Real People Profiles: Shail Thakker

I’m asking some of the people you might encounter on the UMBC campus, including students, faculty, staff and alumni, to answer a few questions about themselves and their experiences. These are their responses.

Name: Shail Thakker

Hometown: Boston, MA

Q: How long have you been at UMBC?

A: This is my 5th semester at UMBC after transferring from HCC.

Q: What is your current title (job or student organization position)?

A: I'm the SGA Executive Assistant of Office Affairs. I also have the unofficial title of SGA Baker.

Q: In 12 words or less, what role(s) do you play on campus?

A: I help SGA members work together and boost their morale with food.

Q: What aspect of your UMBC role(s) do you enjoy most?

A: I just enjoy being involved. Since my official position affords me more free time than others do, I get to jump into whatever projects I'm interested in. So whether it's helping out with something like Prove It! or working with our awesome (seb) friends for an event they're having, I get to work with a ton of amazing people all around campus. There's always something going on that I'd love to give my time to.

Q: What is the most important or memorable thing you learned in college/have learned at UMBC?

A: I've learned it's important to take a step back sometimes and gauge how important something really is. It's really easy to get caught up in a single exam or single assignment and stress out over it, but at the end of the day no one thing will make or break you. So when I start getting stressed out over anything, I've learned it's important to step away, get together with some friends and get away from whatever's stressing me out. Even if one assignment or exam doesn't go my way, I know that at the end of the day I won't be too burnt out or stressed to keep moving on. Stepping away can even help me get a fresh perspective on whatever I was doing and improve it. As important as academics are, morale and mental health are important too.

Q: Complete this sentence: "I am a big fan of __________"

A: Witty t-shirts, watches, sports, fantasy sports, crosswords, all kinds of music, and of course FOOD!

Q: Do you have any UMBC stories, little-known facts about UMBC, favorite spots on campus, or anything else you’d like to share?

A: A tradition a few friends and I have is wearing eye-black for finals week. It's the most stressful time of the semester, so we like to add a little humor to the week. When people see you walking down academic row with eye-black on, they can't help but do a double-take. Something about it also puts you in the right mind state to go into your final and dominate it.

BONUS VIDEO QUESTION: What else would you like to share? Ask yourself a question and answer it.