Shweta Ambwani: A friend, occasional roommate, captain, teammate, and best of all, a unique individual. Shweta Ambwani is a data analytics major at Ohio State University, who plans to go into business analytics or data science. In our two years of friendship, I've learned that Shweta has come across many moments of stress in her college career, but has managed to handle it very well in the past few semesters. She's incredibly unique with her multiple interests and as a person, she's sweet, caring, and extremely determined with her goals. Let's take a look at how she deals with the stress in her life!
How stressed are you right now on a scale of 1-10?
I would say a 6.5
Why?
I have a lot of emails to send. I have huge projects to finish, but I don’t have any exams so I feel the pressure of having to get everything done. But ya know, without the exams I don’t feel too stressed.
How do you feel about yourself as a student?
I’m a determined and motivated student and honestly I love the work I do. Sometimes I hate my classes and sometimes I love them. I had a thought the other day that I want to do a lot more in college because this the only time where you can learn and be involved, so I want to make the most of it! So honestly, I love being a student.
Are you passionate about what you’re pursuing right now in college?
Yeah for sure, absolutely, 100 percent.
What do you want to be in the future?
I always strive to work towards the future, but I’ve learned that I can’t have my mind set on a certain position. Since I’m a data analytics major, the best part is that I have so much freedom to choose what I want as a career. This summer I’m actually interning with Huntington and I’m interested to see what the banking industry is like and what it’s like to work for a huge company. For now I just know that I want to be a data scientist or go into business analytics.
How do you feel your public health minor will help you?
My original plan in college was to go into biostatistics because it involved health and data. I really feel that public health is a very important topic that everyone should be aware of as well. Even if my minor doesn’t help me, I’m very interested and passionate about it.
Has your culture influenced your decisions on your career path?
For sure. I come from a culture where medicine is very revered and people look up to it so much, and that was definitely expected of me. It was definitely pivotal for me to change my decision in college, but at the same time if it wasn’t for the original mindset to go into medicine, I wouldn’t have discovered my passion for data analytics.
Have your parents influenced your decision?
My parents wanted me to go into medicine, so that was the path I was headed towards. But once I found out I was passionate about data, I went with it and convinced them that it was the best for me.
What else are you involved in outside of academics?
I am a co-captain of OSU Nashaa, a premier Bollywood fusion dance team.
I am in the Buckeye Leadership Fellows, which is a professional development organization where you meet many people.
I am a Pure Water Access Project fellow, which is a non-profit that works on bringing water to places without it.
I am the internal relations director for the Big Data and Analytics Association.
I am also an awareness chair for the Indian American Association.
Apart from all this, I’m part of different projects going on within the organizations.
How do you de-stress?
If I have time, I love to cook. If I don’t, then I have a playlist on Spotify that really de-stresses me. It’s kinda weird because it’s just music of bells and chimes [laughs].
Who do vent to?
I think it depends on the magnitude of the problem. If it’s something really big, then my parents. If it’s school-related, then I usually go to friends.
Is there any advice you wish to tell students who are super stressed or have similar goals as you?
I would tell them that less is more. I really discovered that this year because it’s important to be a part of less and be super involved rather than be a part of a lot and do less. Also remember that you’re in college and it’s OK to make mistakes. Quite honestly, nothing’s permanent, you’ll be fine!
