Nishanthi
Senior, Geological Engineering
Nishanthi’s
passion for engineering stretches back to her high school years on a
robotics team, where she first heard about geological engineering at South Dakota Mines, a perfect fit for her dream job: natural hazard assessment,
looking at everything from landslide and earthquake prevention to
mitigating the losses disasters leave in their wake.
Once
she arrived, the hands-on opportunities were beyond belief. From the
Badlands to the Black Hills, the Rushmore Region boasts totally
different outcroppings minutes apart, an astounding diversity (and
mystery) that puzzles the geologic community to this day.
Added
to South Dakota Mines' personal attention where professors know you by name (and
later the president of the university writes your Rhodes Scholar
recommendation!), after one visit, Nishanthi decided this was the school
for her.
The second-best decision she ever made: joining WiSE.
“Getting
involved in WiSE has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done. I
remember being a freshman and having all these questions about
schedules and what professors to take and who do you talk to if I want
to do my nails. There’s just so much you want to be able to talk to a
female about, having a go-to is really important. Now as a WiSE mentor,
it’s been really rewarding to help others.”
But
WiSE isn’t the only community she’s found here. An avid musician from
the age of four, the music program at South Dakota Mines was critical to her choice
of university, as well. “Music is amazing because it incorporates
everything you could ever need in life—which is math and art. Music
takes your knowledge and skill in math and fractions, precision and
accuracy, and combines it with this beautiful art form.” It’s also a
well-deserved stress release from a rigorous field.
After
graduation in May, Nishanthi wants to go to graduate school, then work
in the field as a natural hazard assessor before bringing that
experience back to the classroom on the other side of the
lectern—ideally right here as a professor at South Dakota Mines.
That career arc requires a set of ever-changing skills, made possible by the versatility learned at South Dakota Mines.
“I
want people to come here. This is one of the hidden gems in this
country. The combination of hands-on experience, internships, and
research experience, with a South Dakota Mines education, is real-life preparation a
lot more than a college education. It really does prepare you to be a
scientist or engineer, and it teaches you how to learn. That’s the most
important thing, because if you learn how to learn, you can do any job.”
The only thing it takes? Commitment, and a passion for making the world a better place.
“The
one piece of advice I would give is it is relatively easy to get in to South Dakota Mines, but it is hard to stay, so when you make the decision, make a
commitment to stay in science and engineering, to put your heart into
this school and your passion, whatever it is, because it’ll reward you
in the future, not just in money and jobs, but you’ll feel really good
about helping society. That’s what engineers and scientists do. Their
goal is to advance society and make it better by figuring out how can we
solve problems the world is having – and there are so many right now
that we can help with.”
#STEMINISM