationed amounts of paper, craft sticks, tape, and thin dowel rods, simulating a
beach hotel withstanding a natural disaster.
Despite repeated attempts and brainstormed solutions, nothing was working. As time
elapsed, our team became frustrated, making a difficult task even more difficult as
communication began to suffer.
I realized that if we continued following the same assumptions as everyone else, we
would end the competition without a functional design. That is the moment when I chose to
question the status quo: not changing the design but challenging the rules themselves. I carefully
reviewed the one page rulebook and noticed how vague it was. While it clearly limited materials
and height, it never specified how the building had to be shaped.
There was no rule about securing the structure.
I asked TEAMS personnel directly whether taping the structure down was allowed, and
they confirmed that if it wasn’t explicitly prohibited, it was permitted. Immediately after asking
them, I ran back to my team to tell them this news, and we began building. We completed the
structure with just four minutes remaining. When tested, it successfully withstood the fan, and
our team advanced to nationals.
This experience defines what “Question the Status Quo” means to me. It means
challenging assumptions, especially when pressure makes it tempting to follow familiar paths.
Rather than accepting constraints at face value, I learned the importance of stepping back,
reexamining systems, and identifying opportunities others overlook. Without questioning the
status quo, things stay the same, they stay stagnant.
Participating in the Berkeley Business Academy for Youth will allow me to continue
challenging myself and the status quo in a business context. Just as I questioned the rules in
TEAMS, I want to learn how entrepreneurs and business leaders question markets and models to
create value. Experiencing college-level coursework, collaborating with driven peers, and
learning on Berkeley’s campus will help me confirm whether business is the right major for me.
This summer, at B-Bay, I will challenge myself to become a leader who looks beyond the
obvious to drive meaningful change by questioning the status quo.