Student Spotlight: October 23, Week 10
International Student Profile: Meet Amrth Ashok Shenava
Amrth Ashok Shenava is a Sophomore international student studying computer science with a minor in entrepreneurship. Although his family comes from India, Amrth was born and raised in Dubai, the ultramodern capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and he considers the city to be his home. After graduation, he wants to stay in the United States to immerse himself in the vibrant tech world of Silicon Valley. His dream is to become the next Elon Musk.
Thanks to Kent State’s computer science organization HacKSU, Amrth has been able to develop his knowledge of Blockchain, AI, and other emerging technologies by participating in Major League Hacking (MLH) hackathons around the country. MLH describes hackathons as “invention marathons” in which participants “‘learn, build & share their creations over the course of a weekend.” At the University of Cincinnati’s RevolutionUC hackathon, Amrth created a project called Vimana Sahai, an AI that helps passengers navigate airports more efficiently, which won the Best Aviation Hack Award presented by GE Aviation. His project Able Coins, a payment method for senior citizens, was recognized as the best dApp built using the SKALE blockchain platform at the ETHBoston hackathon held at Harvard University; out of everything he’s been able to accomplish so far, he describes this as his proudest achievement.
Amrth’s interest in technology extends to the business opportunities posed by addressing long term problems. “Entrepreneurship,” he says, “is about more than just money—it’s about solving big problems.” Last semester, he won LaunchNET’s Rising Star award for his startup company EduVerse. He hopes to make EduVerse a global brand by “redefining the world of education through innovative attendance, accessibility, and learning tools.” Amrth’s ultimate goal is to use the business skills he’s learned at Kent to eventually create the world’s first private astro-mining company.
Amrth chose to study at Kent State because of the University’s expanding computer science program, and he credits much of his success to the bountiful resources available to students. He explains, “I love all of the opportunities to grow outside of academics. There are so many career advancement options no matter what your interests are.” For Amrth, Kent State’s Advanced Telerobotics Research (ATR) Laboratory has provided the chance to explore exciting new fields like virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, and artificial intelligence. He also praises initiatives like Kent’s innovation and entrepreneurship development program, LaunchNET, for helping to jumpstart promising business ideas like his own through initial funding and exposure.
Amrth offers two pieces of advice to other international students looking to duplicate his success. First, he expresses the need to be brave enough to pursue their passions: “Most people are too scared to follow their dreams. If you're doing something really creative and interesting, people will call you crazy. If you ever want to reach your goals, you have to just ignore what society says.” He also stresses the importance of being a compassionate and caring person. As he advises, “Be more empathetic. Everyone has a different story, and you need to be understanding if you want to build bridges to peace.”
Follow Amrth on Twitter and Instagram to get a firsthand look at the projects he’s working on now.
Article written by Jacob Kulas, Office of Global Education Fall 2019 Intern