Each year, our sophomore Tower Scholars sit down with the NexPoint Tower Scholar seniors to interview them so that they can create a “Senior Spotlight” blog post highlighting the senior’s unique story. Seniors share their journeys to develop a well-informed perspective on policymaking and international affairs through a combination of theory and practice in the program, alongside their multidisciplinary major courses of study. The conversations captured reflect the experience of our scholars and their learnings not only in the Tower Center but at SMU overall.
Juliana Lu ’26 interviewed Vedang Uniyal ’24 to learn more about his time as a NexPoint Tower Scholar to understand how the curriculum influenced his approach to seeing the world and making a difference in his community.
A senior graduating in 2024, currently majoring in marketing and minoring in PPIA and journalism, Vedang hopes to enter the world of sports marketing.
What pushed you to apply to the Tower Scholars program?
When I was coming into college, I was very interested in international affairs and public policy – and still now, I’m interested in current events – so I thought the Tower Center would be a great place to apply to!
I was in Junior World Affairs Council when I was in high school, which is where I got a taste of Model UN, debate, and policy. From that experience, I wanted to further my interests through the Tower Center. Then, I heard about how renowned the Tower Scholars Program was and how scholars had the opportunity to participate in a real-world practicum and travel to D.C., which were added bonuses that enticed me to apply.
If you could sum up your experience in three words (nouns/adjectives), what would they be and why?
Open-minded, transformative, and a blessing!
First, it was open-minded because there was genuine diversity in the way the members of my cohort and other cohorts thought, the interests they pursued, and their majors. Just talking to people who come from different backgrounds or have interests in different things naturally makes you a lot more open-minded.
Second, I’d say transformative because, as a student, the opportunities that the program provides and puts you in touch with are life changing. For example, one of the practicums we had in which we got to help a small town develop itself economically was a super cool experience that made us realize that, even as students, we can have an impact on the world.
Finally, this program was a blessing because both of the above points allowed me to meet such cool people, surround myself with professors that have worked in a variety of places, travel to embassy row and D.C., interact with politicians, and so much more! I’m incredibly grateful for all of these things and I realize that not every student gets to experience them.
How has the TSP impacted the way you analyze global, national, or statewide issues?
I think the Tower Center has helped with media literacy and assessing all the facts. This is especially important in sensitive situations where there may not be a lot of first-person reporting or people could be prone to disinformation; the program emphasizes that we develop our own ideas and opinions based on true facts. Also, the idea of open-mindedness is incredibly important! Being in this program has helped me to be more empathetic to people regardless of whether their beliefs conflict with my own because, at the end of the day, everyone is human.
You said that you wanted to start your own foundation to “help equip the youth in India with better tools for their future.” Do you still have this aspiration? If so, what do you imagine it will look like? What are some of your other career aspirations?
When it comes to what I want to do with my career, I love sports and sports marketing. Working in sports is my dream; that’s where a lot of my internships and experiences have been and that’s where I aim to learn full-time. I also hope to channel the lessons that I’ve learned from the Tower Center around policy and international affairs into that sports career.
As for the foundation, that idea was inspired by my older cousin, and over the past one or two years, it has become a big desire that I’d like to achieve. My vision for it ties into my love of sports. Essentially, I would want to open a school with an alternative way of learning that puts greater emphasis on physical exercise, sports, and team bonding. For example, in American schools, the idea of “playtime” isn’t heavily emphasized. We only have recess for 30 minutes and the other 8 hours are spent sitting in a classroom.
I feel like a school that’s more balanced in both sports and education would be very interesting, and I’d want to start it in India because it’s where I’m from. A lot of people, especially those in the lower caste, don’t get to attend good schools, so there’s a lot of bias in the system that prevents access to opportunities. This project would definitely take place further in my future when I gain enough capital and enough experience, but I don’t plan on losing my vision!
Imagine you have a time machine that can take you back to the fall of 2020 when you were just starting this program. The catch is you only have 30 seconds to talk to yourself until you’re taken back to the present. What would you tell him?
I’d tell myself to be confident and to believe in my capabilities because, probably like many others, I struggled a lot with imposter syndrome. You might feel like you don’t belong, but I’d tell myself that I am enough. You bring your own set of skills to the table, and nobody else can replicate them!
I’d also say to take advantage of talking to everyone you can in the Tower Center outside of the program director or immediate professors. There are so many people there with such cool experiences who genuinely want to help you learn and succeed.
Finally, I’d say to have fun. It won’t last forever, so enjoy every moment of the experience! (His response was actually only 30 seconds long!)
