As an ambitious teenager, I was always studious and serious about my academics and the responsibilities I have as a student. Reading self-development books to setting SMART goals has always been my go-to to improve myself. Making decisions is such an area where I always have room for improvement. I have learned that making good decisions only comes from experiencing situations where I have to decide. When I decided to do my bachelors in the United States, I had plenty of options. I loved learning so many things that I reached a point where I was confused about what I wanted to choose as my major. My self-help books or goals didn’t quite help me with my decision-making skill at that point.

I am Haneesha Dushara, a Computer Science Major at the University of Cincinnati, from Hyderabad, India. When I looked around, my family, friends, seniors at school, and counselors helped me decide on my major as Computer Science, but I still had a huge task of choosing my university. I was researching about universities and talking to counselors, and students at different universities, I knew I wanted to go to a university that has a strong International Community, to a city that doesn’t have extreme temperatures, and has a comfortable moderate-paced lifestyle. I came across Cincinnati, and the University of Cincinnati matched all the criteria on my checklist. I found out about UC’s incredible co-op program for Engineering Majors which is embedded in the curriculum, and amazing student organizations with various leadership options that allowed me to choose the University of Cincinnati.

Since my freshmen year, I have had the opportunity to do a different range of things I am Events Chair of the College of Engineering & Applied Science Tribunal, a leader in International Partner and Leaders, and work for the Logistics Team of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and be a Sponsorship Lead for Association of Computing Machinery @UC. I was also able to work as a Mathematics tutor at Learning Commons. I gained hands-on experience by working as a software development intern for companies like Emerson and SHP, which helped me narrow down my interest in the field of Computer Science.

My experience of going from someone clueless about the major and the university to someone who is happy about making a wonderful decision to pursue Computer Science at the University of Cincinnati has been knowledgeable. Choosing to go to UC is one of the amazing decisions I have made, and now I can gladly say that I found another home in a new country.