August 1st, 2019— I landed in a new country with a bag full of dreams. The bag was heavy but my motivation to achieve those goals was strong enough to lift them. Thousands of miles away from my country and family, the University of Cincinnati was the place I planned to learn and grow to fulfill all of these goals. The fall semester started and every day was like a dream come true. There was so much to learn, new people to meet, new cultures to learn about.

The fall semester was special— I loved my classes, I did great in all of them, I made some great friends. In the very first week of the semester, I started working in the ChEE department as a web-developer; there I met a lot of professors every day. Almost every day, I learned something new through so many interesting conversations with them about environmental problems plaguing our planet right now and their possible solutions. Conversations like these helped me to develop better thinking and see a broader picture

I joined a student organization called UC CubeCats, it aims to be the center of research and development in the space industry for university students. This year we worked on developing a high-altitude-balloon payload mission which was aimed at studying the muon events at different altitudes. I was the software and payload team lead for this mission and I truly loved the work I did and every moment was enjoyable. For the next year, I am going to work in power systems for project LEOPARD, an educational CubeSat mission set to be launched in 2020 by NASA. LEOPARD, an acronym for Low-Earth Orbit Platform for Aerospace Research and Development, will use sensors to test whether carbon composite can shield deadly radiation in space. It’s a serious concern for NASA, which has devoted an entire working group at the Johnson Space Center to studying space radiation. I am excited to have the opportunity to work on something that many students never have the chance to do. To be working on a project which NASA will launch into space is something that is absolutely invaluable to me, and to be able to work on this project next year renders me truly speechless, and I am genuinely very excited to be a part of this organization and to have a hand in developing this satellite which will help solve more than just the problems in Ohio, but also those regarding future space travel. To have this impact on the world around me is the most amazing thing I have done so far, and I hope to continue working on such projects in the future.

I have been doing regular community service for years now and I have to admit that volunteering gives me the most happiness as well as a sense of inner peace. This year was no different, I was involved in volunteering with Upward Bound Tutoring Services, where I helped high-school students with their school work and various other things that would assist them with preparing for college, such as ACT/SAT help. I really enjoyed this experience and at the end of every two-hour session, I left with a big smile and feeling of satisfaction. In the coming years, I plan to continue participating in various volunteer activities like this and trying to help those in the community around me. I also continued participating in the non-profit organization I founded in India called Dwaar Lucknow. We managed to increase our connections and get more NGOs on our website to spread the word about them.

I have had many opportunities where I attempted to solve some of the issues faced by the people around me, and these are some of my most cherished experiences of this academic year. I came to UC with the goal to develop myself as a global citizen and to use the education that I receive here to fulfill my goal of becoming a social entrepreneur, and better the world around me. I believe this year was the first step to achieving that goal. I am excited about what the future holds for me here at UC!