(Buckle-up Folks!)
My entire schooling was undertaken in the central schools system of India. I started schooling by joining the ranks of class one at the school in Tezpur, Assam. At times, it almost seems like an other life, the school uniforms and the strict teachers. Punishment used to often mean caining of the palm and for some reason or the other, I used
to be on the receiving end often. I spent two years at Tezpur and then moved onto Barrackpur (W.B.), for the next four years. Here, I broke my arm, had my leg operated on, explored forbidden parts of the school etc. I
then moved to Secunderabad (A.P.) and then onto Lucknow (U.P.) for the final two years of schooling.
In the year 1991, I completed schooling and made it through the Kerala Engineering Entrance Examination with
a place in Mechanical Engineering at Government College of Engineering, Kannur. The time spent at Kannur was joyfull and different. The atmosphere was different for me and I am sure was and is different for people like me who have done most of their schooling outside Kerala. I lived in the college hostel in town for a while and then at a lodge, and then again at the new hostel on campus. All places had their charm. I particularly enjoyed the Kannur beach and the old hostels beautiful location by the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea, not to mention the cricket, vollyball, and football matches in the hostel compound and the sandy shores.
Upon completion of my course, I returned home and obtained a job as a team leader. Later, I wrote TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT in order to pursue higher studies abroad. I recieved admission from Drexel University, King's College London etc. among others. I was awarded a British Commonwealth Scholarship to pursue studies in the U.K. and won a free British Airways ticket to the U.K., courtesy of the British Consulate. During this time, I was also hired by the Singapore Merchant Navy as a marine engineer. Finally, I chose to pursue my master's in the United States.
In 1997, I joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at South Dakota State University but then moved to the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The university is nestled in a beautiful hilly region cloase to the Black Hills nationar forest. Mount Rushmore, a national monument, is only 30 miles away, Badlands national park, is 40 miles away, and Wall Drug, the most visited drug store in the world is about 30 miles away. At Tech,
I was offered a research assistantship to pursue a thesis on a project funded by the Jet Propulsion Labaratory of National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Subsequently, based on my research work, I published technical papers in the journal of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, conference of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. I also met my better half at graduate school.
At the time of graduation, I was accepted by Virginia Tech into their Ph.D. and M.B.A. program. I also recieved a graduate assistantship from the University of Kansas to pursue their M.B.A. program. At this time, my wife and I, applied for full-time jobs and were offered jobs in Michigan. After graduating in the summer of 1999, we moved to Michigan and got married. I am currently pursuing a second graduate degree in manufacturing at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. If you are interested in engineering school rankings, click here and for manufacturing rankings, click here. Well folks, that's pretty much it. Hope it was not too boring. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!
-- Mahesh Tampi