That Required Essay For My Grad School Application

Pursuing graduate studies is something I have considered way earlier in my college studies. Studying is always something I am passionate about. Five years of electronics and communications engineering education together with my undergraduate research experience, made me realize that research is a career I can imagine myself doing. I am determined to pursue MS in Electronics Engineering.

My undergraduate thesis was entitled entitled Design and Development of Decision Support System Using Near Cloud for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction. My research aimed to solve the problem of lack of communication lines and information sharing in the event of disaster scenarios as the Philippines is a disaster-prone country. In the research, we used the near cloud (mobile cloud technology) to store, load and upload information, this project has designed and developed decision support nodes that is able to gather and distribute intelligent information before, during, and after disasters. Due to the limited time of undergraduate research, I was not able to maximize the potential of my research topic. I would want to pursue graduate studies under the guidance of the same faculty that helped me through my undergraduate research. I want to not only continue but to improve on what I have done in my undergraduate research. My philosophy and theology classes have equipped me with valuable of cura personalis and magis have encouraged me not to be a person who is self-serving but rather to be a person-for-others. I believe that it is in pursuing research that I can truly be of help for others. I believe my Atenean education have taught me technical skills, core values, practical life lessons and many more which I believe is enough to equip me with what is necessary for graduate school .Ateneo showed me how much I truly love learning and helping others.

To prepare further, I am researching at the Ateneo Innovation Center where we are focused on innovation and new technology. In addition, I am learning the technologies and courses on machine learning, speech recognition, mobile cloud technology and internet of things. I am learning under the supervision of the faculty in the Ateneo Innovation Center, in particular, Dr. Gregory Tangonan, Dr. Nathaniel Libatique, and Dr. Gemalyn Abrajano. In AIC, we are currently working on Multi-platform ICT Decision Support System UAVs, Vehicle Hubs, Ubiquitous Computing  for Disaster Risk Reduction. This research is supported by Toyota InfoTechnology Center. I am hoping I could continue on working with them in my graduate studies.

If given the opportunity to study MS in Electronics Engineering in the Ateneo, I would be able to contribute to the community through my efforts in research of more efficient decision support systems of communication and information sharing for disaster risk reduction and management. Disaster-preparedness and post-disaster relief could save thousands of lives that is why it is something I am truly passionate to address. Furthermore, if given the chance, I would be able to give back and share my skills and knowledge both in pursuing academe and research work.

A Scholar’s Story

I can hardly believe how time flies so fast. I studied in Ateneo for five awesome years. As I look back, I see how much I’ve changed. Indeed I have grown from the very young and naive girl who started out with no previously known friends at all to an independent lady who has come to find a second family in the comfort of friends. Five years in this institution has molded me into what I am today. My Ateneo education taught me technical skills, core values, practical life lessons and many more that I believe made me a better version of myself.

 

Five years ago, Ateneo was not my first choice for my college education. I had this stereotype in my mind that it was a school only for the rich who are also smart. I admit I only took the entrance examinations out of curiosity but still took a chance on applying for a scholarship grant. Fortunately, I passed the ACET, however, I was only waitlisted for scholarship. I was very sure I would study in UP Diliman, but fate led me to acquiring 100% Tuition, Fees and Dorm scholarship with Book Allowance in the Ateneo. Although I had my reservations as UP Diliman was my dream school, my parents convinced me to choose Ateneo instead, as for them it was the better choice, Ateneo being much safer, Catholic, and was a private school. Now, I am forever grateful that my parents convinced me well. There are no regrets. Ateneo was and is my best choice.

 

Like most of the incoming freshmen, I was full of mixed emotions during my first days. I was both excited and nervous. It was a fresh start for me. I didn’t know anybody at all. I was the only one from my high school batch that passed the ACET as for my high school upperclass batch, there was only one but she was already in her senior year and I don’t even know her. I was really grateful to Ateneo for having the annual OrSem. It was there that I got to meet my blockmates and coursemates. It was a truly wonderful experience as it was there that I felt that I wasn’t alone. There were also freshmen like me who came from far away provinces who knew nobody too. It was very relieving. I got to gain friends immediately thanks to our very big name cards. Thanks to the OrSem too, I was able to find my way to my classrooms.

 

Fast forward five years, I am now a graduating scholar. Thankfully, I still maintained my scholarship after five years. I admit I may not be that proud of myself in terms of my grades as I am just an average student. I have my regrets for not exerting more effort or not doing more but that is life. I am still happy of the things I have accomplished in my five years. I joined the table tennis varsity team, where I represented the school in various competitions where I won some and lost some. I joined school organizations where I got to experience being part of various projects.  I got to make a lot of friends. I survived hell weeks and all nighters for examinations. I got to attend college parties. I got to show school spirit in cheering for the school’s UAAP teams. As an Atenean scholar, my experiences were basically limitless.

 

As a graduating scholar, I am truly grateful for this wonderful five years. These years of scholarship is certainly top of the list of the gifts I am truly thankful for. It has been an amazing five years.  Now, I am expected to have this mindset of a chosen career path. I have come to this point in my life where I have already acquired the basics, all those necessary lessons, 5 years of Atenean education to help me discern on what I ought to do after graduation. I realized how I am truly passionate on learning or doing research work and helping others. I admit I can’t say that I am fully decided but I’m strongly leaning towards going to graduate school to gain more skills and knowledge. As for the career path I plan to undertake after, I consider on taking a career helping others and I believe I can help more people in working for the government.