Varun Sivaram ’11

Her Campus chatted with Varun Sivaram ‘11, a double major in Engineering Physics and International Relations who’ll be off to Oxford in September to pursue a Ph.D. in Physics, as a recipient of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
 
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I’m a double major in Engineering Physics and International Relations. Next year I’ll be studying towards a Ph.D. in Physics at Oxford.
 
Where are you from?
I’m from Saratoga, about 20 minutes south of here.
 
So you didn’t go very far for college then. You stayed pretty close.
Not far at all – this is why I’m freaked out about next year because I’ve never been more than 20 minutes away from home for extended periods.
 
Was being a Rhodes Scholar always part of the plan?
No and it shouldn’t be either. My freshman year I met a Rhodes Scholar here, talked to him, he seemed like a normal guy. I didn’t try and tailor my activities to get the Rhodes Scholarship.
 
Why don’t you think it’s something people should plan on doing?
You could very well say, ‘Here is what all the Rhodes Scholars did. They did internships in D.C. and they traveled the world, got great grades and did student government, etc. right?’ You could say these are the best things you could try and do and you could do them and dislike doing them…At the end of the day, the Rhodes process takes thousands of people and ends up with 32. I don’t think that honestly, there’s any objective way to pick those 32 and I feel very comfortable saying it may as well could have been someone else and I’d feel comfortable with that. So by some arbitrary process, they ended up picking me. I feel really lucky but it didn’t have to be me.
 
What did you do in college?
I was the Senate Chair for the ASSU. I ran a conference, spent some time in Germany studying solar cells — I kind of have dual-track interests. I’m interested in physics a lot and renewable energy and I’m also interested in policy– political theory, strategic interaction between nations, and how policy gets made — so I tried to create a diversity of activities for myself so I could stay involved in both spheres.
 
What company did you work at?
I worked at a startup in the area called Nanosolar whichwas a big deal back in 2007 and I worked in Germany on solar cells. I also worked in D.C. at a lobbying firm to learn how the policy process works. Together, that and taking diverse classes gave me a good idea of how to combine my interests. In the future, I hope to one day go into renewable energy policy.
 
Can you tell me a little bit about the process of applying to be a Rhodes Scholar?
It’s been a while.
 
When did it start?
It started about 12 months ago actually. Early June last year, I knew I wanted to apply and so I started to write my personal statement and my application for about three months – June, July, August. I think I did about 25 drafts. It was so painful, man. And then, did that, came back to campus in September and I did the campus interview. You interview with [the Bechtel Center] on campus and they’re really nice about it. They try and get you ready and they send you along and you put your hat in the game for the national round…they pick 12 people to interview. You go into the room. There’s a cocktail party one night and you got to impress the judges by pretending to be casual and then you stay for the actual interview. They do this dumb thing where you do your interview and you have to sit in the same, stupid room for eight hours until they tell you who won.
 
How long is the actual interview?
The interview is like 20 minutes.
 
How did you feel when you found out?
So I found out then and it’s the greatest feeling ever. There were 12 supremely qualified people in that room. I didn’t feel like I deserved to get any award over any of them.
 
What did you write your personal statement about or is it too personal to talk about?
I’ll tell you the non-personal stuff. The thing that’s driven me through college is really that I love learning. Other things drive other people…for me, it’s reading a textbook, being in a classroom and it’s really dorky and I tried to portray it in a non-dorky light.
 
Isn’t there like a physical fitness aspect of the Rhodes Scholar application process?
Are you implying that I’m not physically fit? [laughs] So that’s a myth…In the past, yeah the Rhodes Scholars have typically been athletes but they’ve kind of broadened that.
 
When do you leave for Oxford?
I’m off in the end of September and until then, I’ll work at a solar startup in the area.
 
How long do you study at Oxford?
Most people do two years but I’m going for a Ph.D. so that’s extended to three years.
 
You told me earlier you were freaking out about going to a different country, continent. How are you preparing?
I’m having a graduation party and the proceeds from that graduation party I’m hoping are going to pay the transatlantic fees for my laundry. No, I’m kidding. You know, it’s really a clean break in my life. Finally, I’m going to go do something by myself.