Last year, a group of 杏吧视频 students made headlines with Hole Patch, their innovative approach to fixing potholes using a bag filled with a secret recipe of non-Newtonian fluid. As a co-founder of the award-winning startup, junior Mayank Saksena played a major role in the company鈥檚 creation.
This year, Saksena is making headlines himself, having recently been named Northeast Ohio鈥檚 Best Intern by the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education. His nominators at BioEnterprise were so impressed by him both professionally and personally that they invited him back during the academic year鈥攖he first time the company had extended such an offer to an undergraduate.
His work at BioEnterprise combined his areas of expertise鈥攅ntrepreneurship and engineering鈥攁s he created a market analysis for a wound-healing technology. It鈥檚 precisely the kind of work he鈥檚 always wanted to do.
Saksena, an economics and biomedical engineering major, chose his areas of study with the aspiration of making technical discoveries commercial successes.
鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to pursue both a technical and a business-oriented degree with the goal of combining both of them in a career post graduation,鈥 said Saksena. 鈥淚 always joke around saying that an ideal job for me would be putting a lab coat on in the morning and switching over to a suit in the afternoon.鈥
Saksena and several of his classmates put this way of thinking into practice with the inception of Hole Patch LLC, and they continue to work on improving Hole Patch with the help and encouragement from the CWRU community, specifically members of the faculty and alumni.
鈥淚鈥檇 love to continue working in the startup and/or consulting space, helping drive growth and helping bring technologies all the way from the lab to the marketplace,鈥 said Saksena.鈥
His summer break will be anything but, as the junior has a packed schedule.
鈥淚鈥檒l be working for BioMotiv, a firm that accelerates breakthrough discoveries from research institutions into therapeutics for patients,鈥 said Saksena.
He鈥檒l also be part of the Summer on the Cuyahoga program, which allows students to discover the professional opportunities Cleveland has to offer. He looks forward to the opportunity 鈥渢o better explore parts of Cleveland I usually don鈥檛 see during the academic year.鈥
With such a rigorous daily schedule that involves class, studying, working on Hole Patch and participating in a number of organizations (he is president of CWRU Capital), Saksena relies on comedy to set his mind at ease.
鈥淚 love watching episodes of Modern Family, Parks and Recreation and Everybody Loves Raymond,鈥 Saksena said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way to unwind and have a good laugh after a stressful day.鈥
Learn more about Saksena in this week鈥檚 five questions.
1. What was the first album you ever purchased, and what was the medium (record, cassette, CD, etc.)?
It was one of the Backstreet Boys鈥 CDs. I remember moving from Singapore in the third grade and all anyone was talking about in my classes was this boy band, so I decided to check it out. It was my first taste of American music.
2. What do you think should have won 鈥淏est Picture鈥 at the Oscars鈥攚hether or not it was nominated? (aka what was the best movie you saw this year)
Silver Linings Playbook.
3. What moment at 杏吧视频 stands out as most memorable (so far)?
Starting Hole Patch LLC in the basement of Kelvin Smith Library during my sophomore year. It has been an unbelievable experience so far that has helped me grow tremendously as both a student and entrepreneur. With the endless support of 杏吧视频 faculty and alumni, Hole Patch has grown considerably over the past year and has a very promising future ahead of itself.
4. What is one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
I鈥檓 obsessed with airplanes and have always wanted to be a pilot. I definitely plan on getting a pilot鈥檚 license after I graduate.
5. What is your favorite thing about 杏吧视频?
The creativity. It鈥檚 inspiring to see students come up with these incredible ideas and work with the local community to transform them into successful businesses. Whether it is commercializing a pothole patch or a malaria diagnostic tool, the students here have access to a tremendous amount of support from the university and the Greater Cleveland community. It鈥檚 exciting to see where this student-led innovation will take us.
