Junior Anura Patil, like many other students who are finishing up their last two years at Tufts, is worried about the imminent challenge of moving into the real world. Her plans for after college aren't yet set, but if Patil's pattern in her ventures thus far holds true, one thing is set: success in whatever post-graduate endeavor she decides to pursue.
Patil, a chemical engineering and biotechnical engineering double major, wouldn't settle for anything less. She has already been involved in two very different summer internships, each of which allowed her to implement her engineering skills in distinct ways.
The summer after her freshman year, she worked at Revlon making cosmetics. Patil spent most of her time mixing colors to create the correct shades for the products (like Raisin Rage and Blushing Violet). She even got to mix eye shadows of her own. Despite its aesthetic appeal, though, the work at Revlon, "was not intellectually stimulating," she said.
This past summer, Patil held an internship that she both enjoyed and was intellectually stimulated by. She worked in the Exxon lubes department, and she was given her own office as well as the responsibility for individual projects. Her work was very independent, and she liked it that way: by the end of the summer, she had completed several patents.
While Patil's work in engineering is notable, it is just one of her many diverse interests. When Patil first came to Tufts she was originally enrolled in the school of Liberal Arts, so throughout her freshman and sophomore years, she has taken many elective courses in Political Science and International Relations.
Last year, Patil participated in Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) -- a time-consuming multi-disciplinary, yearlong ExCollege course. "It was a crash course in International Relations," said Patil, who especially enjoyed the intellectual discussions, which last year were themed on "America's Role in the World." "It taught me to read a lot really fast and digest it really fast."
Patil's interest in politics is derived partly from her work with the Young Democrats of America (YDA) and her involvement in student government during high school in Westfield, New Jersey. As a member of YDA, she went door to door to get out the vote in her town for a state election. Westfield was a Republican stronghold, but that year, partly due to the work of the Young Democrats, the Democratic candidate won the election.
Patil doesn't know exactly what she wants to after she graduates, but she does know that she wants to incorporate her love of engineering and politics into her career. Whether she goes to law school, business school, or finds a job after graduation, she wants more people to realize that the sciences and the humanities are not as disparate as they're commonly perceived to be.
Patil once presided over a Model United Nations conference for college students. "The kids were all really intelligent, but they were intimidated by the fact I was a chemical engineering and not political science major," she said. "It's weird [that people think you are either a 'science person' or a 'humanities person']. That gap should be bridged."
In addition to her political and scientific interests, Patil is currently involved in many different extracurricular activities at Tufts. She is a tour guide, a member of the Tufts Dance Collective (TDC), and a member of the Tufts Asian Students Association (TASA).
This year, Patil is the Tufts organizer of the Philadelphia Project, an AIDS fundraiser that is occurring at 25 colleges across the country. Patil is working with the Leonard Carmichael Society's (LCS) AIDS group to hold this fundraiser at Tufts from Nov. 29 though Dec. 1.
This spring, Patil will bring her initiative and enthusiasm to another continent: she's spending the semester studying abroad in Australia. At some point in her life, she wants to spend a significant period of time living and working in another country.
No matter where she ends up or what she ends up doing there, this politically minded engineer will apply the lessons she's learned from thinking as an engineer. "[Engineering] teaches you how to approach problems in a different way," Patil said.
