"You guys have helped me grow in more ways than you can imagine. I'll remember this day and each one of you forever. This is your win," I say as I lift the trophy for the Best House. Tears run down my face, but I'm not embarrassed, not anymore, not in front of my house-mates. House captaincy wasn't my first student council position, nor has it been the most challenging leadership role since. However, that role taught me more than...

The high school I attended during freshman and sophomore years wasn't too flexible with subject choices for IGCSE. I've enjoyed Economics from the time I was introduced to the basics of commerce in 8th Grade. Naturally, I wanted to take classes in IGCSE too. However, my school allowed us to take either Physics or Economics. Certain that I wanted to study both subjects, and that I couldn't do Physics all on my own, I chose Economics as a selfstudy subject. ...

My love for technology began at the age of eight when I first watched the movie Iron Man. I was in complete awe of J.A.R.V.I.S, the A.I. system Tony Stark built. The thought of creating this near perfect, life-like system, which, albeit absent physically, could still perform unimaginable tasks was just astounding. What began as a fascination for J.A.R.V.I.S soon became a passion for computer science. I wanted to...

My mother hails from a small rural Indian town and although I was born and raised in California initially, I feel part of the rural Indian community. We moved to India when I was five and I live with my grandparents for a one month each year during vacations. In the summer of 2015 when I was on my usual visit, I accompanied my grandfather to a village school where he was invited to speak. I was in for an unexpected...

Growing up, the concept of service was forced upon me. At first by my parents, and then school. My parents thought some service would turn me into a bona fide Mother Teresa. It began with a weekly clean-up of our local beach, which was littered with more trash than sand. In school, they dangled the carrot of extra credits to encourage us. At the time, however, my malaise outweighed my desire to do things for others. In the summer of 2015,...

Growing up, the concept of service was forced upon me. At first by my parents, and then school. My parents thought some service would turn me into a bona fide Mother Teresa. It began with a weekly clean-up of our local beach, which was littered with more trash than sand. In school, they dangled the carrot of extra credits to encourage us. At the time, however, my malaise outweighed my desire to do things for others. In the summer of 2015,...

My love for technology began at the age of eight when I first watched the movie Iron Man. I was in complete awe of J.A.R.V.I.S, the A.I. system Tony Stark built. The thought of creating this near perfect, life-like system, which, albeit absent physically, could still perform unimaginable tasks was just astounding. What began as a fascination for J.A.R.V.I.S soon became a passion for computer science and artificial intelligence....

I could become a writer, an astrophysicist, or an economist. Whilst I’m passionate about the sciences, math, and economics, nothing interests me more than technology and software programming. The thread system in the Computer Science program at Georgia Tech, especially the Intelligence thread, is exactly what I’ve been looking for. It’ll allow me to get a practical and hands-on learning experience in Artificial Intelligence. Georgia Tech’s leading UROC program is another exciting prospect. With a lot...

I play a great many roles in my close-knit family. Being the comedian of the family, I inject humor into situations. Being calm and empathetic, I often find myself comforting people. But my preferred role is that of being a problem solver. And since I’m research-oriented, logical and analytical by nature, it suits me well. For this reason, even my extended family often turn to me for help. For instance, when my cousin in grade 6 was struggling in school,...