In 1962, my grandfather joined Chicago’s Cook County Hospital as a Fulbright scholar. Inspired by President Kennedy’s famous quote “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what can you do for your country,” he left a well-established life to improve medical facilities in Bhilai, India. Seeing how his decision transformed a community decades later changed my understanding of civic responsibility, and I wanted to continue supporting the community he had dedicated his life to. At the 2023 VEX Worlds Championship, I noticed that India wasn’t represented among the 80 nations participating in the event. Disappointed, I decided to refocus AceScholar, a local STEM tutoring organization I had formed with four friends, to teach robotics in India. While visiting my grandparents, I partnered with DeepPooja School, which served students from underprivileged families. Realizing their annual tuition was less than a casual meal forced me to confront how indifferently I treated resources they protected so fiercely. Despite this, their outlook remained positive. Teklal, a student, said, “Sir, I don’t have a laptop, but I will learn to build a robot.” He taught me that optimism is a mindset, not dependent on resources. We started teaching eight students in Hindi at night with unstable internet. Discouraged, my friends wanted to back out. Wanting the students to have an opportunity, I continued teaching alone. After a few weeks, my students told me, “Sir, your Hindi has improved.” I also learned to be patient through internet disruptions, adapting to find avenues to teach despite the chaos. My students’ enthusiasm to learn robotics kept me going. Soon, my friends saw the impact and wanted to rejoin. I reassigned their roles to curriculum design and fundraising. Playing to everyone’s strengths made the program stronger. We raised funds and sent robotics kits. Mentoring the students as they built robots fostered close relationships, helping me learn about their lives and culture. Over three years, we’ve touched the lives of 53 students. I’m now mentoring four freshmen to support AceScholar beyond 2026. That same commitment to extend access led AceScholar to support UN Women’s WeSTEM program, where I’m currently training 25 community college students for skill-based employment. While I’m proud to contribute to my grandfather’s legacy, leading AceScholar across cultures, languages, and time zones taught me that giving back through service is a commitment rooted in persistence, listening, and respect. Having raised in Sammamish, WA, I am extremely grateful that I have this experience to learn about lives that would not have otherwise made me as grateful for what I have and this urges my desire be kind, resepctful espcially to my parents who do so much for us and to give back to the soceity. I plan to pursue a degree in Computer science towards innovating intelligent transportation systems which will help reduce cabon emissions and imporve quality of life. I have done 3 years of research in autonomous vehicles in the University of Washington with Professor Folsom. Autonomous Vehicles would self communicating robots in the future and I hope to innovate in this space through a STEM career.

In 1962, my grandfather joined Chicago’s Cook County Hospital as a Fulbright scholar. Inspired by President Kennedy’s famous quote “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what can you do for your country,” he left a well-established life to improve medical facilities in Bhilai, India. Seeing how his decision transformed a community decades later changed my understanding of civic responsibility, and I wanted to continue supporting the community he had dedicated his life to. At the 2023 VEX Worlds Championship, I noticed that India wasn’t represented among the 80 nations participating in the event. Disappointed, I decided to refocus AceScholar, a local STEM tutoring organization I had formed with four friends, to teach robotics in India. While visiting my grandparents, I partnered with DeepPooja School, which served students from underprivileged families. Realizing their annual tuition was less than a casual meal forced me to confront how indifferently I treated resources they protected so fiercely. Despite this, their outlook remained positive. Teklal, a student, said, “Sir, I don’t have a laptop, but I will learn to build a robot.” He taught me that optimism is a mindset, not dependent on resources. We started teaching eight students in Hindi at night with unstable internet. Discouraged, my friends wanted to back out. Wanting the students to have an opportunity, I continued teaching alone. After a few weeks, my students told me, “Sir, your Hindi has improved.” I also learned to be patient through internet disruptions, adapting to find avenues to teach despite the chaos. My students’ enthusiasm to learn robotics kept me going. Soon, my friends saw the impact and wanted to rejoin. I reassigned their roles to curriculum design and fundraising. Playing to everyone’s strengths made the program stronger. We raised funds and sent robotics kits. Mentoring the students as they built robots fostered close relationships, helping me learn about their lives and culture. Over three years, we’ve touched the lives of 53 students. I’m now mentoring four freshmen to support AceScholar beyond 2026. That same commitment to extend access led AceScholar to support UN Women’s WeSTEM program, where I’m currently training 25 community college students for skill-based employment. While I’m proud to contribute to my grandfather’s legacy, leading AceScholar across cultures, languages, and time zones taught me that giving back through service is a commitment rooted in persistence, listening, and respect. Having raised in Sammamish, WA, I am extremely grateful that I have this experience to learn about lives that would not have otherwise made me as grateful for what I have and this urges my desire be kind, resepctful espcially to my parents who do so much for us and to give back to the soceity.

I never imagined that my childhood love for video games and robotics would shape my passion for computer science. More than playing video games, I was drawn to creating my own worlds and experiences. Early on, my unoptimized code delivered laggy gaming experiences. Wanting to improve, I self-learned Java, C++, and Python through YouTube, practiced algorithmic thinking through USACO, and completed a Game Design course. My younger brother is very smart. I wish he spent his time more judiciously. Seeing my brother and his friends enjoy playing games for hours but quickly getting bored solving math problems motivated me my gaming skills to create Math Duels, which creatively makes problem-solving fun. I launched this game on Roblox in Aug 2025 and has over 20,000 plays. Robotics furthered my interest in computer science. During a trip to Japan, I saw robots interacting with people as systems embedded seamlessly in daily life. I was fascinated by this robotic world. On my return, I joined VEX Robotics, where over seven years of designing and programming robots using PID and odometry taught me the fundamentals of control and systems thinking. To experience something real, I approached Dr. Tyler Folsom of the University of Washington and expressed interest in working in his autonomous tricycle lab. He accepted me to support the robotics software team where I fixed tricycle data-logger abd steering issues. Seeing my code move the tricycle made computer science appear less abstract and more real. Having established myself among undergraduates in his team and as I wanted to solve a complex problem independently, Dr. Folsom assigned me to design autonomous vehicle platooning, a futuristic concept that requires integrating algorithms, embedded systems, and real-time feedback. Researching technology for its localization and inter-vehicle communication systems, I learned how tradeoffs between cost, accuracy, and reliability shape real engineering decisions. This summer, I implemented localization on tricycles and developed AI-based pathfinding systems for autonomous ATVs, realizing the impact computer science can create. Autonomous vehicles fascinate me, as in the future they will be AI-enabled robots communicating with each other, creating safer and more sustainable transportation systems. I want to be part of this journey and innovate intelligent transportation systems. What began as curiosity in video games and robotics has grown into a passion for using computer science to design autonomous systems to solve real-world problems at scale. Reflecting on the adversities, I recall the covid times. I was twelve when we rushed to India to be with my terminally ill grandmother. When my robotics team wanted me back for States, I chose to stay, knowing there would be more tournaments but no more time with her. While Mom urged me to return to the robot, Dad encouraged my independent thinking. I realized that real-life problems are shaped by varying perspectives. For the next three months, I supported my team remotely, working on the engineering notebook until 4 a.m. After my grandmother passed, we returned home while Dad stayed back to care for my 91-year-old grandfather. As India entered another COVID wave, I heard about deaths in his community. Although I worried about Dad, I supported Mom emotionally, cared for my younger brother, and managed schoolwork independently. Through this experience, I learned to commit fully to difficult decisions, organize responsibilities under pressure, and support others with empathy.