2020 Student Profile: Anna Sahdev

International student finds community in Baylor electrical and computer engineering

Anna Sahdev, a senior electrical and computer engineering major, has created a strong community at Baylor University. After applying to different schools such as Texas A&M University, University of British Columbia and the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign, Sahdev decided to leave India for the U.S. and Baylor.

She shares her story of how being an international student and an engineering major has helped her find community and lifelong friends throughout her time at Baylor.

November 18, 2020

Q: How did you decide on Baylor?

A: My brother is the one who encouraged me to apply to Baylor. I was considering a completely different school, but it didn't feel right. So, I applied and headed to Baylor. 

My brother was also at Baylor at the time. He was a senior when I was a freshman. He picked me up from the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and as we were driving by McLane Stadium I thought, “this place is pretty good.” I love the campus. At the beginning of my freshman year, I would just stay outdoors even though it was hot just exploring campus. My first year went by quickly because I was having so much fun.

Q: What student organizations are you involved in at Baylor? 

A: I am a part of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and an ambassador for Global Engagement. Because of SWE, I have met a lot of professors who are incredibly invested in my journey at Baylor and provide me with resources I need to figure out what to do next. As an ambassador for Global Engagement, I have been able to find a lot of common ground with people by talking to them. I found my community at Baylor because of the diverse group of people who come from all over the globe as well as students from the U.S. who had international experiences. 

Q: What are your career goals?

A: I would probably like to do engineering and public policy, or else I would potentially go into intellectual property law. I did this over the summer with the law firm Patterson + Sheridan, LLP located in Houston. While I don't know if that's precisely what I'm aiming for, it’s still something I would be interested in: selecting and managing populations in developing countries and help set up infrastructure, analyses and see what kind of infrastructure is needed.

Q: What are your plans after graduation? 

A:  After graduation, I would like to apply for different graduate programs around the U.S. I want to study engineering and public policy. Only four schools in the U.S. have this type of program. They allow for using a background of science, statistics and computer science to look at different kinds of data to see how the public is utilizing those engineering skills. Then policies that would be best for the environment or different communities can be put in place. There are a bunch of different opportunities there. Some of the schools I have found are Carnegie Mellon's Tedford, Princeton and UC Berkeley.