I grew up in a condition where my parent expected me to have excellence in every academic and social knowledge. They would often ask me to help them with their work telling me, “You’re gaining experience.” It is true. I ended up knowing more than kids around my age. 

​During my senior year, I set my expectation to get a full scholarship to a big university. However, I did not realize that being an immigrant also means getting a lot of drawbacks such as international student tuition and no federal grant. I was accepted to so many universities and was granted scholarships which are still not enough to cover “international” student tuition. However, It will not stop me from furthering my academic knowledge. The plan is to attend the Community College of Philadelphia. Although I will not get a Bachelor’s degree by attending it, I can transfer to any university to get my Bachelor’s degree. Not only that it saves me more money, but it also gives me time to save up more money to pay for my tuition after graduating from CCP. 

​In college, I will be taking Computer Science major. Since a kid, I love solving problems and learning new things. Although I am fascinated by computers and machines, I don’t know much about them. I believe by having expertise in computer fields will allow me to use my creativity and ability to solve problems at a higher end. In the future, I want to keep doing what I’m doing. I want to keep working hard to achieve my goals. I want to keep in touch with YVC, a community services organization, and keep giving back to society. I like to think that Nate and I shared a couple of traits. We both care about our community and work hard in academic pursuits. I am very grateful to be chosen as one of the recipients of this scholarship. This scholarship means so much to me. It will help to pay for my tuition which brings me a step closer to my academic dreams. 

I would like to thank the scholarship committee for choosing me, I believe that with this help I will be able to do great things in the future. 

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​​- Kendrew Rahardja Putra (Excerpts from personal statement)

Nathaniel M. Kirkland Scholar: Kendrew Rahardja Putra

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