Honoring our corporate identity: Build U. Scholarship Recipient, Fall 2015

Lauren Mason
Lauren Mason | 3 min. read

Published on January 6, 2016

Two weeks ago, Dictionary.com announced that its 2015 “Word of the Year” is identity. While this may mean something different to everyone, it’s generally used to describe the qualities of a person. But at Buildium, we believe the best businesses also work hard to cultivate a unique and positive identity, and we’ve cultivated five corresponding values that we believe define our identity. They guide every decision we make, and we are so passionate about them that we’ve created a scholarship to honor the people who, by embodying these values, are making the world a better place.

Integrity. Simplicity. Balance. Service. Ownership.

Now in its third year, our Build U. Scholarship awards $2,500 to stand-out Product Design, Interaction Design, UX Design, Engineering, or Computer Science students. Applicants are asked to write an essay in 1,000 words or less in response to one question:

“Which company or organization today provides the greatest service to its customers through software development and/or design?”

This year’s selection process was very competitive, but we’re proud and excited to offer the scholarship to Priyanka Sekhar, a Junior at Stanford University, studying Computer Science.

priyanka sekhar stanford
Priyanka Sekhar, Stanford ’17, Recipient of the Fall 2015 Build U. Scholarship

Priyanka wrote about Slack, a software company founded in 2014, and how it’s revolutionized modern business communications with a real-time messaging platform. In her essay, Priyanka applauded Slack for its well-designed, easy-to-use product and focused integration with other commonly used platforms, like Google Drive and Twitter.

Upon receiving the news that she was this year’s Build U. recipient, Priyanka explained, “The scholarship will definitely take some stress off of me. I’ll be able to focus more on the groups I am passionate about (Applied Cybersecurity at Stanford and Stanford Women in Business) as well as take interesting classes with lab fees. I hope to work in tech to increase the number of women in the field, and I want to ultimately use my education to make a difference in the world. I graduate next year, and I am currently looking at both startups and large tech companies.”

On behalf of our Marketing team and our Buildium family, congratulations Priyanka! We’re excited to see you grow and succeed as you finish college and beyond!

About the Build U. Scholarship:

Each fall and spring, Buildium awards the Build U. Scholarship to the Product Design, Interaction Design, UX Design, Engineering, or Computer Science student who best explains how important a shared set of beliefs is to building a great company. The essay topic is inspired by our core values: integrity, simplicity, balance, service, and ownership.

The deadline for Spring 2016 Build U. Scholarship applications is April 15, 2016, and the committee begins accepting essays and transcripts February 15. Please read the complete instructions and eligibility requirements before applying.

Read more on Buildium News
Lauren Mason

Lauren Mason is Buildium's Field Marketing Manager. In her role over the last 5 years, she has made it her mission to meet thousands of property managers and to help spread their knowledge to Buildium customers and the property management industry through events, conferences, and partnerships.

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