Hojamyrat Eyeberdiyev '24 Recruiting Profile

Growing up I really liked asking questions. Throughout my childhood, I was searching for anything  that would fulfill my curious nature . Every day on our drive to school I would ask my parents: “Why was the sky blue?  Why did the cars make sounds?” or anything that would come to my mind. As I grew older, my curiosity shifted from everyday things to more complex activities where I would get to better understand myself and my surroundings. I was 8 years old when my father introduced me to tennis.  Ever since, tennis has become a big part of who I am. 

Through the game, I could talk to myself, reflect on my life, and relieve my frustrations. Tennis helped to occupy me mentally and physically, but I still wanted more.  Then, in my  freshman year of high school, my math teacher introduced me to robotics, which became a passion that would rival my love for tennis.

One day, she pulled me from class to show me the projects our school was working on. They were making tanks, robotic arms, grippers, and bulldozers while preparing for a competition. She knew the type of curious person I was, and guessed that robotics would bring me to my mind's paradise. Now the narrative shifted, instead of asking the questions I was also answering them. In our preparation, we would work together to combine those familiar machines into one that would rival them all. This challenge kept my mind busy day and night as I would lie in bed unable to sleep from how far my mind would wander. My teacher was right. I was a good part of the team, as under my leadership we brought home the championship title. Then in the blink of an eye, it was junior year and I moved to America, and everything changed. 

Suddenly I wasn’t in my paradise anymore, but in a place with a different language and culture. I felt like I was navigating through uncharted territory. Although my surroundings changed, inside I was the same curious person who loved the difficulty of making things come to life and the competitiveness of tennis.

Still passionate about the things I loved, I joined the robotics club and the tennis team in my new school. This changed my whole life around as I found an island similar to the one I had known before the move. It was as if I hadn’t moved at all and just teleported to a different parallel. The large insurmountable wall, made of a language barrier and cultural differences, that once stood in front of me was gone. I understood these people as they were of the same making: driven by innovation, curiosity, and passion.

I found this universal connection not only in the robotics club and tennis team, but also in everyday interactions. I noticed how people in restaurants, stadiums, and concerts, despite not knowing each other, shared their love for local sports teams; I watched as music broke through language barriers, and saw how the shared human experience connected us all.

This journey helped me understand that no matter how far we are from each other we are still connected by a thin fabric of our interests that could outweigh any cultural or language barrier.

My curiosity started from simple questions and evolved into a deeper understanding of myself and my surroundings through tennis and robotics. I plan to continue finding these connections, using them to make friends on the way and understanding the world around me.