My life has been marked by a sense of adventure and research; a life that seeks to find the meaning of everything and will not stop until it has reached the depth of everything. This may have been the cause of several electrical appliances getting damaged when, as a child, I was trying to figure out what made anything not made in Nigeria work. It was this desire to discover things and innovate that inspired me to pursue a career in a field that I knew would best satisfy my curiosity. Even though I was an excellent student in high school, I wasn't always sure of the best career path to take. At that time, physics, basic electronics and mathematics were subjects that I enjoyed and maintained distinctions in. During my senior year in high school, I designed and built a tamper detection system as a basic electronics project; an electronic speaker was the output device, and it was triggered by a switch that turned on whenever a door was opened. The project earned me an award and I was very excited about my success. I knew my career would have to involve my best subjects. After much research into undergraduate courses that required knowledge of physics, mathematics, and basic electronics, I chose to study electrical and electronic engineering because I was impressed by its broad applications and I thought it would be a challenge to study a course of such relevance. .My first year of college was preliminary; my results were used to decide whether or not I was intellectually capable of meeting the degree requirements; I have proven my ability to succeed by maintaining good grades. One evening during my sophomore year of college, I started reading a book called Electric Circuit Fundamentals... in the middle of a sheet of paper... to a researcher who was an expert in electrical systems. I strive for a complete understanding of how power systems work and believe earning a PhD in power systems engineering is a first step. Through intensive research, I intend to contribute to the technological advancement of the power system industry. Working with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), I plan to use my expertise to facilitate much-needed change in the Nigerian electricity sector. After studying the research interests and outstanding achievements of professors such as: George Gross, Philip T. Krein, Thomas J. Overbye, Peter W. Sauer and Alejandro Dominguez-Garcia, I am certain that at the University of 'Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, I can acquire the technical skills and knowledge necessary to achieve my career goals. I hope to both contribute and grow in its research-friendly environment.