--- Sri Lankans are best understood, I find, by the temple flower. We grow from gnarled branches of indigent colonies, bear Buddha’s yellow robes against our chest, and paint the rest white to mask the rust of war. I look up. It is the first of twin Poya moons and a day on which He was enlightened. The Sinhala New Year festival begins in song and dance; little wayside boutiques selling crackers sprout across shores as passersby crave the sweet of milk rice. As an agnostic whose birthright hailed from newspaper horoscopes, I struggle to believe in the grand scheme of things. As I contemplate these cultural rhythms, I envision a future where technology and tradition intertwine seamlessly. In this future, robotics holds the promise of transforming lives, not just through automation, but by enhancing human connection and preserving cultural heritage. A simple answer to the sixth sense could be “five around a sense of self”, but I cannot settle there. If prevision embodies introspection, I want to know its elements. I want to understand why Aristotle’s theory is wrong. I want to see if my internal lie detector is a work of sensory receptors or the sway of the stars. This spree into the uncertainties of least-squares regression and Charles Sherrington’s idea of “proprioception” makes my faith wander amid models of science in a philosophical paradox. As I write Maxwell’s equations, I question reality; are we all just cogs of the universe’s electric field? Or is that ‘field of mind’ actually within our hearts, as my Buddhist mother has taught? When I am not nose-deep in another Shehan Karunatilaka read or operating the campus ham radio, I’m studying electrical engineering and all of its myriad intersections with public service and education. During the summer of 2023, I conducted seminars on green technology for Yale Young Global Scholars from over 150 countries across the globe. My undergraduate interests aligned with teaching local middle-schoolers how to 3D model robots in Yale Funbotics and my newfound research at the Social Robotics Lab. In the near future, I imagine robots designed to teach languages, bridge cultural gaps, and foster mutual understanding. They could become crucial tools in humanitarian efforts, providing aid and education in disaster-stricken areas. As a Chair of Yale’s UNICEF chapter and the Dwight Hall Student Executive Committee, I strived to abolish the performative activist within the young college student. In the Foundation of Goodness, I taught English to children in the Special Needs Unit who have lost all traces of family to the fatal Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. From the Dondra Head of southern Sri Lanka to New Haven, there is a place for all to learn, some to give, and less to receive. I do not care where these lines draw – instead, how far may they go? I dream of a day where tourists flock to my island not for its saturated coastline but therapeutic technology and cutting-edge power systems. I dream of when Sri Lanka at last escapes the “ing” of our developing. I dream of how I would feel no more fear as I bow a final farewell to my parents at the steps of Bandaranaike International Airport. The pandemic was the dawn of the Sri Lankan economic crisis. Electricity was disconnected from over a million civilians, of which all faced 10-hour power cuts amidst fuel shortages with a 70% inflation rate. As more kitchens like mine began to be lit with coconut oil lamps and firewood cookers, there became more urge to steadily improve the national grid system and energy policies. My A-Level coursework towered in the backs of three-wheels after school as my mother waited hours for kerosene oil outside a teeming gas station. In times of crisis, I pledged to harness my energy and abilities to their fullest. Staying devoted to my fellow people is not without empathy or මනුෂ්යත්වය ("humanity") as my late grandmother would say. Imagine robots equipped with advanced energy solutions that could bring sustainable power to every household, even in the most remote villages. These robots, powered by renewable energy, could ensure that no one is left in the dark, literally and metaphorically. They could manage energy distribution, monitor usage, and optimize resources, helping countries like Sri Lanka rise from economic despair. Our warrens of presidential debt have left the nation with empty pockets to purchase more oil and coal, and I believe that this is precisely where solar power should rise. For my Electrical Engineering senior project at Yale, I will be building a miniature renewable energy A/C power plant. Beyond my graduate studies, I plan on designing it in real-scale at the heart of Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte with the Ceylon Electricity Board, as well as proposing a new social protection program to replace the widely politicized Samurdhi system. In all, I am a daughter woven from Colombo suburbs and the threads of generational rifts. Awakening to Beethoven-blaring ‘choon paan’ trucks and sunrise birds, I find that robots could archive oral histories, preserving the wisdom of our ancestors and making it accessible to future generations. Just as Isaac Asimov's stories inspired real-world advancements, my dream is to see robots become catalysts for social change, fostering a world where technology and compassion walk hand in hand, bridging gaps, and building a brighter, more connected future for all.

Sri Lankans are best understood, I find, by the temple flower. We grow from gnarled branches of indigent colonies, bear Buddha’s yellow robes against our chest, and paint the rest white to mask the rust of war. As an agnostic whose birthright hailed from newspaper horoscopes, I struggle to believe in the grand scheme of things. A simple answer to the sixth sense could be “five around a sense of self”, but I cannot settle there. If prevision embodies introspection, I want to know its elements. I want to understand why Aristotle’s theory is wrong. I want to see if my internal lie detector is a work of sensory receptors or the sway of the stars. This spree into the uncertainties of least-squares regression and Oxford physiologist Charles Sherrington’s idea of “proprioception” makes my faith wander amid models of science in a philosophical paradox. As I write Maxwell’s equations, I question reality; are we all just cogs of the universe’s electric field? Or is that ‘field of mind’ actually within our hearts, as my Buddhist mother has taught? When I am not nose-deep in another Shehan Karunatilaka read or operating the campus ham radio, I’m studying electrical engineering and all of its myriad intersections with public service and education. My undergraduate interests aligned with teaching local middle-schoolers how to 3D model robots in Funbotics and my newfound research at the Inquisitive Robotics Lab where I explored the learning pathways of machines in human-computer interactions. As a Chair of Yale UNICEF and the Dwight Hall Student Executive Committee, I strived to abolish the performative activist within the young college student. In the Foundation of Goodness, I taught English to children who have lost their family to the fatal tsunami of 2004. From the Dondra Head of southern Sri Lanka to New Haven, there is a place for all to learn, some to give, and less to receive. I dream of a day where tourists flock to my island not for its saturated coastline but therapeutic technology and cutting-edge power systems. I dream of when Sri Lanka at last escapes the “ing” of our developing. I dream of how I would feel no more fear as I a bow a final farewell to my parents at the steps of Bandaranaike International Airport. The pandemic was the dawn of the Sri Lankan economic crisis. As more kitchens like mine began to be lit with coconut oil lamps and firewood cookers, there became more urge to improve the national grid system and energy policies. Our warrens of presidential debt have left the nation with empty pockets, and I believe that this is precisely where solar-power should rise. For my senior project, I will be building a miniature renewable energy A/C power plant. After my undergraduate studies, I plan on applying the intricate low-income country frameworks of Yale's energy courses to my home. With the generosity of the Dreamers Scholarship, I can gain the financial accessibility to learn how to design my project in real-scale at the heart of Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte with the Ceylon Electricity Board alongside a new social protection program to replace the widely politicized Samurdhi system. As an international scholar, I remember that I am a daughter woven from Colombo suburbs and threads of generational rifts. Awakening to Beethoven-blaring ‘choon paan’ trucks and a serenade of sunrise birds, I find that perhaps the truest way to aid my country is to journey beyond its shores – yet the fruit will only come with my return. After all, I am a dreamer who runs with the star.