What Kind of University Does the World Need? with Nikhil

Transcript

Okay, everyone. First, we’re heading over to the Memorial Union on the Tempe Campus. Here we have Nikhil Dave waiting for us. Nikhil is a junior double majoring in neuroscience and innovation in society. Pretty cool. And he’s gonna talk to us about what kind of university the world needs right now. Nikhil you’re on.

Everybody, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I was born and raised here in Arizona by two incredible immigrant parents who endured a treacherous journey from India to the United States about 25 years ago. Education was always a big part of their upbringing, and so it’s become a big part of my own.

Now, as a student here at Arizona State, I’ve had the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of learning environments from working on cutting edge technology to being able to be a part of a young group of phenomenal men in my fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha. None of these opportunities would have ever been a possibility for me if it wasn’t for the amazing college experience that Arizona State University provides.

In the spring of 2020, I had the opportunity to take a class with the president of our university, President Michael Crow. And there were a lot of things that President Crow said, but there was one thing that stuck with me in particular. When describing the design of Arizona State, he explained that the primary purpose of a public university is to educate the public. While seemingly obvious, this sentence carried a lot of weight. What this means for us here at Arizona State is that we measure ourselves not based on the amount of people that we exclude, but rather all of the people we include and how they succeed. This focus on accessibility is something that’s unique to Arizona State University, not only as a university, but for its students.

In emphasizing inclusivity, our students have the opportunity to encounter diverse perspectives and different backgrounds, challenging their thinking and pushing them to grow. Beyond including students from all walks of life, ASU is also devoted to impacting society. Recently, I had the honor of serving as one of four team leads on two of ASU’s COVID-19 response efforts headed up by the Luminosity Lab, a student-driven skunkworks interdisciplinary research and development lab focused on developing technological solutions to problems in society. Our group developed the PPE Response Network, where we crowdsourced 3D printers from across Arizona to print and deliver over 14,000 units of PPE to medical clinics experiencing shortages. Beyond that, in just four months, we designed, developed, and scientifically validated two patent pending sterilization technologies for sterilizing N95 masks and other critical PPE.

Now, Luminosity is just one example of all the amazing opportunities that exist here at ASU. And all of these opportunities share one thing in common: They show that ASU is a university built for the future. Not only as ASU helped prepare me for my future and the future of the world around me, but it’s also equipped me with unique experiences and close memories that I will hold the rest of my life. So with all that being said, I’m so excited to show you what this place is all about. Welcome to ASU. Back to you, Alex.

Nikhil, great job. What you and Arizona State University are doing for the community here locally and throughout the state is incredible. You can feel that sense of inclusion here on Campus, and it’s awesome. Thanks Nikhil.