Alor Sahoo

What’ve you enjoyed most about your area of study? Was there a particular discovery, new skill or way of thinking, or insight that you found especially valuable? Please share an example from your favorite class or experience.

As a Writing major, I’ve enjoyed the level of personalized attention from faculty all across SHASS. Every creative writing workshop—science fiction, longer fiction, poetry, etc.—was tailored to the interests of my peers, making for a fruitful and educational time. These workshops emphasized the process of reading, constructively critiquing, and appreciating other’s work, especially when it ran counter to my own aesthetic tastes. That process was invaluable in expanding my horizons as a writer.

Another class that I found incredibly valuable was 21L.591: Literary London, an IAP class in which fifteen students not only read work from British authors but also physically explore London’s historical sites in that literary context. The immersive and experiential nature of the class, along with the small group discussion format, cements it as one of the most influential classes in my academic career. In addition to being incredibly educational, the class convinced me to officially declare my Writing major. I also made a lot of “literature” friends that I never would have made otherwise!

How does the knowledge from this field, or your interest in it, combine with your other major or minor studies at MIT?

My Writing major has equipped me with skills to not only better interrogate media but also create my own. Specifically, I’ve learned to translate and distill for a broader audience: whether it’s technical concepts into an article or the ideas in my head into the novel that I’m working on. As a Computer Science major, I’m excited to apply those “translation” skills at the intersection of tech and public policy, broadly defined, whether it’s in the start-up space, in law school, or somewhere else. Regardless of where I end up, I’m excited to bring this interdisciplinary skillset to my work.

An MIT education includes study in the scientific, technical, social science, arts, and humanities fields. How do you think that wide range of knowledge and perspectives will be valuable to you – for your career success and for your enjoyment of life?

My broad MIT education has encouraged me to “burst” outside my bubble and interface with people I never would have otherwise. For example, with support from my professors, advisors, and SHASS as a whole, I’ve been able to take classes at a secure Massachusetts correctional facility, in London, at Harvard, and so on. All of those experiences have been very eye-opening, informing who I am as a writer and a person. Beyond the classroom, I’ve engaged with the greater Boston/Cambridge writing and literary community, which has also been very rewarding. I’m also thankful to have forged many friendships from these various serendipitous interactions both on- and off-campus.

More generally, my MIT experience has taught me the value of proactively seeking out experiences—academically, professionally, socially, and so on—that push me outside my comfort zone and expose me to different worldviews. The more I learn and the more perspectives I gain, the more I realize there is to learn.

What are your plans for the future?

For the upcoming academic year, I’m joining the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab at UChicago as a fully funded Harris Social Impact Fellow. During this fellowship, I intend to combine my STEM and humanities backgrounds to design and propose actionable, real-world, data-driven policy initiatives. Beyond that, I’m less sure of my plans, but I’m excited to work somewhere that broadly exists at the intersection of my STEM and humanities interests.