Statement of Purpose

Like a child who announces his arrival to the world with a cry, I announced my arrival to
Computer Science with my first program in Java, “Hello World.” When I wrote the code of
the program and compiled it, only to see that it was working the way I wanted it, I felt that
all of a sudden I had found a gateway for self-expression- an outlet for imagination
expanding from the bare minimum of ones and zeroes.

At that time I did not fully understand the beauty and elegance of programming, but I let
my instinct guide me into the field of computer science, a decision that I now think was
crucial to my development. Starting as a “humble programmer”, as Dijkstras would call it,
I pushed myself to read Norton’s “Beginning Java” and Knuth’s “The Art of Computer
Programming”, two books that taught me the basics of programming and reminded me of
the role of persistence and perseverance in making computer programs.

As I was looking to hone my programming skills, outside of school I took part in many
competitive online programming competitions such as the Inter-collegiate programming
contest, Code Chef, Top Coder, Facebook Hacker Cup, Google Code Jam and Code
Forces, winning awards for my acumen in programming, yet always reminding myself of
the “humble programmer, and the idea that” The more humble you are, the faster you
will improve.

But besides these activities, it has been my learning of computer science since grade 8
at high school that has cultivated in me a strange obsession for computing. It was this
obsession that led me not only to take online courses in computing such as compliers,
computer architecture, web development, theoretical computer science, artificial
intelligence, programming methodology and algorithms, but also to learn languages like
C++, Python outside my curriculum.

I have also worked on some projects like making a Shopping Mall Management System
for my ICSE project in Java and a WebCrawler in python which can be implemented to
make a working search engine. I am very fascinated by the working of Search Engines,
Cryptography and look forward to work and research in these areas in college.

Moreover, success in Computer Sciences inside and outside the classroom leads me to
believe that I can handle the rigour of the subject at university. When my perseverance
in practising problems earned me a perfect score on two occasions in this subject, I
realized that Computer Science was not just a fascination, but also a subject I could
thrive in. My other subjects such as Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry have given me
both a​ t​ heoretical and practical understanding of computer science.
Mathematics has been particularly helpful in solving logical and mathematical problems
and improved my core analytic ability.

As a member of the school soccer team I am keen to pursue this interest at university.
Soccer has taught me and guided me in many different aspects of my life. It has taught
me that you don’t win every time, but when you lose you learn from it and work on your
weakness. It has inculcated in me the passion and perseverance to reach the top. I was
also in charge of the school’s computer exhibit and learnt a lot from, such as managerial
​ nd​ ​how to lead people. I have a keen interest in making caricatures and digital
skills​ a
animation. I have also used my knowledge to help others in the community by designing
websites and various magazines.

MVJ will serve as a catalyst to​ ​my future​ e

​ ndeavors in the​ ​field of Computers, from
wanting to represent MVJ in the ​ACM​ International Collegiate Programming Contest,
attending workshops and seminars, to being a part of research groups in software
engineering and Algorithms. It is at MVJ that my dream of serving the world through my
knowledge of computing will be fulfilled.