Biggest Achievement to date

As I near the end of my undergraduate degree, when I look back at my life I realize how much I have achieved during my life. Never has it happened that I have failed to complete the goals that I have set for myself, however since starting my Bachelors Degree in one of the world best Universities, I faced numerous challenges that helped me grow tremendously into a competent Engineer. As a young man, I was always fascinated by majestic engineering projects such as the Eiffel tower, the Burj Khalifa, The Sydney Opera house and many others. Perhaps my fascination towards the built environment is what motivated me to choose a career in this industry and as soon as I left my home country to embark on my dream of becoming a civil engineer I realized the challenges that awaited me. I still remember how unsure I was after the first week of teaching. I did not believe that I had the technical ability or skills to compete with one of the best students in the world. However it all turned around when I entered into a spaghetti bridge competition in my very first semester. It may seem as a fairly simple task but it was no different than designing an actual bridge. My aim was to design a bridge with the highest loading capacity and the least amount of material used. The final design I chose was something near impossible for a first year student as it involves statically indeterminate analysis, something even graduates from our University have problems. At that point I had two options, either to scrap my design and employ an easier one, or to take up the challenge and show my abilities to everyone in the department of Civil Engineering. I spent day and night to conduct a full analysis of my structure and finally was able to make a bridge that ultimately won first prize on the day of the competition. That day, as the only international student participating in the competition all eyes were on me and I lived up to the expectations of professors and classmates alike. The moment I was handed over the first prize badge is perhaps something has defined my University life. Due to that moment I realized my potential for creativity, hard work and determination. It helped me compete with students at all levels and to exceed expectations of everyone around me. It made me realize that at the end of the day I do have the ability to excel in this field and successfully deal with all challenges and competition that awaits me.