Name: Pawan Solanki (“it’s like oven, but with a p”)
Hometown: Canfield, Ohio
Major: Bioinformatics
Relationship Status: Single
Zodiac Sign: “Let me Google this one… Leo! Yes!”
HC: Why did you choose Pitt?
PS: My hometown once held the record for the largest number of people doing a chicken dance at the same time. I don’t know if it still holds this record, but I thought it was time for a change of scenery. Also, Pitt’s location is awesome, as I am twenty minutes away from my grandma and ten minutes away from downtown by bus. Can’t beat that. But I still remember my Pitt application, and there’s a funny story that goes along with it. Turns out that Pitt admissions allows you to submit music you’ve created, so I sent in a CD of some pretty sick nasty beats I devised on my computer. The guidance counselor was confused when I said I wasn’t interested in majoring in music (I bet she liked what she heard). But I hope that these sweet tunes find their way online and go viral one days.
HC: What do you want to do when you graduate?
PS: I would like to attend medical school; especially after some of the awesome exposure I have had to the field at home, in Pittsburgh, and abroad.
HC: If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
PS: I would go back to Karagwe, Tanzania and revisit all of the friends I made at Nyakahanga Hospital. I studied abroad there this past summer while living on the grounds, and I’m convinced that many of them are real-life superheroes.
HC: What qualities do you look for in a girlfriend?
PS: Smell is pretty much everything to me.
HC: What is your ideal first date?
PS: It has to not feel like or be labeled a date until after the time spent is over. So afterwards I have to be like, “Did I just go on a date with her? Nice!” *Fist bumps himself*
HC: What’s your favorite pick up line?
PS: -Hey, there’s 21 letters in the alphabet right?
-No, there’s 26.
-Oh that’s right, I forgot U R A Q T. (You are a cutie).
HC: What is your favorite guilty pleasure chick flick?
PS: It’s not really a chick flick, but Real World on MTV is one of the most addicting shows of all time (besides 24). I really love how they all stop being polite and start getting real.
HC: If you could date one celebrity, who would it be and why?
PS: Emma Watson. I regularly participate in randomized online gift exchanges (RedditGifts), and the past four gifts that I received were Emma Watson themed. The first one was a poster of Emma Watson, the second was a life-size cardboard cutout, the third one was a pseudo-signed poster, and the fourth was homemade button magnets with Emma Watson’s face on it. How did they know?!
HC: What organizations are you involved in on campus?
PS: Phi Sigma Pi National Honors Fraternity, Pitt Pathfinders, Global Brigades, and CS Undergraduate Teaching Assistant!
HC: What do you like to do in your spare time?
PS: I like to memorize rap lyrics to impress my friends.
HC: What was your most embarrassing moment?
PS: My friends in high school used to put food in my binder for fun when I wasn’t looking. It was like a game we used to play. I was caught red-handed in front of the entire class while holding a hot dog (without the bun) that was previously lodged deep within my assignment notebook. I was just trying to find the trashcans but this girl in the front of the class saw me and said, “OH MY GOD, WHY ARE YOU HOLDING A HOT DOG?” really loudly.
HC: What superpower do you dream of having?
PS: Teleportation. It would be glorious.
HC: What is on your bucket list at Pitt?
PS: Finishing off strong, extending my family tree in my fraternity I’m involved with, and getting an awesome little pal for Pathfinders.