As a young boy I was always very inquisitive, wanting to know how every interesting object around me stands and

works. Being a very exploratory young lad, I succeeded in building my first bird cage for my chickens at the age of ten. I also made a couple of wheel barrows and a lot of structural and mechanical models and I was very good with abstract art works, which I still do now as recreation. Science documentaries were and still remain one of my favorite television programs. It has always been apparent to me and my family that I was going to become an engineer someday as I was very good with my hands and the engineering related subjects. As time went on I got more and more interested in civil engineering because it was my Dads profession. I visited his work sites a lot of times and by the age of fourteen I made the choice to study civil engineering, my choice also being influenced by the fact that civil engineering was the most clearly practiced line of engineering in Nigeria in the sense that one has a better chance of seeing his design come to life. In my Senior Secondary School final Examination I performed excellently in Physics and also did well in mathematics, I immediately got an offer to study civil engineering at College of technology, after which I served as an intern with the property department of ----- Limited. This experience served as an eye opener for me. It was my first real introduction to the structural engineering world. The department was responsible for the design and supervision of construction of new branches and other company property. It was in the course of this training that I got introduced to AutoCAD and drafting. I also learnt a lot about Computer aided design. During the course of this industrial training I was also had the opportunity to visit a couple of construction sites which availed me the chance to learn how to interpret structural drawings practically. Before the end of this program I was able to independently supervise a small scale project. This professional exposure served as a leverage for me when I returned to school for my BSc. program in ------ soon afterwards. During my university days, at my 400 level, I carried out a course work in which I completely analyzed, designed and detailed the structural members of a two storey building independently. In my penultimate semester I worked on a factory roof truss. Its structural analysis was done with different methods (resolution of forces and graphically) taking into consideration also stress reversals, the results of which I used to size the struts and ties accordingly with an adequate factor of safety. I also designed the connections providing plates, bolts and nuts to suit my analysis after careful consideration of the possible forms of failure. I chose my final year project to experience another aspect of civil engineering that structural engineers have to deal with in the analysis and design water retaining structures, culverts and bridges: I produced an application for the computational analysis of steady flow in open channels of arbitrary shaped cross sections using MATLAB. With the aid of this application the depth of steady flow at any point along a flow channel can be determined provided the discharge, slope, roughness and geometric properties of the channel are known. The hydrostatic pressure/force and velocity of flow which are required for the structural design of channels can be readily obtained from this software, thus making it an invaluable tool in the design of dikes, dams and the likes. Upon my Graduation I received three departmental awards, one of which was an award in structures. After graduation I worked in the oil and gas sector as a trainee design engineer, carrying out pipe support designs and design verification as well as clash detection on revamp designs. I was also actively involved with the production of as built structural drawings and models of oil platforms for

redevelopment constructions from point cloud data using Quantapoints and Leicas laser scanning technologies as well as PDMS (Plant Design and Management System). Presently I work as an implementation engineer in the telecoms sector where I am responsible for the scrutiny, ratification and implementation of tower and tower foundation designs as well as their safe construction/erection in accordance with laid down specifications and Standard Codes of practice. In addition to the improvement of my engineering skills, my knowledge of project management and formal communication has increased greatly thanks to the exposure afforded me by my current job. I have therefore, after careful rumination, deemed it fit that to improve my professional competence, it is best I proceed with a graduate study in my field of interest - Structural Engineering. My country, Nigeria, is on the verge of rapid industrialization. Competent structural engineers will be needed more than ever before to meet this imminent demand for expertise. I intend to harness fully and efficiently the skills I will acquire from my Masters Degree to move my country forward in this regard whilst practicing as a consultant, providing solutions to complex structural problems in a wide range of industries. I believe in contributing positively to the progress of any society I find myself and I hold in my heart everyday Albert Einsteins quote which states: "It is every man's obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it". I have grown to make this quote a motto by which I live. Consequently I intend to lecture on a part time basis whilst practicing to give back the knowledge I have gained both in the world of academics and industry after which I intend to return to the academia for my Doctorate degree. During my undergraduate years I was a tutor member of the Civil Engineering Students Society (CESS) of my school, putting my juniors and course mates through with tutorials especially near exams. Whilst rendering this service, I realized that the more one teaches the more one understands. Ever since then I made up my mind to carry the chalk, for the reason that apart from improving people, it also serves to lubricate ones knowledge engine thus keeping one in good intellectual shape whilst practicing. I was advised by a friend and former colleague, on what school to choose for my field choice. I checked and confirmed that ------is one of the best schools for the study of civil engineering in the United States, with a rich array of professors and lecturers as well as solid syllabus for SEMM students. I am confident that studying at ------, will no doubt bring out the best in my quest for exceptional competence in the field of structural engineering. I wish to gain a very profound knowledge of the finite element method of analysis and to make my own contributions to its further development. It is my dream to be able to design any practicable civil engineering structure conceivable by the human mind. I aspire to make valuable contributions to the world of structural engineering and the engineering circle as a whole. I am convinced that I am prepared to take on this new and pertinent phase of my academic life, having successfully gone through the rigorous exposures required. My academic records and work experience corroborates my preparedness for the demanding curriculum which I will face. I enthusiastically look forward to joining your great society of achievers. It would be a great honor. I am grateful for your kind consideration.