Reflections.html

<p>When I first moved to Ames from India for college at ISU, I was not sure where college life would take me. I had a
    keen interest in programming and knew a thing or two about Java. I had chosen Computer Engineering solely based on
    my primary knowledge of Java. I found out that there was more to the field of Computer Engineering when I attended
    several different classes. I had come a long way from home in a completely new country to study a subject that I was
    not completely aware of. At such an important turn in my life, ISU turned out to be a perfect place for me to learn
    and grow both as a human being and as a professional in the field of technology. I see myself as a completely
    evolved individual compared to the time I first set my foot in Ames. I have grown in terms of knowledge as well as
    experience. I attribute my growth to three things that ISU had to offer to me: First, the wide array of courses
    ranging from the General Electives, core Computer Engineering courses, Senior Design as well as the Tech electives
    which all together got me thinking about critical topics in today’s world and got me working towards solving
    problems with the knowledge I acquired. Second, my professional experience while I was studying at ISU including my
    jobs as a tutor, an undergraduate research assistant, a teaching assistant, an app developer, a software development
    intern as well as the internships I did over the summers of my Junior and Senior years. Third, my involvement in
    student organization on campus from the first semester which included being an event coordinator in the
    International Student Council, being the president of Indian Students’ Association and being an active member of
    IEEE on campus. </p>
<p>All my experience has helped me become an efficient team-member as well as an effective leader when faced with a
    challenge. Classes such as ComS 311(Algorithms and design), ComS 228(Data structures), CprE 310(Discreet Math), CprE
    308(Operating Systems) have boosted my capability of logical thinking and solving real-life problems in a systematic
    manner. My experience in senior design along with the classes I mentioned above has given me an insight into design
    process and systems that has, in many ways, shaped my approach towards solving problems. My jobs at ISU, namely,
    undergraduate research assistant, teaching assistant and software developer have given me experience with dealing
    with challenges without any direct help. These experiences have lifted my confidence of tackling situations in
    real-life work environment. Moreover, my jobs also helped me understand the direct application of knowledge I
    acquired in classes. The professors that I either took classes with or worked under have change my perspective about
    technology and have always inspired me to excel at whichever field I take up in future. </p>
<p>Courses such as ComS 309 (Software Development practices) and other team projects in other courses including senior
    design has contributed a lot towards my becoming a team player. I have experienced what it is to work in several
    kinds of teams including a team of all individuals more experienced than I am as well as a team where I am the most
    experienced person. Working in team environments taught me a lot about dealing with co-workers which helped me
    during my internships. Teaching less-experienced people also helped me strengthen my understanding of the subject
    whereas, learning from more experienced individuals has given me an insight into topics that I would otherwise not
    learn on my own. Classes such as Leadership Studies (LDST 322) taught me how to deal with conflicts in a team which
    was a very valuable lesson. In other scenarios, group discussions have triggered my thought processes about certain
    issues and have made me study some topics in detail. Listening to a counter perspective has made me a good listener
    and has made me open to ideas and thoughts. In my time as the president of the second largest student organization
    on campus, the Indian Students’ Association, I learned how to deal with events of massive scale. My affiliation with
    the organization has also helped me establish connections with professors and students who would not have met me had
    I not been the president of the organization. I also learned about my ethical responsibilities while I was the
    president and was raising money for victims of a natural calamity. </p>
<p>Throughout my time at ISU I had to refer external resources to better understand a topic or simply to solve a problem
    I was faced with. At the end of my undergraduate life, I have become a more learned person for sure, but more than
    that I have learned to research and dig up required information from various sources way better than I was able to
    before college. My projects, internships and other technical tasks would not have been a success without online
    resources such as Stack Overflow, Tutorial Point, Lynda.com, W3schools.com, Khan Academy and YouTube. In addition to
    that, the ISU Library has been of a great help whenever I wanted a resource that was not available through the
    channels I mentioned above. Because of my undergraduate research, I have also become familiar with journal and
    research papers and have gotten an exposure to scientific literature. </p>
<p>My co-curricular and extracurricular activities including Indian Students’ Association, IEEE, Hackathons, musical
    performances, undergraduate research, tutoring and other campus jobs have shaped me as a person with a world view.
