If you’re coming to Rutgers for a campus visit, you may just meet Shital Shah. She’s a Scarlet Ambassador, showing the Rutgers ropes to prospective students and their parents. One question she often hears: “So, Shital, what’s the most important thing to know about Rutgers?”
“You make Rutgers what it is,” she declares, through the plans you make and the paths you take.
And Shital’s Rutgers? It’s a place to:
- double-major in religion and cell biology and neuroscience.
“Kids always want to know, ‘What’s the best major at Rutgers?’ That’s up to you! Rutgers has more than 100 majors, so come with an open mind and explore everything that interests you. I want to be a doctor, but I’m also interested in spirituality and Eastern philosophy. At Rutgers, I can do both.”
- land a scholarship—or two.
“I’m very grateful for my scholarships, including a Scarlet Scholarship and an Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars award. Knowing that I’m on the right path to medical school with the support of Rutgers is a tremendous boost.”
- challenge assumptions as an honors student.
“My favorite part of the honors program is the small, interdisciplinary seminars that tie together two related fields, like the seminar ‘Neuroscience and Stem Cell Research.’ And some seminars—like ‘Ancient Greece and Hindu Philosophy’—even tie together two fields that you wouldn’t think go together, but they do!”
- conduct genetic research on an undergraduate fellowship.
“I’m working with Professor Kim McKim in his reproductive biology lab at Rutgers’ Waksman Institute of Microbiology. Currently my work focuses on screening for new genes that could lead to a better understanding of female fertility and diseases such as Down syndrome and cancer. I even got a fellowship from Rutgers’ Aresty Research Center for Undergraduates to support my research.”
- join a club—or start one.
“I am happy to be a part of Youth Empowerment Services, which helps young people become self-sufficient adults. I love it because it really helps me connect with the community. My friends and I are working to start a Rutgers chapter of Global Brigades, which promotes sustainable solutions in developing nations. This summer we traveled to Honduras and helped provide sustainable medical healthcare to more than 1500 patients in four days.”
- decide what really matters.
“At Rutgers—or anyplace else in the world—we are all running after our hopes and dreams. The change I want to make in the world is to help people understand not only the need for values but also the importance of living by them. And, for me, living my own values means that, no matter how busy I am at Rutgers, I take time every day to meditate and rethink who I am and who I want to become.”
