KENNESAW, Ga. | May 4, 2023

Meet the founder of Adopt-a-Stream and how he gets involved on campus.

Meet an Owl features KSU students who share how they get involved and find their community outside the classroom through innovative and transformative experiences. Want to be featured? Submit your story here. 

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Sahil Bardai. And I'm a senior biology major at KSU in the College of Science and Mathematics. I serve as the College of Science and Mathematics Senator through Student Government Association. 

What do you think has been the most rewarding experience you have had at KSU?

The best things that have ever happened to me at KSU are the connections I've made and how involved I've gotten on campus. I feel like it's really rewarding knowing that the work I'm putting in at KSU by volunteering at different organizations is having an effect on the broader KSU community. For example, in my student organization, Adopt-a-Stream, we conduct water quality testing every month. And we report that data back to the state of Georgia, which then helps them monitor the quality of our water in Cobb County. That's one way that I volunteer on campus. And it's really rewarding knowing that that data is being used for something else and helping the community. 

What is your favorite thing about KSU?

My favorite thing about KSU is the diverse campus and the resources KSU has for students, and also the dining hall The Commons.  

What is your favorite resource that KSU offers?

Owl Life! I like it because it's a huge database of all the organizations on campus and the departments. And you can read all about the organizations on Owl Life and even join them on there. 

How do you get involved on campus?

Aside from serving as the Senator for the College of Science and Mathematics through the Student Government Association, I love doing that because I've met so many new people and made so many connections that are, hopefully, going to help me get into medical school. I also started a new registered student organization (RSO) at KSU called Adopt-a-Stream. That process was really smooth because I had great resources from the Student Activities Department. And they helped me write the constitution and get people interested in joining the organization. I also serve as the vice president of the American Medical Student Association. It's a pre-med organization, pre Health Organization, on campus. And we do great events like having resource fairs, having doctors come speak to our members, and having volunteering events.

I'm also an ambassador for the Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery, where I volunteer at different tables where they do AOD tables and share alcohol and other drug information. I recently participated in an event with CYAAR called Love Your Body Week, where we had this huge event called Smash the Scale. It was a successful event where we told the students to smash the stigma of defining ourselves with our weight because we spread body positivity at KSU. I love being involved on campus because it just helps you meet a lot of new people. Again, connections matter. 

When I graduate from KSU, I want to have this place where I look back on my alma mater and know all these people.