Swathi Kondapalli is a sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering. She was born in India but came to America when she was 6 years-old. She lives in Newark and commutes to NJIT.

Favorite movie:
The Lion King.

Favorite bands:
At the moment, I’d say Corinne Bailey Rae, Cold Play and Augustana.

On my iPod:
A lot of Indian music, both traditional and pop.

Why NJIT?
I had visited Yale and Rutgers and other universities. But they are big schools and they make you feel washed out, like you’re faceless in a big bureaucracy. NJIT was the first school I visited that made me feel special and unique. The people in admissions and the professors I met during my tour were friendly and really nice. I visited NJIT with my dad, and he really liked the school, too.

Why biomedical engineering?
I’m a bio nerd. I like assessing all that happens in the human body with a mechanical or an engineering point of view. Your body is not magical; all of its functions have a mathematical aspect, your blood and fluid flow, for example. Biomedical engineers use engineering and bio to design devices that help improve medicine and the medical world.

Favorite class:
The freshmen bio-med design class. We assembled small Lego Mindstorm robots, which were supposed to help doctors perform more precise surgeries. We obviously, as students, couldn’t do surgeries, so we practiced on food. One student team performed angioplasty on pasta, another did amniocentesis on jelly donuts and a third team did mock surgery on a hot dog.

The class met in an engineering studio; we worked in teams; it was all hands-on work; and our professor never bored us with long theoretical lectures. No one was ever bored in this class.

What’s best at NJIT?
I’d say the small class sizes. There are never more than 30 students in your class. It’s easy to interact with you classmates and your professors, who you get to know personally. And I belong to NJIT’s Albert Dorman Honors College. Honors students get special coursework, colloquia and seminars and the professors and staff demand a lot of us and encourage you to get involved in the university. The mission of college is to transform us into leaders. The honors college also gave me a generous scholarship, which really helps me and my family.

Research experience:
Last summer I did research at UMDNJ, the medical school and hospital adjacent to NJIT. I helped doctors there do statistical analysis and gather data on liver transplant operations. I helped the doctors evaluate the success rates of transplant operations. The best part of the research was learning the software we used for the statistics. I first worked as a volunteer at the hospital. Then the following summer I called the doctors, and they said I could do research. So it always pays off if you do volunteer work at a hospital or med school. It’s good for the hospital and the community it serves and it helps you, too.

Clubs and activities:
I’m the designer for the Yearbook Committee; the editor for the Honor College’s newsletter; and I’m a student ambassador, which means I give tours to high school students.

Student Ambassador:
I enjoy meeting a lot of different high school students, including their parents. I show them what I like about the school and I answer their questions. When I came here for a tour with my dad, the ambassadors were helpful to us, so I enjoy doing the same for other students. I like talking about the aspects of the university that I like best and bringing showing them my favorite places on campus.

Favorite on-campus spots:
I love the skywalk, which connects two of the college’s main buildings. The skywalk gives you get a great view of the campus and the city and the sunlight filters in and warms you as you walk by. I like the architecture of the skywalk; it’s modern and cool. I also love the Honors College lounge. It has a study room with tall windows and a balcony, a computer lab with internet access to get your work done. But for fun it has video games, a large-screen TV, and comfortable chairs and couches. It has also has a pool table and a kitchen. It’s where I hang out with my friends from the Honors College. I commute to school, so the lounge is a great place for me to hang.

Career goal:
I want to be a doctor. Ever since I was child I knew that’s what I wanted. I know some students want to be doctors to please their parents. But my parents never told me to be a doctor: I told them. I like hands-on work and biology, so medicine is a good fit for me. I’m thinking of specializing in pediatrics. I really enjoy children.