Jay Suresh Babu

Jay grew up in south-east India, in Chennai, where he lived with his parents and grandparents. As part of a very close family it was a big step for Jay to leave his home to travel all the way to El Paso, TX. In fact, before coming to UTEP, Jay had never been separated from his parents for more than a week! But he had very clear goals in mind for his education and he just knew that UTEP would be the place to help him fulfill them.

Most people in his hometown would have guessed that Jay would become an accountant – he comes from a family of them and his father and cousins have their own firm. But Jay had other ideas – and they all started in 10th grade when he got his first PC. He was intrigued and amazed by all that the machine could do – especially after he realized it could be useful for more than just playing games and writing essays!

After he realized that he wanted to study CS Jay pursued an undergraduate degree in that area. When he was finished with his first degree he felt an urge to continue his studies and he also knew that it was time for him to broaden his horizons. So he applied to universities in the USA and the UK and was accepted to 5 different institutions. He had to choose one, and in the end he chose UTEP because it was in a part of the US that seemed to have a very unique culture, and because the cost of living was affordable even for an international student.

Being at UTEP has been a huge change for Jay. For example, in his old school it was not unusual to have classes of 80 people; here there are fewer students per class and many more opportunities for him to receive individual attention and guidance from the professors. Jay was also fortunate in that he found an on-campus job working at the Graduate School. This has given him the valuable opportunity to be mentored by Dean Ambler and Dr. Lush – both of whom have had a very positive effect on Jay’s maturity as a student and his self-confidence: "It was nice to see that the open door policy of the CS department is also there in the Graduate School. It's pretty amazing when you can go to The Dean and ask him for advice knowing that even though he is busy he will make time for you - for any student!"

Jay’s immediate plan is to complete his master’s thesis under the guidance of Dr. Teller. “I started reading some papers from her after I came here and I knew right away I wanted to be her student. To know that she has accepted me makes me feel so honored. I will work very hard to make her happy that she has chosen to mentor me. I am learning so much from her every day, not just about computer science but also about how important it is to contribute to the academic community.”

As for his future, Jay knows that he wants to get a Ph.D. It is his life’s goal to be a university professor. He sees this as a way that he can contribute to the academic and scientific community while still maintaining strong ties to the people in those communities. As a teacher Jay plans to emulate Dr. Kreinovich because “...he makes every topic interesting and all his classes are fun and lively and he has the best jokes and stories.”

Jay admits that he is nervous about what life will hold for him after he graduates from UTEP with his master’s but he says that when he begins to feel doubts about the future he reminds himself of his father’s favorite saying: “When your dreams of success are greater than your fears of failure you will prosper.” Jay fully intends to prosper. And he insists that, no matter where his life leads him, his memories and experiences here at UTEP will always be treasured.

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