    My exposure to different type of people and experience in dealing with a wide array of situations is certainly
    something that gives me an edge over other students in my graduating class. These activities have enabled me to
    balance between school and personal development in a way that will be useful in my professional life. I have learned
    to balance two jobs (of technical nature), full-credit load of classes, senior design and involvement in student
    organizations in a single semester. I have become an efficient planner and have started adhering more to a planned
    schedule as I kept getting busier in my semester. At the same time, I have made it a point to help and guide other
    individuals who are in their initial years of college I have spoken at several seminars and lectures about my
    experience and hope to continue to guide individuals seeking for help. I have also been an advocate of mental health
    and its importance in a student’s life and have clearly voiced my opinions about mental health and ISU’s role in
    catering to the needs of individuals seeking help through an interview I gave with Iowa State Daily. </p>
<p>If I were to redo my undergraduate work, I would do a couple of things differently. I would make more friends in my
    initial classes as a freshman so that I am never left behind in a class and I know someone who can help me. I would
    master the skill of researching and using online resources to my advantage so that I could get help outside class. I
    would also lay more emphasis on my grades in Sophomore year so that my cumulative Grade Point Average towards the
    end of my degree would be higher. Apart from that, I would follow advices of my seniors and professors that I might
    have neglected at a certain level. I would however not change my attitude towards grabbing any opportunity to learn
    something new. </p>






<p>As a young Grade 7 student, when I wrote my first Java program, I was flabbergasted with the power coding gave an
    individual. I felt that I could move mountains with my fingertips when I coded. This led me to think about more and
    more applications of programming in my surroundings. That was when I realized the application of technology was
    seamless. I had no second thought about what college major I wanted to pursue and now, in my final year of
    undergraduate studies, I am even more determined of my goal. I want to use my skills, acquired at Iowa State
    University, to positively impact thousands of lives. I want to write software that positively moves masses, even if
    it means that I must start my own company or work for an established company to do so. I feel that the best use of
    one’s knowledge and skills is when it is used for others and hence I want to be able to help and give back to the
    society while at work.</p>
<p>At Iowa State University, I was fortunate enough to have opportunities to take several General Education courses
    which not only exposed me to non-engineering course work but also helped me to develop a perspective towards my
    surroundings and build a world view towards current global issues. I took Micro Economics (ECON 101) as my first
    elective in freshman year and was enlightened by the process of logically breaking down real-life problems and
    accessing all real-life choices available to oneself. It really gave me a perspective about the various decisions
    that companies took regarding their product and the market. It gave a realistic point of view towards the modern-day
    market and enabled me to think of technology from a market’s perspective. </p>
<p>Another enlightening course that I took was Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH 101), where I learned about different
    aspects of human Psychology and human behavior. The human behavior aspect of the course really drew me to learn more
    about the impact of technology on human behavior over years. It also helped me to understand the relationship humans
    share with technology. Furthermore, the course had several interesting research studies to participate in which made
    me realize about the various research projects going on at the university. </p>
<p>As part of my U.S. Diversity requirement, I took Leadership Styles and Strategies in a Diverse Society (LDST 322).
    This course was the most interesting General Education Elective that I took. It gave me an understanding of
    leadership as a process and really made me think about several aspects of leadership. At that time, I was the
    president of one of the largest student organization at the university and the course helped me correlate the
    learnings with real-life situations. I learned a lot about diversity in the United States and the problems faced by
    several minority groups across the nation. I learned proper ways to deal with situations and tackle challenges faced
    while working in a diverse group. Above all, I learned to respect conflicting ideas and identities, for which I am
    very thankful to the instructor. I took Human Recourse Management (MGMT 471) as my final elective, in which I
    learned about recruitment, job descriptions, management of legal issues associated with hiring etc. This really
    helped me while interviewing with companies and seeking jobs since I knew the HR side of the hiring process.</p>
<p>Most of the General Education Electives I took were based on collaborative learning environment. This gave me plenty
    experience of working with teams and handling difficulties faced by the team in unity. I got to listen to many
    diverse perspectives coming from team-members with diverse backgrounds. I felt educated every time I worked in a
    team. These courses helped me to think about things in a more informed manner and I became a more aware citizen of
    the world. The courses encouraged me to think about issues that I would not have thought of on my own, hence pushing
    me to apply my skills and knowledge in areas they were applicable. The courses enabled me to expand my horizon about
    application of technology and made me a better over individual.</p>