UGA grad named winner of Nesbitt-Flatt Outstanding Senior award – Henry Herald

ATHENS William Flatt served as the dean of the University of Georgias College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from 1981 to 1994. Coming in as dean, Flatt recognized that college enrollment was low and tackled the challenge of recruitment using his problem-solving skills and charisma.

This years Nesbitt-Flatt Outstanding Senior Award recognized a student with the same charisma and determination as Dean Flatt. Arjun Bhatt was recognized as this years recipient during the 2021 Student Awards and Leadership Celebration held on YouTube. Bhatt recently graduated with bachelors degrees in both applied biotechnology and psychology.

Bhatt originally entered UGA as a biochemistry major in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, but he wanted to study something more tailored toward his interests of translational science, synthetic biology and genetics. After skimming through the UGA Bulletin, he found exactly what he was looking for applied biotechnology. Bhatt also decided to add a psychology major because of his interest in understanding the human experience.

The way we think, feel and behave is inextricably bound to the way we are built at a molecular level psychology helped me bridge the gap between the hard sciences and the soft sciences, Bhatt explained.

Through his involvement across several campus organizations and labs, Bhatt dived deeper in his chosen field of study. In Brian Kvitkos lab in the Department of Plant Pathology, Bhatt was president and lead researcher of UGA iGEM, an undergraduate-led research team that uses genetic engineering and synthetic biology to solve real-world problems. As he led the team to its first-ever silver medal, Bhatt learned to use both what is known and unknown to solve a problem and in the process, he discovered his true passion.

My passion is problem-solving, Bhatt said. Thats what keeps me up at night. Thats why I work in translational research. I enjoy using what we know and dont know to solve problems. That process helps someone, a community or a cause.

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Identifying the core of what made him tick was one big step forward for Bhatt, helping him to put things into perspective and leading to a philosophical revelation.

While reflecting on his time at UGA, Bhatt realized that for a portion of his college career he was in a rat race seeking external glorification and prestige. While mentoring freshmen, Bhatt noticed they were entering the same rat race he had escaped, and he wanted to help them realize there is more to success than external reward. His realization is what Bhatt calls the prestige trap, which he defines as chasing what others think is important rather than what we actually think is important.

This idea this thought led Bhatt to scrap his original idea for a TEDxUGA talk he was scheduled to submit just two days before the due date. He unveiled his prestige trap concept at the 2021 TEDxUGASalon series in a presentation called Escaping the prestige trap: How to reshape our definition of success.

Outside of his academic pursuits, Bhatt found comfort and support from the familylike environment he found in CAES as well as organizations like the Indian Cultural Exchange, Georgia Saazish and the Chess Dawgs.

Now a strategy consultant for Deloitte, a global professional services firm, Bhatt is excited to trade medical diagnostics for business diagnostics. He will be working in the companys government and public services branch, helping large federal, state and local organizations improve productivity, efficiency and overall performance. Much as Flatt brought skills and charisma to his challenges at CAES, Bhatt is ready to apply his passion and experiences to a new industry, motivating and aiding societal institutions as Flatt did the college.

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Courtney Cameron is a digital marketing intern for the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Office of Marketing and Communications.

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UGA grad named winner of Nesbitt-Flatt Outstanding Senior award - Henry Herald