Outstanding STEM students ready to pursue passions
When Dipesh Basnet graduates from the University of Houston-Victoria in May, he intends to gain working experience in the field of computer science and eventually return to Nepal to help other students like himself bring better technology and employment opportunities to their home country.
“I’ve been learning so much about software, and I pushed myself to complete my master’s in one year instead of two,” Basnet said. “I want to continue my career as a software engineer, and one day I’ll bring more STEM resources back to Nepal and offer a way to help raise the education standard. It’s a small country, and I want to help make the education system better.”
Basnet is the Outstanding Graduate Student for the UHV College of Natural & Applied Science for the spring 2024 semester. He will graduate on May 11 with a Master of Science in computer science. The Outstanding Undergraduate Student for the college is Aobo Zhou, a Houston resident and a native of China, who will receive a Bachelor of Science in digital gaming and simulation.
Each semester, professors from UHV’s four colleges select outstanding students to be honored during commencement. The university will host two spring commencement ceremonies on May 11 at Faith Family Church, 2002 E. Mockingbird Lane. The first ceremony begins at 9 a.m. to celebrate graduates from the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences and College of Natural & Applied Science. The second ceremony will begin at 12:30 p.m. to celebrate the graduates from the College of Business and College of Education & Health Professions.
“Dipesh and Aobo are two students who exemplify excellence through hard work and passion,” said Dmitri Sobolev, interim dean of the college. “I am pleased to see them reach this milestone in their careers, and I look forward to seeing what they will do in the future.”
Basnet worked as a software engineer for four years before he chose to pursue his master’s degree. Before he came to UHV, Basnet spoke with a friend who was taking classes at UHV. When his friend told him about the research he was doing, Basnet knew he needed to investigate this university further. After he spoke with the faculty in the computer science program, Basnet made his choice.
“When I got here, UHV felt like a welcoming home to me,” he said. “Everyone has been so nice, and the faculty take a personal interest in helping me succeed. I can’t thank them enough for their interest and support.”
In addition to working to earn his degree, Basnet secured an internship with Freezing Point LLC in Utah, which allows him to work with a mentor and learn more about the software industry. As he nears graduation, he is looking forward to putting plans in motion to move forward in his career before he takes his newfound knowledge home to Nepal.
Before coming to the U.S., Basnet volunteered for a project organized by the US Embassy in Nepal teaching young people in addition to his work as a software engineer. He remembers how intelligent the students were and how much potential they had, even though technological resources were not widely available. He remembers meeting one student who taught himself to code by using his cell phone because he couldn’t get access to a computer.
“I have a lot of plans for the next 10 years,” he said. “I want to start something of my own and move towards tech entrepreneurship focusing on Artificial Intelligence. I want to support bringing more practical learning to Nepal. The current system relies on lots of theory and learning from books, but there’s so much more you can learn from practical experience if you have the resources.”
Zhou chose to attend UHV after he came to campus for an orientation event. While other colleges were helpful, UHV’s event offered a friendly atmosphere with people who showed that they cared about him as a person. Combined with the affordable tuition, that made UHV the natural choice, he said.
At first, Zhou didn’t know what he wanted to study, but he eventually chose computer science, specifically involving digital gaming and simulation. He also worked in the UHV Information Technology office as a student worker for two years.
“I first chose the major because I like playing video games, so I thought it would be good to see how they are created,” he said. “Now that I’ve gotten some experience in an IT office, I think I want to pursue a career in that field. It offers a good balance between work and life outside of the office.”
Although Zhou describes himself as a very insular person who doesn’t socialize often, he enjoyed working in the IT office and attending classes because those experiences forced him to get out of his comfortable, isolated space and work with people.
As he prepares to graduate, Zhou plans to apply for positions in Houston, most of which will focus on Information Technology positions or cybersecurity. In the future, he may return to UHV to earn a master’s degree, he said.
Looking back on his time at UHV, he is grateful to the faculty members who worked with him and all those who supported him. He was invited to be part of a research team by Aobo Jin, a UHV assistant professor of computer science and director of the digital gaming program.
“It’s a big privilege to be invited to be part of a research project,” Zhou said. “This was just one of the ways the professors helped me and encouraged me to succeed. They treated me like a friend, and that made my studies much less stressful.”
Zhou also is grateful for the support he received from his family, especially his mother and stepfather, as well as their family from China.
Basnet agrees that UHV’s faculty made an impact on his experience at the university. Looking back at his path to graduation, he is grateful for the support from everyone who helped him, especially his parents and sisters. In the U.S., he is thankful for the support from UHV faculty members and others who have encouraged him, including Hardik Gohel, UHV assistant professor of computer science and director of the graduate data science program; Yun Wan, professor of computer information systems; and James R. Frisby, his mentor at Freezing Point LLC.
“I’m here because of all those people who supported me, and I couldn’t ask for more,” Basnet said. “It’s been a wild ride finishing a master’s degree in a year. It was a lot of hard work, and I am so grateful to everyone who helped me reach this goal.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.