Sachin Archer knows what it’s like to defy expectations.
“I'm a very artsy person. So, when people see my photography, or how I dress, or know my music, they’re shocked to find I’m a computer science major,” he says. “I'm now at a point where I can blend both my tech side and my artistic side.”
Sachin is a computer science major and photography minor who, in his home country of Jamaica, used to dream about the big things in life he’d accomplish. “To come from a third world country and even live in New York City is kind of crazy,” he shares. “I remember the month before I moved to America, I was watching Home Alone 2, where they're lost in New York. Now to be able to wake up and see the Brooklyn Bridge outside my window, it's surreal. To not only do that, but now even go on a global scale and go to Europe and go to Switzerland, it’s amazing.”
Now to be able to wake up and see the Brooklyn Bridge outside my window, it's surreal.
Sachin had the chance to experience Europe as the youngest member of ’s NYC Design Factory during the Fall 2022 semester. For two weeks, Sachin and the other members of Team Fusion learned how CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, uses technology to address the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. “We visited the largest particle accelerator in the world,” he says. “We also got to go to the United Nations Headquarters, sit in on a meeting, and got a full tour.”
He made sure to maximize his trip by bringing his other passion into the mix, photography. “When I had some free time, I had the chance to meet some other people and models to help get my name out there,” Sachin explains. “It was amazing, to hit multiple birds with one stone.”
Once the students returned stateside, the work really began, as his team dived into redesigning New York City streets to not only support sustainability but to make way for advancements, like artificial intelligence. “I would say overall the Design Factory experience was a transformation, both mentally, physically, and politically,” Sachin says. “I was the only undergraduate student, and I was youngest one there. To be the youngest person involved, and to be the only Black male from a third world country, that was very important.”
To be able to represent myself on a bigger global scale was a big deal.
While it was a new experience, it evoked familiar feelings. “I've always been the only Black child in the room while I was growing up,” he says. “I knew that I had to work twice as hard, because of the color of my skin, unfortunately. To be able to represent myself on a bigger global scale was a big deal.”
The experience has left him marveling at the connections he’s made, and the connections he hopes to forge. He’s made friends from places he’s never been, from Germany to Australia. Over the summer he worked at a summer camp in his home in Connecticut and had the chance to share his experience with those young students. “I’ve been able to give these kids hope, and show them that you can leave home, that it's okay. Opportunities like this do happen for people like us.”
Sachin initially considered because his sister was an alumna, but he believes now it was the best choice he could have made. “I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t until last semester that I really realized all the opportunities that really had,” he admits. “That's when I got really close with my advisors and I started getting my name out more. I'm close to my dean now, which helped me find more opportunities, and now I work at Goldman Sachs. I'm very grateful for and the environment that it creates.”
I'm doing all these amazing things. And I'm only 19.
Sachin’s experience so far has been so rewarding, and he’s hoping to slow down and enjoy next last two years. “I have two years left, and I feel like I haven't done enough, you know?” he says. “I want to tell the freshmen to just do it all. The city really is your campus. Not only that, the faculty is your biggest help. They know so many people, and just one conversation can change your life forever.”
Take it from him, it’s never too early to dive in. “The best thing I always get is people asking, ‘How old are you?’ I'm doing all these amazing things. And I'm only 19.”
Read more about the Fall 2022 Design Factory experience.
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