I lived in Pakistan from kindergarten until middle school, and it was not until the tail end of middle school that I came to the U.S. During my high school years, I would think back to my time in Pakistan and ponder about the differences in economic development. For example, why is it that in a city such as Karachi, the majority of the population still lacks access to clean water and a stable supply of electricity? This led to me to do my own research and spend time in reading about the economics of countries that gained independence post-WWII.
One of the important conclusions I drew was that in the absence of education, people fall victim to a whole host of problems such as racism, prejudice, various forms of corruption in government (e.g. openly accepting briberies), and so on. Even though I was born in the U.S., living
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Being a first generation college student, has awakened a sense of responsibility in me to break this pattern. I plan to pursue my career as a Computer Engineer. It fascinates me how computers play an important role in our daily lives, including in finance, communication, and entertainment. I initially began doing online research to find the ideal college based on my interests, and Vanderbilt University quickly ended up in my list of top schools. I then researched the syllabus in depth and talked to my guidance counselors as well as some Google and Amazon employees to get more clarification on particular topics regarding Computer Engineering. Specific topics that I consulted on include Computer Vision, Mobile and Embedded System Design, and Computer Algorithms. I learned about how Computer Vision has applications in sensor design and machine learning, which are concepts heavily utilized in technologies such as autonomous vehicles and retina scanners. This research led me to realize that Vanderbilt University's Computer Engineering program is exactly what I am interested in