“There have been so many courses I've taken at UChicago that have challenged me and pushed me to discover new interests for myself—I could list almost all of my transcript! ”
Have you selected a course of study? Are there any professors whose classes have changed or challenged you?
I am majoring in Statistics. There have been so many courses I've taken at UChicago that have challenged me and pushed me to discover new interests for myself—I could list almost all of my transcript! However, I'll highlight one sequence in particular: The Social Science Inquiry sequence. This sequence was absolutely instrumental in my decision to become a Statistics major. All three professors I had were fantastic presenters and crafted their classes so that we could explore enthralling ideas in quantitative social science. The first quarter I had Professor Eric Oliver. The first assignment in the class had to do with social choice theory, with the twist that we had to write a one-page paper on how the class should be graded in order to extract as much effort in the class as possible while also making a good grade feasible. The second quarter I had Professor Xi Song, who taught us advanced techinques in analyzing quantitative social science data, using sociological data as a case study. The final quarter, I had Professor Grimmer, who assisted me in writing a paper about the relationship between mobile internet speed in California and hate crime incidence on a county level. It was the first time I processed an unclean, complicated dataset in order to distill something novel and interesting about the world, and I was hooked.
What activities are you involved with outside the classroom? Have you held any leadership roles in your extracurricular activities?
I served as the president of Dougan-Niklason House. In this role, I helped generate a sense of house culture in our House and guided a group of students on House Council in organizing activities for the House at large. I chose this role since I worked as a Resident Dean Assistant the previous year, and found I enjoyed working to build community within the dorms. I enjoy interacting with the first years in my house as well as serving as someone they can look toward for advice and help. In my spare time, I design and fold my own origami, which I have been doing for over 10 years now. I display my work on an Instagram account online, @patelorigami. My eventual goal is to develop my skills enough to publish a book on my origami models. Occasionally, I return to my old high school, Maine East, in the suburbs of Chicago and volunteer as a debate coach and judge. I help the high schoolers create and present their arguments in order to succeed in this competitive activity. It is one way for me to give back to an institution that has shaped my world-view and given me invaluable skills.
What is your favorite UChicago memory or proudest achievement thus
far?
One of my favorite memories at UChicago is Karaoke Night at D-Nik House during my second year. Our house decided to hold a karaoke night as a sort of bonding event, and I thought it wasn't going to be fun at all. When I swung by, I realized all my friends were there, eager to sing their hearts out, and I was as well! We all spent a good amount of the night singing along to classic songs and Disney notables. I can't wait for this event to happen again.
If you could speak directly to the person whose gift supported your
scholarship, what would you say?
Thank you for your gift to my scholarship! The Odyssey Scholarship means that I can attend classes without worrying about whether or not my parents can afford to pay, or if I need to take out loans for classes. In fact, it was because I had received the Odyssey Scholarship in my financial aid package that I felt confident in my decision to choose UChicago. Having this financial security, I felt free to explore my interests during my time here without constantly worrying about wasting my parents' hard-earned dollars. Additionally, the Odyssey Scholarship gave me the funding to allow me to work an unpaid internship with Speeko, a public speaking app startup, the summer of my first year. This allowed me to experience working in start-ups and find my interests in data science.
