Hi! I am a current senior double-majoring in Computer Information Systems and Business Data Analytics at Arizona State University. I am also pursuing his thesis through the Barrett Honors College. I am a motivated, career-driven individual with the determination to take on any challenge put in front of me. I am looking for opportunities in technology to further strengthen my knowledge.
I currently serve as the President of the Department of Information Systems (DISC) which focuses on bringing networking opportunities to current Information Systems students at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Through this experience I was able to further develop my leadership skills by aligning all club activities with its purpose as stated in the DISC Constitution, maintaining communication channels within the executive board, ensuring member policy compliance, and establishing organizational prestige within Arizona State and beyond. A large part of my role includes setting term objectives, establishing milestones and strategies to reach those objectives, and managing the executive team to carry out those strategies. Holding this position for the second straight year has allowed me to continuously improve the organization by establishing trust within the executive board and improving the documentation practices of the organization. I have also learned about myself through this organization. I realized that I enjoy the challenge of continuous improvement. Throughout the year, I consistently reflected on how I could serve the organization’s interests in a more effective and efficient way. I have found that this unrelenting desire to improve myself has helped me figure out how to achieve my career goals.
The phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” rings true in all aspects of my life. I am where I am today because of the community that supported me and so it’s one of my goals in life to give back to the community, no matter where I live. When I joined the Department of Information Systems Club (DISC) in my freshman year, one element of our club that drew me to it was community service. Once a week, we go to the Tempe Public Library and hold a computer basics class in order to teach the community about almost anything computer related. Many of the students are elderly men and women who want to get in touch with technology, which gave me a different perspective. It helped me develop skills in teaching a complex concept in an easy way. I have worked with many different people from many different backgrounds and the one thing that connects all of them is the willingness to learn. I like to help these individuals because it gives me great joy when they can improve the quality of their own life. They feel confident enough to go apply for jobs online or prove to their family members that they are indeed in touch with technology. More than that, it’s their smiles or epiphanies that make it worth it for me. The fact that I can make them happy and feel confident with themselves Is why I will always continue to volunteer.
As a sophomore, I was the Vice President of Community Service for DISC and I coordinated volunteering opportunities. I continued the library program but added several other opportunities because I believe that helping the local Arizona community is crucial to our education. Every semester, we now hold a workshop called the Secret Code of Business where we bring 6th through 8th grade students to WP Carey for a full day of coding activities and team building fun to get them excited about going to college. The issue we address here is the fact that many inner-city schools do not have the resources to help these kids. Our goal is to get students excited about college and help mentor them. This means a lot to me because I went to a high school where college was not the first thing on the minds of most of the students. It is meaningful to me when these students who attend the workshop get excited about the size of the campus or how much fun studying technology actually is. The sparkle in their eyes makes it all worth it. I have also made it my mission for DISC to participate in Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit that provides complete meals specifically formulated for malnourished children. As a club we have participated by helping bag meals. The malnourished children who will receive these meals will hopefully be given the opportunity to study and go to school instead of worrying about their next meal. I am grateful to be in the position I am today and I want to help others receive the same opportunities as I have in my life. Lastly, since freshman year I have continued my involvement as a mentor with the Arizona Mentor Society. We go to Thew Elementary School every Monday and mentor the kids who stay after school. I get to help them learn new things as well as bond with them through fun activities like football, soccer, and basketball. I think that helping the future generation and inspiring them is very important. Through mentoring I have been able to help them feel more confident in dreaming big. I have learned a lot about myself through helping others. For instance, I am very persistent, but patient when it comes to teaching. I don’t give up if a concept is difficult for someone to understand. Instead, I focus on simplifying the difficulty and take the time necessary to help them. Above all, I have learned that helping others makes me happy.
A big part of Shashank Rajani’s life is photography. He has been interested in the subject since middle school when he would try to take great pictures with a simple flip phone. Since then he has upgraded to a DSLR and enjoys taking pictures of people, landscapes, and uses it as a way to destress. More of his work can be found at rajaniphoto.com.
Shashank Rajani 