As a child, exploring our Pentium computer and becoming the family’s go-to tech support was a way to pass time and use technology that had just begun to boom in India. Unwittingly, computer science began to shape my thinking and it became an integral part of my life. My exposure to computer science inside and outside the classroom has built strong foundational knowledge that has set me up for success for my future endeavors in college and my career ahead.

During my first year of high school, I sought to be a part of my school’s Information Technology Student Team, which would comprise of the winners of a website design competition. After spending my summer learning HTML, CSS, and Javascript, my revamp of the school’s website not only secured me a spot on the team but also won me the role of team leader. I managed a team that handled all IT issues at the school under the supervision of a few school staff members. We developed an online forum whereby students could share their suggestions for school improvement. I also volunteered at an old-age home and taught the elderly basic computer skills. During my tenure as the school’s IT team lead, we had several victories in interstate hackathons.

In sixth grade, I took my first computer science class -- “Intel’s Easy Steps” -- which taught me computer science fundamentals. From then on, I have focused my education on computer science, from learning how computers store information in data structures to learning the low-level aspects of computer operating systems. Additionally, being a teacher’s assistant to help other students grasp the same concepts has solidified my own learnings. Recently, I participated in the Samsung XR hackathon, where my academic knowledge and my previous experience leading my high school’s IT team allowed me to offer strong leadership to my team and create a virtual reality demo of a restaurant environment in 48 hours. With these conceptual and practical experiences in my toolset, I am confident in my ability to succeed in my future academic undertakings and build a fulfilling, sustainable career in computer science.