Undergraduate / Statement of Purpose - UT Austin Computer Engineering Transfer [4]

I'm part of the CAP program at The University of Texas-Pan American, and am looking to transfer to the Cockrell School of Engineering next semester. I'm required to submit a statement of purpose by March 1st, just two days from today, and I would really appreciate some tips and/or feedback to enhance my essay. Thank you!

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Ever since I was a child, I was interested in learning new ideas and creating new things. My philosophy is that when new things are created the world becomes richer, and therefore I'm truly passionate for conceiving new ideas. Computer Engineering is for many a small, but tremendously powerful tool that helps people and inspires them to shape their own universe. What has always, and always will, fascinated me about Computer Engineering is that opportunity to create anything we desire, from a simple "Hello World" application to a multimillion dollar company that could someday make an impact on the world.

I was first introduced to programming during my middle school years, it wasn't really prominent back then, or at least not around my friends, but when my dad first showed me his commodore 64, I was simply fascinated by how it worked and how just a few lines of code could turn into a fun and simple game. The commodore ran on "BASIC". I never went back to try and master the "BASIC" language, but it served as an introduction to computers and computer programming. It wasn't until high school that I started utilizing a proper object oriented programming languages, C# and PYTHON. It was a really steep learning curve, skills that took some time to understand, but they helped me gain more knowledge. When I heard of Microsoft's surface technology, now Pixelsense, I felt eager to build something similar. It took me some time and a lot of research, but I made it. A full self contained human-computer interaction system capable of interpreting blobs reflecting from an acrylic surface as touch inputs on a Windows machine.

During my senior year, I gave the mobile programming languages: JAVA, Objective-C, and C# a shot. I'm still in the process of mastering them, but the process is going fairly smoothly considering the three are strongly influenced by the C syntax. Currently, I'm focusing on web development, HTML, CSS, Javascript/JQuery/AngularJS, and PHP, mainly because I started working with my fellows and the chemistry department on a web application called XXX (project name). I've gained a lot of knowledge on PHP and the YII (Yes It Is) framework from the project. It was originally developed by one of the research professors at the chemistry department, however the project grew rapidly and it's in desperate need of a more stable and secure build to become an open project across the country. This was and is my first real team project to give me valuable computer science knowledge. The team consists of a couple of computer engineering majors and one of the assistant professors in the computer science department.

Apart from the obtaining vast knowledge from practical experience, I try to stay updated with the latest technological breakthroughs by reading many technical online articles and technology reviews from multiple sites. After all, keeping up to date on the latest technological innovations is, in my opinion, an essential part of any engineering major. Just like lawyers have to keep up to date with the latest laws and doctors should read the latest medical journals, computer engineers require some knowledge on the latest technology to remain competitive.

My ultimate goal is to make a significant impact on the world by either building a recognizable startup company or technological venture. Apart from being one of the top schools for computer engineering in the country, UT-Austin is located in a city that is considered by many as the "next silicon valley". It's the home of hundreds of big tech companies, and the new go to place a lot of tech entrepreneurship and startups. I'm more than ready to be part of this rapid change and amazing community. The prime reason why I'm exceedingly eager to be part of this fascinating community is because I believe such a community will enhance my expertise, and allow me the opportunity to accomplish my goals. Thank you for considering me, and I look forward to providing my expertise and knowledge to your community.