Antariksh first heard about the college in a WhatsApp group chat. MG官方电子平台 was listed at the top of a Next Genius Scholarship Program brochure that promised full-tuition 和 partial-tuition scholarships to 10 colleges.

成立于2014年, Next Genius Scholarship Program identifies outst和ing Indian students 和 connects them to universities in the United States. Antariksh competed over a day with hundreds of other students from across India in activities 和 debates. The winners would be announced the next morning.

“我记得那天，一个星期天. 我的数学预考在星期一. Another guy in the interview rounds was quite vocal 和 eloquent. I thought he would win,” says Antariksh. “相反, I 赢得了. 这就是一切开始的地方.” With a full-tuition scholarship, Antariksh joined 贝洛伊特’s third cohort of Next Genius fellows.

“I didn’t want to look back at this moment 和 think about why I didn’t take this chance [to study abroad in the United States],他说.

Antariksh Sharma’23 poses in Moore Lounge, Pearsons Hall prior to the Diwali celebration.antarikish天生好奇, 和 what he loves most about MG官方电子平台 is the space to ask questions in 和 out of the classroom 和 to talk frankly to his professors. He enjoys taking courses in a wide range of departments 和 learning about different ways of thinking 和 living. Antariksh says he is glad he took “religion 和 reality,” a 100-level course offered by religious studies professor Sonya Maria Johnson. “Even though it’s not really related to my majors (计算机科学 和 政治科学)，我真的很高兴我拿了它. I used to be cynical about religion 和 I would invalidate it. After taking the class, I underst和 the support system it creates 和 how it can help people.” He says that taking the class also helped him become a better writer.

Antariksh says that it’s always exciting to see Professor Johnson, who occasionally leads evening yoga classes at the 洛根人类学博物馆. “If she sees me, she approaches me 和 I love that. There isn’t a power imbalance with her. 我可以非常坦诚和透明.”

Antariksh says life at the height of the p和emic “was horrible.” He spent his entire sophomore year in India. He attended online classes 和 even though his professors were accommodating, he had to stay awake well into the night. “It was also hard to stay in touch with people,他说.

Antariksh Sharma’23 celebrating Diwali with students on campus.Now a junior, Antariksh finds life at 贝洛伊特 just as dynamic. People have been eager to reconnect after being away for so long. 自从回到校园, he has organized events with student funding such as a viewing of the recent India-Pakistan cricket World Cup match 和 a student celebration for Diwali, 印度的灯节.

Antariksh says that the size of the campus allows for a sense of familiarity. “交朋友很容易, to come together with my peers at club meetings, 和 to envision the kind of life we want to live together at 贝洛伊特.“他参与了 国际俱乐部(I-Club), 黑人学生会(BSU)，和 西班牙俱乐部. And as the newly elected 贝洛伊特 Student Government (BSG) Co-President, he wants to highlight student concerns to the administration.

Along with his academic 和 social successes, Antariksh has been planning 和 executing solo projects through his different work positions on campus. 在今年的 贝洛伊特 & 除了会议，在工作人员的帮助下 职业工作, Antariksh organized an “escape room” event. Students had to look for clues by solving puzzles that helped build their professional skills. He also really enjoys working at the boathouse 和 at 的大国. Antariksh is also a Resident Assistant in an upper-class dorm.

About to enter his senior year of college, Antariksh wants to translate his experiences at 贝洛伊特 into a career in data ethics. “I want to find ways to regulate how our data is being exploited.”