I took this photograph when I sat on the panel for the first time in the summer of 2013 at the Pre-Departure Orientation organized by the United States-India Educational Foundation. 

Being part of the panel would eventually make me realize the importance of access to good advice and information. This is not just limited to when you applying to universities but you do need to reassess every few months. This will save you a lot of time and energy in the long run. 

I worked in the same office that helped me in my educational journey. I will still recommend that USIEF/EducationUSA be the first stop if you are looking to study in the United States. 

Dr Ryan Pereira is the Regional Officer at USIEF and this is what he said about his time at Cornell: Professors are not looking for the best and brightest, they are looking for someone who shows up at the laboratory at 7am consistently. Talent while important is no substitute for putting in the work. 

I would highly recommend attending education fairs and getting a glimpse of all the options you have. After helping conduct a few I can tell you that the best way to know your options is to talk to the university representatives yourself and also meet other students. Quick tip: look the universities up before attending the fairs so you can ask more nuanced questions. 

This is the library of Oklahoma State University that I shot on a lazy afternoon in-between classes. One of my favorite quotes is from a TV show called Boy Meets World where a character called Mr. Feeny said, "Education is not about obscure facts and little test scores. Education is about the overall effect of years of slow absorption, concepts, philosophies, and approaches to problem solving."

At the end of my engineering degree I was involved in the creation of a Mobile Electric Generator. While I am very passionate about education, I am equally passionate about building things. For 4 months I spend close to 10-12 hours a day at the Design and Manufacturing Lab, some of the best months of my life as seen in the photograph. Here is the final working prototype: https://www.youtube.com/wa

I was a founding member of a fraternity on campus called Alpha Sigma Phi. I was already a big fan of Ratan Tata at the time and when I heard that he was also a part of this fraternity, I took this opportunity to be a part of Greek life on a US campus. Greek life gets a bad rep but I can assure you, if done right nothing teaches you social skills better than putting yourself out there.

Here I am during a training session teaching students how to drift cars.