“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela.

“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela.

Education helps anyone survive in an ever-changing world. This holds true in today’s computer era. Computing science plays a significant role in developing the world, which has been exemplified in the case of my country, India, where computing science has been the major driving force for its growth. I, Jayashree Santhoshi, want to contribute to this age of evolution. Thus, master’s in computer science perfectly matches my interests and equips me enough to be capable of contributing to society.

With a very natural aptitude for mathematics, logical thinking, and analytical skills, I could not only boost up my academic confidence but also gain academic excellence that helped me enter the engineering field. I have always been fond of solving mathematical problems not only because I find them exciting and challenging, but primarily because of the approach to them enthralls me. With a similar perspective, I cheerfully handle my daily tasks and, overall, my life in a better way. My growing passion for mathematics stimulated an interest in computer programming and inspired me to learn C language after high school. This helped me to choose a course in Electronics and Computer Engineering at Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology (SNIST). Equal exposure to electronics and computer subjects not only strengthened my foundations in both hardware and software but also helped me realize how much I enjoy coding.

My fascination for science, inquisitive nature, and a strong desire to grasp the fundamentals of any subject of study enabled me to excel in academics right from my school days. With excellent communication skills, innovative thinking, and analytical aptitude, I took the privilege to excel in elocutions, debates, and language proficiency competitions. My fervor for knowledge and intelligent approach helped me grab prizes in science exhibitions and most technical events. I was awarded the best student award for academics in school.

With an unwavering desire to hone my skills, I solved a mirage of problems that helped me participate in open source projects, hackathons on leetcode, and hackerrank. This hobby has further encouraged me to attend more workshops and seminars to gain more exposure to the latest trends in the market. Moreover, I update my knowledge by reading magazines such as the IEEE spectrum, computer today, reading blogs, and actively checking websites such as Techcrunch, Gizmodo. My attitude of never leaving an opportunity to gain knowledge or apply the acquired knowledge helped me do projects and internships. These experiences enhanced my skills in different languages, such as Java, Python. One of my internships provoked my interest as it involved different people from different colleges with different perspectives. We worked with team spirit, analyzing the pros and cons from various perspectives, and finally culminating in an optimal solution. From all these experiences, I am confident that I can take up the rigor of graduate studies.

After my under graduation, I received placement offers from all reputed companies but chose to work with IBM. I started working as an application developer at IBM, prior to which I had four months of extensive training as a Java Full Stack Developer at Stackroute – an NIIT initiative. Through this training regime, I had good hands-on experience with frontend technologies, backend technologies, databases as well as middleware. Being well versed with coding, especially Java and C programming languages, assisted me in acquiring the maximum from this training. The training regime involved both the learning phase and product development phase, during which I worked on Quizify, a web-based quiz application where users can play as well as host their quizzes. The practicality of the training tossed many challenges at me, inducing me to think out of the box and underscored my hidden capabilities. Consequently, further boosting my confidence. My work life at IBM helped me realize what I am capable of and what I can achieve further. In my daily routine, I find problems I can solve that could ease human life. This genuine interest in contributing to society made me realize the need to learn new and grab opportunities to fulfill my dreams.

I always felt the social responsibility and had a strong passion for social service. In school, collection of funds and clothes for flood relief, earthquake relief, tree planting, and environment cleaning were enjoyable. The most enthralling period of social service was when I was a Stree Cause vice president, a student-run NGO serving the underprivileged and deprived people of the society. The different activities I conducted, leading a team of thirty volunteers, facilitated me to improvise my organizing skills, leadership quality, and compassionate approach. My striking of the right balance between academics and extracurricular activities assisted me in an all-round development with strong essential skills.

A master’s program in Computer Science from Arizona State University is the culmination of my passion for solving societal problems. It would be a great opportunity to work with Chris Bryan, and Hasan Davulcu as my areas of interest are Database Management, Distributed Databases, data mining, and statistical machine learning. This curriculum is well-tailored and aligns with my aspirations. I am confident that Arizona’s world-class study, excellent research atmosphere, balanced academic programs, eminent faculty, active and diverse student community will bring the best out of me. I believe that ASU’s Entrepreneurship and innovation, its start-up schools, and Innovation space programs would improve not only my technical skills but also enhance my leadership skills. Therefore, I am convinced that I can achieve my cherished goals.

Upon graduation, I regard myself to be equipped with good knowledge and practical skills, coupled with the right attitude and enriching experience. I am self-assured that I’ll have the potential to carry out research and address real-world problems, the need of the hour.