Student from India Uses Experience at SU to 'Learn, Live, Lead'

SALISBURY, MD---Since he arrived in the United States from India years ago, Nilaykumar Patel may seem like a completely different person. Although he couldn’t speak English very well at first, he has grown exponentially at Salisbury University. He has gotten into web development, created his own applications and websites, and put those skills to use for SU offices and at the National Folk Festival.

It’s easy to think the computer science major operates like a machine, but Patel says his field is really all about problem solving.

“I think what SU teaches is really cool,” Patel said. “The professors teach us how to get tasks done in a timely manner. They focus on leadership skills and communication and other skills that are just as important.”

Patel has used his education at SU to create unique learning experiences and believes other students can do the same. Soon to be a senior, Patel proves there are no limits as long as a student is willing to immerse themselves in their education and apply what they learn.

For example, after being chosen as a team leader for the National Folk Festival because of his experience as president of SU’s German Club, he used his computer science skills to take the lead. His task was to manage volunteer registration and check-in using Excel spreadsheets to tell people where to go.

“Most of the volunteers in my team were senior citizens who had extraordinary communication skills but lacked computer experience,” Patel said. “Using the Excel spreadsheets was difficult for them. After the first day, I realized it wasn’t working as expected.”

Believing that the experience could be easier and more enjoyable for all involved, Patel went home and developed a Google script web application overnight. The next day, he presented the idea to his supervisors, who gave him permission to implement it.

“I wanted to help the volunteers and prevent mistakes,” Patel said. “The result was very impressive. All the volunteers adapted to the system I created very quickly and were able to focus on what they were good at.”

Patel has also applied his education where he works at SU’s Admissions House. He started as an email designer working with HTML emails, then got into marketing. Now he works with data analysis and has created applications to help their processes run more efficiently.

“There were some tasks that would take anywhere from two to 20 hours to complete,” Patel said. “After two years of doing that, I got tired of it.”

Patel developed an application to automate those tasks. Those same tasks now take less than 15 seconds with his system, creating a 99 percent increase in the process.

Patel credits his growth to his professors in the computer science program, like Dr. Yaping Jing, and other role models like his supervisor in Admissions, Stacey Jones, who supported him before he could speak English well.

“I think we have some of the best faculty in the area—maybe in the country,” Patel said. “My senior classmates were recently hired by companies like NASA, Northrop Grumman, Harvard Bioscience and Capital One because of the reputation of SU’s computer science program.”

Patel encourages other students and those considering SU to believe in their abilities to be innovative leaders. Looking forward, he wants to visit Germany someday. He may try his hand at entrepreneurship, but mostly, he said he’s happy to stay right where he is.

“When I graduate, I want to work with the things that matter,” Patel said. “I want to do something for the city of Salisbury, since the people here have given me something so important—a good life and an opportunity to show my skills.”