Statement of Purpose for applying to University

“So, Ashman tell me about your aim. ” My teacher asked when I was in grade 10. “Well, Sir I want to become an engineer, ” I replied. I had answered the question many times but this time it was different. I was more confident, more focused and I wanted to do it. I remember how fascinated I was hearing about The Egyptian Pyramids also known as the Great Pyramids of Giza and how I spent my entire week reading about the theories how they were constructed. By the time I had realized how involved I was in the engineering wonders. Burj Khalifa, Palm Island, The Golden Gate Bridge, Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, etc. My curiosity never ended. After completing my secondary education, I had got chance to study at Prasadi Academy, one of the top colleges of Nepal. Yes, I had a dream, and taking math as a major subject I was a step close to achieving it. April 15, 2015, I was preparing for my 12th board exam when an earthquake with a magnitude of 7. 8 struck. Every time I think about the incident it hits hard on me. Around 9000 people lost their lives while thousands were injured and more than 600, 000 structures were either damaged or destroyed. The whole nation had to go through an economic crisis and is still in the process of recovering from the huge tragedy. My uncle worked as Civil Engineer for the government. There I got an opportunity to survey the destroyed buildings in Kathmandu Valley. There I learned about the possible ways of failure of structural buildings such as beam failure, beam-column joint failure, column failure, slab failure, pancake failure, poor quality of construction materials, etc. “We could have saved them”, that was all my uncle could tell. That was the time when I realized what the actual purpose of an engineer is. It was not just to create the wonders but also to make them safe and stable. It was not just about creativity; it was about the responsibility and precision involved in the job. I completed my higher secondary education, prepared for the engineering entrance, and joined Thapathali Engineering Campus, I. O. E, Tribhuvan University in Civil Engineering faculty. “Had my dream come true? ” Well, my career in the field of Civil Engineering had just started. I was about to become a civil engineer. Was I satisfied? I wasn’t. I had a specific interest in the structures around us like buildings, bridges, etc. but civil engineering also had diverse fields. I hand an interest in Structural Engineering and now, I wanted to become a Structural Engineer. During my undergraduate, I got the chance to study some of the specialized courses related to structural engineering. Structural Dynamics, Earthquake Engineering, and Disaster Risk Management were my elective subjects. Apart from the academics, I was one of the members of the Civil Engineering Student Society (CESS) where we used to organize Civil Exhibitions, conduct webinars and seminars, provide ideas about different concepts that would help juniors to evolve as good civil engineers. During my second year, I along with my team members participated in an exhibition where we proposed a plan on using pile foundations for the construction of Dhahara that was destroyed in the Nepal Earthquake 2015. Involved in CESS we were also able to construct and demonstrate a standard beam and column structure for normal residential building according to Nepal Standard in the campus area. Our final year project was on designing an RCC bridge, we got a chance to work with Real Path Engineering Consultancy where they guided us to build the structure and shared their experience. That helped us widen our knowledge in designing components of the RCC bridge, the load calculations involved, and the precautions necessary for the design of the bridge.