Rishi Basdeo is a BHC scholar, an Astronaut Scholarship recipient, a Senior Mechanical Design Student Assistant at Limbitless, and a UCF student researcher, to name but a few. As a student intern, he discusses his internship experience and shares lessons he has learned at UCF and work. From daring to ask questions to creating new opportunities on campus, he has got them all covered!
Rishi has joined Limbitless Solutions early on in his UCF career; however, his path wasn’t always as smooth as it is now. He started applying to internships in the latter end of high school, but those plans didn’t pan out as he expected. From that process, he learned that you should never be afraid to ask the interviewer how you can improve your application and interview. “They read through many applications and know exactly what they’re looking for and will certainly have tips for you!” Doing so will not only give you a chance at understanding yourself from an entirely new perspective, he also believes it will give you an edge on your next application.
There is no better time to start seeking opportunities than the present if you haven’t already started. He believes you should begin researching opportunities to expand your horizon once you start college. These opportunities don’t have to be internships or research! It could be as simple as participating in Registered Student Organizations (RSO’s), pursuing passion projects, or developing new skills. However, Rishi also warns that you may not secure an internship from your first application. But that shouldn’t stop you from trying, researching, and continuously learning new skills.
For example, Rishi is a part of Global Engineering Brigades (GEB), an RSO that he co-founded in his sophomore year. This organization seeks to empower international communities by working alongside leaders to assess their water needs and design a water sanitation and distribution system. This opportunity has given Rishi hands-on experience working alongside engineers to address a real-life problem in Honduras. In addition to co-founding an RSO that fosters further interests in engineering, Rishi has a passion project, too: developing a portable gas chromatograph. As part of his Honors Undergraduate Thesis, he has spent the past few semesters working on this project, exploring new skills and techniques that he has learned and incorporating them into this project. In his spare time, he learns to code, attempting to strike a balance between mechanical and electronic principles in the physical world. As such, he has grown tremendously and feeling optimistic about what he hopes to be the future of robotics. He plans to pursue a Master’s in Robotics after graduating this semester!
For more information about GEB, check out their Instagram @ucfgeb or reach out at ucf.geb@gmail.com!
