Empowerly

Student profile

If you could have any career, what would it be? Why? Describe any activities you are involved in, life experiences you've had, or even classes you've taken that have helped you identify this professional path. I grew up in Silicon Valley where technology companies dominate the world.  In middle school, when asked, “What do you want to be?” I answered, “Anything, as long as it involves touching a computer.” 

However, mechanical robots fascinated me. When I attended a residential school in India, there were no opportunities to continue developing my robots, so I started a Robotics Club.  

I created a curriculum beginning with do-it-yourself robots, then progressed to robots that take soft instructions from humans. I pursued online courses to learn Arduino, C# and Python programming and took Informatics Practices, a college elective.  I interned at [name of company], a Holosuit R&D startup focused on changing the way people learn and interact in real and virtual worlds.

Moving my hands in front of the Kinect sensor, I hoped to see the humanoid robot replicate my actions. Nothing happened. Undeterred, I discovered an unwanted code block, preventing the robot from understanding the Kinect’s input. Upon removal, the robot waved its arms, as I waved mine. That moment was the highlight of my internship.

It thrilled me to land at an intersection where I could use my Math and Physics skills, along with my programming skills. I estimated body joint angles and mapped them with servo motor goal positions of the humanoid robot. I imagined using this interdisciplinary approach to create a traffic police robot.

Through my experience at [name of company], I furthered my knowledge in Computer Science and brainstormed ideas on how to apply this technology. I hope to continue my internship research at UT Austin through the OUR and Eureka programs; I want to add finger tracking using Holosuit gloves to help people with hearing disabilities.

Now, whenever someone asks me what I want to do with my future the answer is, “Nothing but computers.”

Do you believe your academic record (transcript information and test scores) provide an accurate representation of you as a student? Why or why not?

My academic record provides an accurate representation of me as a student, with one caveat. As part of the CBSE curriculum, my school holds itself to the standards prescribed by the Indian Board of Education through the Secondary (10th) and Senior Secondary (12th) Board exams. My 10th grade Board exam scores were in the 99th percentile in the country, securing top rank in the Nation in addition to receiving Merit certificates and scholarships.

As part of the 11th grade,  like most students, I devoted 70% of my time preparing for college bound competitive exams, in addition to the 12th standard board exams. 11th grade was also the year I honed my leadership skills by following my passions; Robotics and Tennis.

I founded the Robotics Club, the first ever student made club in my school with a self-sustaining curriculum and materials. I also took online classes to learn Arduino, C# and Python to prepare for my summer research internship at Kaaya Tech, a Holosuit Robotic, AI, and AR/VR R&D startup.

As School Tennis Captain, in 11th grade I coached fellow students and improved my serve. I won the district U18 men’s championship league.

I represented my school as a key delegate in International Model United Nations. It helped me improve my perspectives on effective communication and diplomacy. I also became involved in many cultural activities.

These resulted in a net drop in my 11th grade score. Even though I scored 78% in my 11th grade, I was in the 91st percentile. My involvement in 11th grade activities helped me to become a whole person and prepared me well for my next 4 years at UT Austin.

How do you show leadership in your life? How do you see yourself being a leader at UT Austin? 

I stood triumphant in front of the class teaching my first Robotics lesson. However, the journey to found the first student-initiated club at my school wasn’t easy.

As a child, I played with kits to build robots that my father bought for me. But at high school in India, there were no opportunities to continue my passion.  I took the initiative to found a Robotics Club. My initial barrier was that this was the first student-made club, therefore, there was no process in place or faculty advisors. I had to be a trailblazer. I asked my physics teacher to be my mentor and proposed the new club to the school administration.

“How will you fund this club?” my principal asked. I hadn’t even considered that we would need funding. I reached out to companies that manufacture robotic kits, but everyone politely refused. Undeterred, I identified more companies and to my surprise, Jeff Coda, National Sales Manager of Elenco wrote back, “I am inspired by your enthusiasm to develop a club in your new setting from scratch.” This was a huge win; Elenco supplied Snap Circuits kits worth $2000. 

Within a few months, I had accomplished my goal; 30 students participated in the club with a self-sustaining curriculum. I created a new culture within my school— a culture of entrepreneurship and taking initiative that could inspire other students to do the same.

Leadership, I learnt, wasn’t about being recognized as the founder of the robotics club. It is the ability to persist that I gained when I overcame barriers. My ability to inspire hope in my peers also made me a leader. 

At UT Austin, I want to join UTCS’s Community Outreach program to continue teaching computer science and inspire others in the greater Texas community.

What was the environment in which you were raised? Describe your family, home, neighborhood, or community. Explain how it has shaped you as a person.

 “Did you see Rooney’s goal where he nutmegged Courtois?  Manchester United ragged Chelsea in yesterday’s match,” noted one of my new classmates as I walked into my dorm at [name of school] in Coimbatore, India. In my desperate desire to socialize, I asked, “Any Warriors fans in here?” I got blank faces, shrugs, and one guy burst into laughter. This led to a chain reaction of ridicule from a larger group. They didn’t understand a word I said because of my accent.  And since I didn’t speak Hindi, a language most of my classmates spoke, I didn’t understand them.

Later in the dining hall I tried my luck again, making my accent sound more Indian. “Wasn’t the dosa tasty?” I said to another student. “Eh man, the sambar is too much sweet bro. But the chutney is good na,” he replied with a string of jumbled, grammatically incorrect, incomprehensible responses in English. I did my mental auto-correct and tried to interpret all the sentences I heard for the next few days.

I had difficulty settling in at my new school. The other new students adjusted as though they had been here for ages. I didn’t want to lose my accent, diversify my interests or alter the way I thought just so that I could fit in. I missed my family and even basic things like my diet changed, as the food at the school was strictly vegetarian.

A few weeks into the school year, a classmate of mine, the one who was arguing about football on the first day, came to me and said, “Did you hear, James is moving to the Cavaliers.” That huge trade shocked me, but I was even more surprised that my classmate knew what was happening in the NBA. He then told me in correct English, “I remember that the first day when you walked in, you asked about the Warriors, so I decided to check on them. I wanted you to get settled, so I realized that if we could come to a common ground, we all could understand each other better.”

His gesture moved me. He lived in a world he was comfortable with, but he took the initiative to learn more about my world. He reached out to me and made me feel included.  His gesture was so kind and it helped me realize that I needed to extend myself and be part of his world and my school.

Gradually I started to change. I began to speak my mother-tongue, Tamil, with some of the students. I started watching soccer with my classmates and played field hockey. I began to appreciate the beauty and serenity of the campus which is located just outside a lush forest. I began to learn much more about the Hindu religion and Indian culture. We celebrated holidays in the school and I participated in cultural programs by talking about the traditions and stories behind them.

Having grown up in northern California, I had never expected to spend 5 years at a boarding school in India. My world had been more confined then; I interacted with people just like me and I was comfortable in my family setting. I had everything I wanted and never had to stretch to my limits.

After a rocky start, I settled in smoothly. Once I realized that I need to grow, change and adapt to my new community and school, I had a beautiful experience; although it contrasted to the way I grew up. I am grateful to have had this opportunity. By interacting with new people, learning a new language, playing a new sport, adapting to a new culture, adjusting to a new system of education, and exploring a new country, I have developed as a person. This has prepared me for my college experience.