About Arkesh

I chose Michigan State after visiting during the Alumni Distinguished Scholarship competition. What stood out was not only the academic opportunity, but the energy of the students, faculty, and staff I met throughout the day. People seemed genuinely invested in each other's success.

Being named a runner-up in the competition and joining the Professorial Assistantship program gave me room to explore widely, challenge myself, and find research experiences earlier than I expected.

Biotechnology appealed to me because it sits at the intersection of biology, chemistry, genomics, bioinformatics, and medicine. I wanted to understand how systems in the body work at a mechanistic level.

Data science came later. I took an introductory course through the biotech major, enjoyed it, and realized that modern scientific and clinical research increasingly depends on computation and statistics. Learning algorithms did not come naturally at first, but it taught me to break problems down step by step. That mindset now feels directly connected to how I hope to approach medicine.

Mentorship has become one of the most meaningful parts of my undergraduate experience. My mom's work with children showed me early how much patience and compassion can shape a young person's life, and that example pushed me toward tutoring, mentoring, and volunteering with kids.

My advice to younger students is to try many things, then commit to the few that actually matter to you. I learned that focus is what turns interest into impact.

Research helped make my coursework feel real. Techniques I had first encountered through virtual labs became meaningful when I used them in person, and data science became more than code when I saw how models could be used to study human behavior, admissions systems, and healthcare questions.

I also care about communicating science clearly. Being able to explain research to general audiences is part of making that work useful.

Since freshman year, I have had a small tradition of sitting by the Red Cedar near Wells Hall about a month and a half into each semester. The first time, I was overwhelmed, unsure whether I belonged in data science, and uncertain about where I was headed.

Taking that half hour by the river gave me space to slow down and think about what I had done, what mattered, and what came next. Since then, it has become a way to pause, notice how far I have come, and reset before moving forward.