For applicants to The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section.
From debugging a cognitive-training game to treat vertigo to logic-mapping an LSPR program to predict the trajectory of near-Earth asteroid 15745 Yuliya: computer science inspires me because it’s the only subject which can translate repetitive instructions into ceaseless possibilities. That channeling my passion for logic can enable me to forge pathways towards change and help people and communities I care about is what allures me to this field.
The way I see it, the future of the world will be written in code. From photometric analysis of asteroid images to recursive programs for matrix multiplication to time-converters for ephemeris-planning: the sheer versatility of computer science, as I experienced at YSPA, inspires me. Moreover, that CS embodies evolution inspires me: in a world of constantly-evolving languages and persistently-innovative technologies, the learning never stops. From online courses on machine-learning to comprehending the intrinsic process of analysing a domain and defining its semantic model and linguistic abstractions when developing a Domain-Specific Language on Trigonometric Proofs-CS has taught me to work independently, and (ironically so) taught me the art of autodidactism.
From partaking in a global collegiate competition to pitch an app to democratise the world’s largest democracy to winning a state-level competition for kiosk-content development: what inspires me most is that from mathematics to politics to education to medicine to astrophysics, my passion for CS harmonises with every one of my interests: conducting my discordant brain of disparate fascinations into a mellifluous symphony. From furthering this goal by using machine learning for everything from fiscal-policy decision making to algorithmic composition to spending caffeine-induced all-nighters at RoAR debugging a robot to restore functional movements to Parkinson’s patients; from engineering for humanity with EWB to creating a startup as path-breaking as nagish during DevFest: I look forward to being inspired, invigorated, and ignited by SEAS.
Published in Successful College Essays, Successful Columbia Essays
