Statement of Purpose

I have spent my nights as a kid not listening to stories of fairies and talking animals but of how Neil
Armstrong went to the moon, why did an apple fall on Newtons head and how the bulb was invented. I
used to sleep with my grandfather and it is not surprising considering that he was a Physics professor.
These stories turned into discussions and arguments as I grew up and started to understand things
better. I wanted to gain in- depth knowledge in this field as the very thought of how people far off
across oceans seem as they are next to you fascinated me. Therefore, I chose to study E.C.E from
S.R.M University.
Though, I secured excellent grades in many core courses in the branch of my study, I felt a bit isolated
as working alone and studying just for securing good grades was never my idea of studying and
learning. Lab sessions were like heaven. The lab sessions not only helped me gain practical exposure
but also taught me the importance of working in a diverse group, team work and cooperation. I was
later made the leader in my team due to my excellent academic record and outstanding
communication skills. I gave every team member an opportunity to present their ideas and this
environment of mutual respect paid great dividends at the end.
Interacting with my seniors, I learnt that the expectations of the industry go beyond classroom learning.
I have done internships in MTNL and BSNL, both being one of the largest telecom service providers in
India. I was not just exposed to the latest technologies being used in the field of telecommunications
but had a chance to work with strong and motivated teams and inspiring leaders. My task as an intern
was to identify faults in the communication network and relay this information back to the
troubleshooting team. Every second counts is what was told to me and I learnt the importance of time
management during my time there.
This fire to bring change motivated me to present a paper on Brain to Brain Synthetic Telepathy. There
are so many diseases apart from natural ageing and injuries which leave people without the power to
talk and thus hamper effective communication. The paper introduced an idea which would enable such
people to communicate effectively. With the mindset of using technology for the betterment of the
society I worked on another project called the Ultrasonic Proximity Detector which was aimed at helping
the blind walk without the fear of falling. It would alert the user of any obstacle in the direction the user
was facing within a radius of 6 feet. It was tested out at many blind centers in Chennai, India and was
well appreciated.
Being an active member of the on campus activities, I became the head of the Technology Club. As the
head, I organized many technical symposiums, training programs and career awareness sessions. The
students got a chance to learn concepts from the book in an interactive and practical manner. They
were also exposed to the job opportunities and how they should fine tune their skills for them.
Being a socially responsible citizen, I joined Make a Difference, a youth organization with an aim of
providing excellent education. It primarily focuses on teaching English to underprivileged kids.
I was soon made the Operations Head apart from being a teacher and mentor. My responsibilities
included introducing new teaching methods for easier understanding, finding solutions to problems
faced by other teachers and maintaining a healthy learning environment.
After graduating, I was employed as an Incident Analyst with Wipro Technologies, Bangalore. I
w o r k e d on a project, providing the client with Exchange Support by resolving incidents or service
requests raised by users from around the world. It was during this experience that I realized that being
technically adept is not enough. I realized that just solving issues was not the aim of the team and nor
the desire of the customer. The real desire was that the issue be solved in an effective and efficient
manner meeting the required deadlines. But what bothered me the most was the one dimensional
approach of the group. We were instructed to adhere by a particular process no matter what the

situation demands. I started asking questions, to my senior engineers and managers as to why the
process should not change depending on customer requirements. Noticing my quality of an effective
communicator and having immense technical knowledge, I was made the Team Leader. I was to lead a
team of around 15 people. A Team Leader in this company is generally a person with at least two years
of experience. I was with the company for just over 4 months. So it was natural for a few members in
my team with much more experience than me to feel a bit discontent. I was on a mission to prove the
decision as being the correct one. I held small discussions on the obstacles each member faced and
devised strategies to remove them. I also ensured that I take my team out every month to increase the
bond among them and with me. A team should have members with difference of opinions but these
opinions should always lead to constructive solutions. Keeping this in mind, I started learning sessions
conducted by the team members for the team members.
It had been almost ten months in the same project when I realized that I need to take the next step to
complete my development as a technological change maker. I want to be an inventor, benefiting
humanity by developing new technologies. B u t m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y I want to be a leader, leading
teams in challenging environments combining my technical expertise. This passion of mine fueled my
decision to pursue a Masters degree. I was at crossroads on what kind of a degree would fill my thirst
of bringing change. I decided to apply for the Masters in Electrical and Computer Engineering program
at CU Boulder. At the time of applying, I thought that I should first be technically aware of all the new
technological advancements in my area of interest. Once I achieve that, I can take the next step of
pursuing a degree in management. But now I have realized I was not totally wrong, but not totally
correct either.
I have realized that I was growing at a very good pace technically at my work place. It was a job which
was exactly in the middle of my area of interest technically. There were weekly training sessions, group
and individual assignments which ensured that each one of us possessed knowledge about all the latest
advancements in technology in this field. However, this ensured only a partial growth. I was getting
exposed to the latest technologies but the scope of using them was very limited. There was no
breathing space or a chance of development for the leader and the manager in me.
There are several reasons which have made me take this decision. One is the way the coursework for
the masters program in ECE is designed and structured. It is technical oriented with little space for
development of personal and managerial skills. I always wanted to be technologically aware but also
wanted to learn and develop top notch management skills to implement this technical knowledge. I am
not getting this opportunity being a part of that program. A lot of focus is also given on exams and less
on group activities which I feel also curbs my desire to grow along with a team. I have also realized
during my time at Wipro, that technical knowledge is of no use if you do not possess the right mindset
and skill set to use them effectively and efficiently. This has led to the decision to apply for the Masters
program in Engineering Management. I was always the person who wanted to bring change. I feel this
masters program will equip me with the necessary set of managerial and leadership skills and train my
thought process in a way that I can smoothly blend in my technical knowledge into any demanding
environment with fruitful results.
University of Colorado Boulder boasts of a world class faculty. The experience that I will derive under
this eminent faculty, their counsel and knowledge that they would impart, will make me work even
harder. The student body in UCB is very diverse. Sharing the same platform with such highly
experienced and global minds will push me further to follow my passion and to achieve my vision.
I am lucky to have experienced so much at such a young age and I feel this will help me get the best out
of this program. I firmly believe that this program will help me develop into a leader with a perfect mix
of technical and managerial skills needed to fulfill my vision of bringing the future closer to the present.