Zyad Hossameldien

It started with motorized Lego when I was six, then a laptop I kept opening up to make faster. In Grade 7 I built my own PC from scratch.

Now I build things that make life easier: an email agent that runs a client's inbox, a closet app, a drone flown over a radio link I wrote myself. Engineering is where I learn to do that properly, at a scale that helps more than one person at a time.

I also lead, teach and coach. I want a program where both of those count.

For the University of Waterloo, Software Engineering

Time management. I balance Grade 12 at a 97% average, co-leading a council of 20, a job as a lifeguard and swim instructor, and client work through Canoegy.

People. I teach swimming to kids and adults in English, French or Arabic. I spent a semester peer tutoring a Grade 9 French immersion science class, and I demo my drone in computer engineering classes.

Co-op and startups. That's why Waterloo is my first choice. I want co-op terms at companies like Google and Meta to see how the best teams build, then take what I learn into a company of my own.

For MIT

Mind and hand. Project Horizon is a drone where every link in the control chain is ours: the hand-soldered controller, the radio protocol, the failsafe. When motor noise kept disarming it, we tracked it down and fixed it.

Making for people. I build tools that make life easier, and I teach what I learn: in classrooms, at the pool and on council.

The dream. MIT has been the goal since I was a kid and found out it was the best school in the world for technology. I've been to Boston, and I want its labs and teams, and the chance to build somewhere completely new.

For Queen's University, Computer Engineering

Community. Most of what I am proud of happened with other people: a council of 20, a nonprofit that reached 250 newcomers, a food drive of more than 2,000 lbs.

Building. I write software that runs for real clients, and I hand-built the controller for our capstone drone.

Kingston. I've visited, and I liked how small and close-knit it felt. That's where I do my best work: with people I know.

For the University of Ottawa, Software Engineering

Bilingual, and then some. I speak English and Arabic, I've been in French immersion since I was a kid, and I already teach swim classes in French. Studying in both of uOttawa's languages is a draw, not a hurdle.

Rooted here. I live in Kanata, I work with clients in the area, and my community work is in Ottawa.

Close to home. Studying here means I keep teaching at the pool and working with clients, minutes from where I grew up.

For Carleton University, Computer Science with co-op

Close to the work. I live in Kanata, near the tech companies I hope to learn from, and I already build software for local clients through Canoegy.

Hands on. I hand-soldered the controller for our capstone drone and wrote its radio protocol, so hardware and software both feel like home.

The Shopify Dev Degree. Learning on a real product team from first year is exactly how I learn best. And staying in Ottawa means I keep my job at the pool, my client work and my community while I study.