Graduating Student Spotlight: Nandhini Sachithanandham

This May, Nandhini Sachithanandham will graduate from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare with her Bachelor of Social Work degree. It’s an achievement that felt like a long, winding process. Social work wasn’t always the plan, but Sachithanandham spent years finding herself and found a career that shaped her moral compass, she said.

Whether it was the classes, the instructors, or the wide range of possibilities with a social work degree, Sachithanandham looks forward to the next stage of life.

Get to know more about Sachithanandham as she shares her thoughts ahead of graduation.

How do you decide on social work?

Sachithanandham: “I know it's a very cliché thing to say that I didn't choose social work, because social work chose me. It’s true in my case. I came to KU as a pre-med student before COVID. I was just 17 when I came here trying to navigate this new world, and it all shut down. I wasn’t coping well, and I was failing in my classes, and I was at the point where I wouldn’t be successful trying to get into med school.

“I took the Intro to Social Work class and I felt connected; it gave me language to things in society that I was always worried about. I started building relationships. It was like coming home.”

Where is your head at as you near graduation?

Sachithanandham: “I’m definitely feeling anxious. And also, I feel that there is a new identity that is forming. One of my mentors, Dr. Stephen Ilardi, pointed out that now I’m a professional. I knew I’d be a professional, but to have someone say it to me was a realization that I have arrived. Since childhood, there has been so much time spent in school. But you do it because you have to. Now, when I think about what is next, I feel this freedom of choosing and existing in spaces not because I have to, but because I want to. I’m trying to embrace this identity.”

What aspirations do you have with a social work degree?

Sachithanandham: “I’m not sure what field I will continue into, but I can say the knowledge I’ve gained through this degree changed me as a person. There is a blurry line between my professional and personal identity now. From the clarity that I have, I want to do something in trauma studies. It might be clinical, it might be research-oriented. Social work teaches you and encourages you to look at people along with the environment they live in, which takes the blame away from them.”

What stuck out to you about the KU School of Social Welfare?

Sachithanandham: “Most of my classes, before social work, I just didn’t feel seen at all. But all of my classes and instructors here made me feel part of this. Amèa Chandler, the BSW retention coordinator, and Laurie Hart in the Practicum Office met me with their warm presence when I was an anxious new student in the department. Sarah Jen’s class and my very first class with instructor Jaresa Ross-Bey made me feel seen. They saw the human part of me, which I was craving when I was a pre-med student. It was so refreshing to come to class and be present and hear so many perspectives. Just stimulating ideas that are so powerful that they carry the potential for change.”

“I’m also part of the Toni Johnson Scholars. Claire Willey-Sthapit and Joonmo Kang and my fellow scholars have really helped me throughout with the monthly meetings. They make sure you are always welcome and have an alumni connection.”