In March 2025, Arizona International profiled Shahil, a Bangladeshi student in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Arizona.

The piece covers the move from northern Bangladesh to Tucson, the mountains he hikes, his mother's recipes cooked with spices he carried from home, and the crochet he picked up from a coworker. Read it. It is a good profile.

Two things in it stand out.

He does research at the UArizona ASTEROIDS Laboratory under Dr. Jekan Thanga, applying computer science and machine learning to space exploration, through the lab's NASA-funded undergraduate research program. Undergraduate research placements like that are competitive, and getting one early is not common.

He is also a Unibuddy ambassador for U of A International Admissions, which means prospective students can message him directly before they apply. If Arizona is on your list, use it. Almost nobody does.

UArizona YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFNnrt2eJQY

Full profile: https://international.arizona.edu/news/bangladesh-desert-shahils-journey-growth-university-arizona

Shahil, welcome to the chapter.