For DonorsFor Applicants
user profile avatar

Sara Potpara

2,105

Bold Points

1x

Finalist

1x

Winner

Bio

I am a computer science student with a special interest for machine learning. I was a part of a special IT program at my high school, after which I continued my academic and athletic path at UConn. Another task on my list of daily activities is a sport, for sure. I am a rower and a half marathon runner. At my spare time, I enjoy putting my feelings on the paper, making poems...

Education

University of Connecticut

Bachelor's degree program
2022 - 2026
  • Majors:
    • Computer Science

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Computer Science
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Computer Software

    • Dream career goals:

      Sports

      Rowing

      Varsity
      2020 – Present4 years

      Awards

      • Belgrade International Regatta, April 2021 (JW2x) - 3rd place (JW4x) - 3rd place
      • Serbian Indoor National Championships 2K ERG, January 2021 (Women’s Lightweight) - 3rd
      • I Serbian Regatta, April 2021 (JW2x) - 3rd
      • II Serbian Regatta, May 2021 (JW2x) - 3rd place
      • III Serbian Regatta, May 2021 (JW4x) - 3rd place
      • Big Boat Races, June 2021 (JW8+) - 1st place
      • Serbian National Rowing Championships, September 2021 (JW2x) - 3rd place (JW1x) - 4th place

      Rowing

      Varsity
      2020 – Present4 years

      Awards

      • Belgrade half-marathon (best result - 33rd out of 1460 women)
      Servant Ships Scholarship
      Being Homo Sapiens means, first of all, the ability to think, speak, and act with a rational approach, aware of everything that is happening around us and in us. However, our imperfect organisms, victims of the sympathetic nervous system, know about love, feelings, but also other dimensions where boundaries are hard to see, and the power of control is lost... The protagonist of the novel "Steppenwolf", although he has long since stopped counting the books he has read and the gray hairs on his head, is still troubled by the acceptance of human nature as a combination of good and bad; beautiful and ugly; happy and sad. He is a man thirsty for knowledge, who steps first with his brain, then with his feet, blind to emotions but not to their rigid philosophical analysis. An average bookworm, in her teenage years, whose empire is held by the same foundations as the four walls of her room, can easily understand Harry Haller's inner struggle. She walks alone; on the school bus, she prefers contact with paper rather than with people; she is haunted by the fear that she hasn't devoted enough time to taking notes; and her biggest anxiety is seeing a minus next to the letter A on an exam. She competes in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and literature, but has never asked herself if this can sustain as the only concept of happiness and inner fulfillment for a human being. That's why today, she directs all her gratitude to Hermann Hesse, because he raised such a question in her mind before she stops counting the books she's read and the gray hairs on her head. Harry Haller showed her that human nature cannot be encompassed by the three coordinates of the Cartesian system, nor anything that can be called a system with defined areas and limit values. So much can fit inside us; what we can be, become, change... and make mistakes. Eve made a mistake when she indulged in the forbidden fruit, Adam made a mistake when he followed her example, and the Israelites made a mistake when they worshipped the golden calf... Harry Haller also made a mistake when he thought he was unworthy of mistakes, of encountering love and true happiness. She did not make a mistake when she dusted off the cover of the book that would teach her to keep her eyes wide open and absorb every nuance of this world. To make mistakes, repent, and learn a lesson. That human nature is simultaneously sweet, sour, bitter, imperfect, but magical. But who is she and who does she want to become? I dream of helping people, but for someone who loses consciousness during a blood draw, the profession of medical worker is probably not the right choice. However, the awareness that it is still possible to be humane through the keyboard, motivates me to work even harder on my education. During my brother’s cancer journey, I started exploring the usefulness of machine learning in the analysis of clinical images and early diagnosis of diseases. Computers can analyze a large amount of data and, with appropriate algorithms, help doctors, but also patients and their families. Machine learning caught my interest, because in the hands of those who deal with it there is an infinite spectrum of possibilities, which can significantly improve the quality of life for all of us. Our acts make us human beings and I firmly believe that we get, when we give.