Everywhere in the world today we can see prevalence of engineering. From pyramids to the Golden Gate Bridge and the Shard of London, we can see miracles of Civil Engineering everywhere. And the excitement and curiosity; to understand how such seemingly impossible projects were materialized into standing realities, was my prime motivation to study Civil Engineering.
Being attracted to huge structures, I always found myself dwelling deeper into their existence, rather than just marveling at their beauty. Whenever I look at a historical building or a modern skyscraper, I find myself thinking about how it must have been built. I imagine thousands of workmen, engineers and project managers working their way up to build something which probably existed on papers only before that. During high school one of my favorite pass times was studying and discussing about how the pyramids were built and the challenges that must have occurred during such massive engineering projects. Where many of my fellow students seemed least bothered about the massiveness of these structures; often associating them with super natural factors, I found myself thinking along completely different lines. I considered them miracles of science and now I know them as miracles of engineering.
Instinctively I have always been attracted to building things and structure myself. I remember building my first dog-house when I was 14. I can still remember I spent days designing how it would look because I wanted it to be different. Even then I enjoyed working on the smallest details which other boys of my age found boring. With my father’s help I had designed a hinged door which would swing both ways allowing my dog to move about freely. Thus I realized I had the patience to work hard towards an aim, just to experience the ultimate satisfaction to see it accomplished. And I believe this trait would help me a lot in my career of civil engineering. Maybe it’s due to this nature of mine that I am quite good at the game of chess. I take my time calculating each move, to achieve a ‘check mate’.
At my summer camp stays during school life, I always volunteered to be among the tent-building team. We used to collect wooden sticks, dig holes for the pegs, and assembled the poles to erect the whole campsite. The experience of working together and often leading a team, organizing small steps while keeping my eyes on the larger goal taught me team work and consistency. I can still remember the joy of taking a final look at the completed campsite and feel the pride of having accomplished something.
During college, TV Documentary programs such as Extreme Engineering further fueled my passion to be a part of this wonderful world, where realities are built from scratch. I enjoyed learning the challenges that those teams had to face during such mega projects, and how they tackled them. Afterwards I studied about those buildings, bridges and structures on the internet to probe deeper into the project technicalities in an effort to understand the hidden complications of such mega projects. My interest in Maths and Physics fueled my curiosity and helped me in my understanding.
In 2011 I got a chance to attend a Civil Engineering seminar held by the Institute of Civil Engineering (ICE) Hong Kong which gave me an insight to what projects were undertaken and underway. I was especially interested in the discussions of various challenges in structural design and on-site issues that various project managers faced. Although I could not understand all the technical terms but it surely built a spark in me and I knew I wanted to pursue Civil Engineering as a career. I met few professional engineers as well, who briefly guided me on the various specializations within Civil Engineering I can pursue and I found all of them very interesting.
I believe my eagerness to learn more about structures and buildings, understand the technicalities of how things are done and how can we make them better gives me an edge over many people.
Part 2
As the second part of my personal statement, I frankly had a difficulty choosing a trait or quality that defines me. But as I stated above I think of myself as a dreamer. I dream and I dream big! I envision a goal and I enjoy not only the satisfaction to see it accomplished, but I take pleasure in every moment of working towards my goal.
Though I would not call myself a Philanthropist, but personally I dream about a better world – world without the basic issues of food, shelter or health problems. For instance ‘Housing’ is one of the most basic needs of every human being but sadly not everyone can afford a house. There are people in under developed nations who have to live in huts made of twigs. And I strongly believe that civil engineering is the answer to these problems. Somewhere on the internet I read a report that how emerging technologies will make housing affordable for everyone. Through my degree I want to be a part of this global revolution. After my professional degree I want to dedicate some years of my life working for the humanitarian causes on such development projects, which aim at providing a better life to the citizens of under developed nations.
I think Civil Engineering has a lot more to it apart from building bridges and roads. The emerging technologies in every field of engineering will bring a revolution making this world a better place to live, and civil engineering will contribute a lot to this modernization of the society. It will be an honour and a privilege for me to be a small part of this revolution.
Though it may sound like the dream of a child, I believe that true success though achieved by practical steps is always originated by a dream. And studying Civil Engineering is my first step towards realization of my dream. And I am fully prepared for all the hard work it takes as long as I achieve it.
