Quality Education & High Placement Opportunities, Made me Choose NHCE, says Mukund

I am Mukund Chander, a 22-year-old graduate from New Horizon College of Engineering, pursuing engineering in the field of Information Science. I have partaken in a multitude of college activities such as emcee, president of the media club, and working for design teams of various college events. My hobbies include music production, DJing, video games, and playing chess. My ability to quickly grasp and take an interest in new concepts and abilities is what allows me to venture into multiple fields at a time.

Q1. How did you choose your course of study in school (class XI-XII)? What made you choose your current college/course (undergrad/post-grad)?

I chose PCMC in my XI-XII as I felt that I had a knack for coding and logical reasoning. I never considered it as a profession until I was done with school and looking for colleges in Bangalore. I only used to do it for fun, and because I was more capable in this course of study than I was in other fields such as medicine, law, commerce, etc. I knew this didn’t have to be my final decision, so I was comfortable with choosing this field, knowing I could switch anytime, but also not struggling to study at the same time. After college, I attempted the KCET exam and got results that let me choose New Horizon as my choice of college. At first, I wouldn’t have made it in, but somehow in the final round of KCET, I was able to obtain a seat in this college. Information Science is a field where it is easy to branch out into multiple directions, which was well suited for me, knowing that I was still unsure about which path I wanted to take at the time. It was a course that I felt comfortable with and could see myself performing and learning well here.

Q2. How you cracked admission to your current college? What all entrance test(s) did you give? Any coaching classes that you took for preparation? Any other colleges that you were trying out for? What challenges did you face while opting for this college?

For my current college, I had written the KCET exam after my school. Getting a college through KCET would significantly lower the prices of college fees, so I made it my priority. After school ended, I joined a one-month crash course in a nearby state college that was also allowing outsiders to attend. I vigorously studied there from 8-5 almost every day of the week for a month to give myself a better edge. Once I had written the exam and the results were out, I filled in my college preferences. Interestingly enough, New Horizon was out of my rank range for Information Science, but I decided to add the college anyway, as I had heard of its good reputation. Needless to say, I got New Horizon on the third and final round of counselling, which allowed me to join this college.

Q3. How do you spend your time at college? Which classes do you like to attend? Which extra-curricular activities are you a part of in college? If given a chance, what else would you want to do? How has your college experience changed you as a person? What opportunities do you see in the future?

During the first few semesters, I was mainly focused on academics, as I wanted to develop a strong foundation in my subjects in order to do better in my later semesters. Some of the coding-related subjects were very interesting to attend, such as Java and Python, which were much more fun than some of the theory subjects present. After COVID hit, there wasn’t much opportunity to explore the other areas and aspects of college. In my third year, I joined the Media Club, which was responsible for handling the social media of clubs/events in college, as well as designing various media for events as well. I ended up becoming the President of this club the next year, which was very unexpected but a pleasant surprise too. I also took up the role of Emcee for multiple events in college and went on to manage a team of emcees the next year for upcoming events. I am also partly into music production, so I work and perform with various artists in Bangalore as a side hustle. I only gathered the courage to do something this exciting when I was in college. If given a chance, I would participate in all the events and extracurricular opportunities provided by the college, as it is these experiences that allow you to meet new friends, have fun moments, and broaden your views on a lot of aspects of how to enjoy your life. Any opportunity that I was too scared to take up at first, I would want to rush into them head-on so as to get over my fears and experience something new.

My college experience has drastically changed who I was when I first joined. I used to be a shy introverted kid who was scared of new experiences and people, I preferred being comfortable over trying new things. As college went on, I met people and friends who shaped me into the person I am now: someone who is confident, humble, and eager to try and learn new things to improve as a person. I feel that my college experiences have better prepared me for any decision that I make in the future, as I will be able to make the right decisions in tough times and persevere when things get hard. My horizons have broadened, so I have a lot more opportunities to consider for my future.

About the author:

Mukund Chande is currently pursuing Information Science Engineering at New Horizon College of Engineering.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha