Hardik is major­ing in human phys­i­ol­o­gy. When asked which famous per­son he would choose to room with at col­lege, he chose Dr. Stephen Hawk­ings because he stud­ied the the­o­ry of every­thing and time itself, so there would be some inter­est­ing con­ver­sa­tions. Scroll to read Hardik’s full inter­view below!

What oppor­tu­ni­ties or expe­ri­ences have you been able to take part in that you might not have been able to with­out the scholarship?

This schol­ar­ship has allowed me to con­tin­ue my stud­ies by paving a path for me to attend col­lege and pur­sue my dream of becom­ing an oncol­o­gist. Over the last three years, I have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to shad­ow doc­tors in the field and read up on new can­cer research. I have also been learn­ing from pro­fes­sors who are either cur­rent­ly work­ing, or pre­vi­ous­ly worked, in oncology. 

What does being a Bright Schol­ar mean to you?

Being a Bright Schol­ar means being part of a fam­i­ly that is self­less and giv­ing, and which strives to pro­vide a bet­ter future for today’s youth who, in turn, will con­tribute to society. 

What is some­thing impor­tant you’ve learned, out­side of class, since you’ve start­ed college?

I have learned the impor­tance of expand­ing my net­work. I rec­og­nize the val­ue of meet­ing new peo­ple, mak­ing friends, get­ting to know class­mates and build­ing rela­tion­ships with professors. 

If you had to pick a famous per­son to room with at col­lege, who would it be and why?

If I could res­ur­rect some­one from the dead, I would room with Dr. Stephen Hawk­ings because he stud­ied about the the­o­ry of every­thing and time itself. He stud­ied how the uni­verse began and how it may end at some point. I find it fas­ci­nat­ing to learn about com­plex space the­o­ries and how time works. 

Among the liv­ing, I would choose Eliz­a­beth Black­burn, as she dis­cov­ered the telom­eres at the ends of chro­mo­somes. Telom­eres are what cause the aging effect in humans. I would love to dis­cuss her thoughts on the aging of a human body and whether the process can be reversed.