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Students selected as reflective speakers have the honor of speaking about their experiences at Georgia Tech.
Reflection Speakers: Lama Bhanan, Ayushi Modi and Dakishita Anandakumar
Commencement is one of the most exciting days of the year for Georgia Tech graduates. It provides a unique opportunity to address students, fellow graduates, professors and family members selected as reflective speakers.
At each Georgia Tech fall commencement ceremony (bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD), a graduating student is given three minutes to deliver a motivational message. The bachelor speaker is Lama Bahanan, a biomedical engineering major. The master speaker is Ayushi Modi, an architect. and Ph.D. Speaker is Dakishita Anandakumar, also a biomedical engineering major.
Students must apply to be a reflective speaker. A panel of faculty, staff and students will select finalists, who will present a full version of their speech to the committee. Those selected as reflection speakers are required to work with the Tech Communications Center to prepare for the ceremony.
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Lama Bahanan always enjoyed public speaking, and often traveled to her home in Saudi Arabia. Her speaking opportunities at Tech have mostly been in her classroom, but now she has one last chance to speak at commencement.
“I truly believe that the tech community is like no other,” she said. “No matter what problems you face, there is always a source to support you,” which is why she co-founded the Saudi Students Association to encourage students like her to feel more comfortable and meet new people from different countries.
After graduation, she will return to Saudi Arabia, where she will be an Associate Consultant for Strategy and PUC in Riyadh. She is looking forward to being around her family again.
“I miss my family so much,” she said. “My mother encouraged me to be independent and do things on my own. My father encouraged me to be curious and try new experiences. I owe everything in my life to them.
Bahanan’s parents and elder brother celebrate the initiation with her.
Ayushi Modi
Ayushi Modi applied to be a reflection speaker because she thought it was a unique way to connect with and inspire other students.
“Everyone involved in the speaker selection process was very supportive,” she said. The best part was when I told my lab mates about my choice – they were all so excited.
Her talk was about her unique experience at Georgia Tech and how what she learned from that experience can be used by all graduates to help them in their lives beyond Tech.
After earning a master’s degree in architecture, Modi plans to practice sustainable architecture and design high-performance buildings to reduce negative environmental impacts.
The native of Surat, Gujarat, India wishes her family was with her at the start. “I miss them so much,” she said. She celebrates with her fiancé and close friends. Without them, this journey would have been very different and difficult.
Dakshita Anandakumar
From the start, Dakshita Anandakumar knew the Georgia Tech community would be the theme of her reflection.
“Society empowered me to be bold and pursue opportunities without being bound by social norms,” she said. “I am fortunate to meet some of the most inspiring people in campus organizations and departments who champion diversity, equity and inclusion. I am sure that many others in the graduating class will share similar experiences, and through my speech I would like to encourage them to continue working for the betterment of society.
Anandakumar said the last two years of graduate school flew by and that working on her reflective essay gave her a chance to reflect on her journey.
“It was a good reminder that tough times don’t last, but tough people do,” she said.
Anandakumar hails from Bashetihalli, a village in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Her parents travel to Atlanta for the first time to celebrate her debut.
“I can’t wait to see how proud they will be when they see me give their glowing speech,” she said. My parents sacrificed a lot so that I could study here. I hope that seeing me graduate will make them feel like it was all worth it.
After graduation, she will work as a research scientist at SiriusXM. In her spare time, she plans to volunteer as a teacher for NGOs in India.
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