“Architects often fail to see tower blocks as a continuation of public space, but

rather as independent objects”

-Moshe Safdie
Being inspired by Safdie’s intact contribution to public works and architectural designs, I have always
believed in this statement, striving hard to find my purpose and never settling for mediocre life. Always
believed in considering myself as being a part of my team that can develop any task to make a mark on a
distinguished project.

In 2012, having promoted from 10th grade with 98%, I was ranked overall 3rd in my school. This gave me a
laudable and a thank-worthy full academic fee waiver for next two years. Choosing computer science
stream, I passed 12th grade with 95.25%

Born in a small pastoral town of Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu, India, I was raised in Chennai for most
part of my life until my graduation. Currently an ex-Airforce veteran serving the nation for 20 long years, it
was my father in the first place who educated me the value of discipline, dignity and service before
selfness. Ironically, he was to me a living and literal illustration of ‘You can watch the clouds go by or fly
above them’. Mother, A Nirmala, a regular home maker and a part time art & handicraft lover, influenced
me with generous and artful perception. Having raised in a metropolitan city like Chennai, both
materialistic and intellectual resources were never out of reach. An active participant of all physically
enduring sports, I earnestly developed interest in combat sports like boxing during my schooling,
consequently winning gold medal at School Games Federation of India and participation certificate at
national games. I went on to join the National Cadet Corps NCC at an early age of 14. Outperforming in
both physically and mentally challenging tasks, I was soon promoted to the rank of Sergeant (highest rank
given to junior cadet). Apparently, NCC fostered traits like discipline, managing time, enduring challenging
tasks, handling pressure and staying in the pink. A conversational course at the level of upper-
intermediate M1, with the British Council, where I achieved good grade, helped with my enunciation and
phonetics.

The reason of me choosing bachelors in civil engineering may date back to my childhood times, when I
was deeply enthralled and captivated by the brilliant & spellbound architecture of the temples of South
India. Raised in a way to always appreciate the nuances of art, structural marvels grabbed my attention
and had a profound impact on not just my vision but also on my inept fantastic urge to recreate them.
Dwelling on why I was so keen to pursue civil engineering leaves me with these indelible memories of
witnessing such marvels and fascinated by how it would be to create them.

Always fond of creative outburst, during college I zestfully started dancing, which later paved a way to join
a professional dance team, TWISTERS. Winning more than 30 inter college competitions, we became the
most reputed dance team of South India. As highest degree of achievement, I participated in an
internationally acclaimed competition World of Dance WOD India qualifiers representing THE NEW GAME
(professional dance troop) in Chennai, India.
To gain mastery over any aspect of dance, evidently it requires hours of repetition and practice. In the
same way, when I study for semesters/finals, I repeat theorems and reread chapters. Also, being involved
in dance has taught me that nothing valuable is achieved easily and that if one really wants to excel in life,
one has to sacrifice something.

As much as I was involved in dancing, I was also actively engaging myself in volunteering work during the
2016 Chennai floods and 2017 Vardha storm. During both disasters, I provided major hand with logistics
department, making sure all the homeless stranded people received food and shelter. I enjoy teaching so,
worked with NSS to volunteer with a NGO to teach underprivileged children, and found it to be a
rewarding experience because I learnt as much from the kids as they did from me.

Projects during my final year of UG involved topics that have a major impact on future sustainability of
resources. With increased depletion of river/lake beds due to reduced availability of sand for construction
in India, our project ‘Experimental study on replacement of sand with waste foundry sand (wfs) in
concrete’ has shown positive results of increased strength of concrete when mixed with WFS. My next
project titled ‘Performance of pre-cast beam column by joint construction under cyclic loading’ dealt
with load carrying capacity of structures vulnerable to earthquakes. Normally, for a monolithic connection
both beam and column would fail under a certain given load, whereas a dry connection column seemed to
pass the test. Thus, these projects on a wider perspective helped me gain knowledge about the future
requirements and necessities in the field of civil engineering. This has further instilled my interest in the
field of construction management and kept me updated in various aspects of this field.

It’s almost been a year since I graduated my bachelor’s, since then I have been working as a Supervising
Site Engineer with Alankar Construction Pvt. Ltd. Chennai, India. Gaining a good level of experience
enabled me to adapt myself with the existing work culture and helped me to transition from an academic
lifestyle to professional one. Of all, the most important benefit of work experience is its potential to
provide opportunities to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses and identify the gaps in skills. It
encouraged practical application of the knowledge acquired at university. It also endowed with several
soft & technical skills such as interpersonal skills, communication skills, team-work and time, cost, labor
management. It also exposed me to the latest trends like RERA in construction sector. And lately,
subscription of ASCE’s Journal of Construction Engineering and Management keeps me updated and
informed about the latest trends and technologies in this field.

Project management softwares like Primavera and Hitask helped me discern basics principles and
requirements of construction management. Primavera P6 is surely an amazing project management
application that is certainly used worldwide and which helps inside planning, managing and controlling
project charges, activities, resources, efficiently and easily. Understanding of CPM (Critical Path
Method/Management) and EVA/EVM (Earned Value Analysis/Management) through these softwares had
a huge influence in management of particular project.

In near future, I’m looking for a role with a reputed company/startup that I can grow with and continue to
take on new challenges with hands-on training. Not too hung up on titles, but I would like to work in a lot
of management related responsibilities and ultimately step into proper leadership position in civil
engineering and management.

Today, India is at the threshold of changing its guidelines in the fields of construction and its related
activities. Infrastructure and real estate have started booming both in urban & rural areas. RERA- as it is
known, will benefit the common man, where builders will have to adhere to the rules and regulations of
the government laws and by laws. This move has taken place due to rampant construction in the urban
tier 1 and tier 2 cities, after recent calamities. So, the activities that I would like to concentrate are
management of time, cost, labor involved in construction; It is important and relevant at this juncture of
my life to utilize my bachelor’s degree to enhance my opportunities. I look forward to being a part of your
prestigious institution, where I can network and someday be a part of your highly acclaimed alumni.