Empowerly

Student profile

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

“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 desperation 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 said  with a string of jumbled, grammatically incorrect responses in English. I tried to interpret all the sentences I heard for the next few days.

I had difficulty settling in at my new school compared to other new students. 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 in Northern California and even basic things like my diet changed, as the school food was strictly vegetarian.

A few weeks into the school year, a classmate  who argued about football on the first day, approached 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 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 them out.. 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 was comfortable in his world, but he took the initiative to learn more about mine.He reached out and included me.  His kind gesture helped me realize that I needed to extend myself. 

Gradually I started to change. I began to speak my mother-tongue, Tamil, with some of the students. I watched soccer with my classmates and played field hockey. I learned 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.

After a rocky start, I settled in smoothly. 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 developed as a person. This has prepared me for my college experience.

Short response 

Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW.

Tip: Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values and viewpoints.

Like almost all Indian parents in the US, who look for every opportunity to instill in their children Indian cultural values, my parents enrolled me in Carnatic (Indian classical) music lessons.  A few years later, my parents enrolled me at a residential School in India.  The Hindu school integrates spiritual, intellectual, and cultural values as part of their holistic education system. After living in America, I had to make many adjustments,  but this experience has helped me to look at things from multiple perspectives.

Throughout the school year, Hindu festivals are celebrated with great pomp and vigor, symbolizing the traditions. Watching students dance and sing has slowly developed in my soul a connection to my culture I had never felt before.  In my senior year, I understood how fully I have embodied my Indian culture and values when I played the role of a Hindu god, Lord Krishna, for a cultural program that celebrated the path of righteousness through actions.  I had to even change the way I walked while playing the role, taking strides with determination and purpose.

After studying in [name of school] for 5 years, I have connected with my roots and bonded with my extended family.

While I have been immersed in Indian culture, I also have experienced American culture. From sitting in the classrooms of U.S. and Indian schools, I see various races, ethnicities, and truly appreciate a richness of ideas and art.  I have benefitted from widely different education systems and different lifestyles, and this has helped me to develop a greater understanding of all people. My experiences and stories can contribute to the University of Washington's diversity. Through the University’s Indian Students Association, I will be able to spread awareness about Indian culture and continue to participate in my community in Washington. 

Additional information about yourself or your circumstances (optional)

Maximum length: 200 words

You are not required to write anything in this section, but you may include additional information if something has particular significance to you. For example, you may use this space if:

• You are hoping to be placed in a specific major soon

• A personal or professional goal is particularly important to you

• You have experienced personal hardships in attaining your education

• Your activities have been limited because of work or family obligations

• You have experienced unusual limitations or opportunities unique to the schools you attended

I moved my hands in front of the Kinect sensor hoping to see the humanoid robot in front of me replicate my actions. For the hundredth time nothing happened. Undeterred, I realized an unwanted code block was 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 at [name of company], a R&D start-up focused on changing the way people learn and interact in real and virtual worlds.

Gaining hands-on experience and putting to use my programming skills gave me a sense of accomplishment. However, what intrigued me more was landing at an intersection where I could use my math and physics skills. I estimated the body joint angles from the Kinect sensor and mapped them with servo motor goal positions of a humanoid robot.

I realized that I could use this interdisciplinary approach to create a traffic police robot.  I want to further my research by adding finger tracking using Holosuit gloves to help people with hearing disabilities.