BS (Data Science)
The transition from staring at a 13-inch screen at home to a lush, green campus of a renowned institute, filled with students, monkeys, and deer doesn’t just happen. Unless, you’re one of those people who jump at every opportunity, collecting a plethora of experiences that can sometimes be more valuable than a certificate, depending on who you ask.
When Advait joined the IIT Madras BS Degree in Data Science and Applications, he made a promise to himself: ‘No matter what, even if I have to start from scratch, I’ll take part in everything.’ It was a strategy designed to combat the potential isolation of virtual learning, and it worked.
By refusing to filter out opportunities, he transformed what could have been a solitary course into a vibrant community experience, eventually becoming a Teaching Assistant for two courses, a House Secretary, and organising ‘Logic Loom’ at Paradox.
Advait enrolled in the BS Degree to complete the additional year he needed to pursue a Master’s in the US. But what began as a one-year plan stretched into four. “I was two years done, why not one more?” he recalls. When the three-year B.Sc. became a four-year BS, he stayed. “I might as well finish it.”
Advait’s “Say Yes” strategy opened up a number of opportunities for him, leading to meaningful experiences and lifelong connections. He initially joined Sahityika, the Literary Society of the BS Degree, where he made some of his first friends in the Degree. He then became the Secretary of the Wayanad house, which led to him organising the ‘Logic Loom’ event at Paradox, with some other students, resulting in a huge success. But his strategy wasn’t just about socializing; it was about survival. Advait candidly admits that initially, he lacked the self-regulation required to manage the degree’s inherent flexibility. “The more flexibility they gave me, the more I got lazy,” he confesses. The solitude of hybrid learning often breeds procrastination, and Advait found himself dragging the Diploma level out for three years, stuck in a loop of deferring projects. It was the community he built by saying “yes” that eventually pulled him back into the race, completing both the BSc and BS levels in a single year.
He also found himself on campus for four months, as part of a TA-ship for Computational Thinking and Strategies for Professional Growth. To say the four months were memorable would be a massive understatement. Going from the solitary and predictable environment of home to the vibrancy of the campus remains one of Advait’s most memorable experiences so far. He joined the Hapkido Club, a Korean Martial Art, swam in the Olympic sized swimming pool, and survived the cyclone of 2023. Beyond the activities, it was the vibrant, communal atmosphere that left a lasting impact.
Looking back, he says, “It was one of the best experiences I had. Because they celebrate every festival and you’re with your peers day and night.”
For Advait, the degree was never just lectures on a laptop. It was late-night festival celebrations, martial arts practice, Logic Loom planning sessions, four months of living among vibrant wildlife, classmates, and surviving a cyclone. “Give yourself to the degree,” he says. “Don’t filter too much.”
He didn’t. And the screen was never the whole story.
– written by Nikita Nanduri
