Karan Lakhwani
Name: Karan Lakhwani
High School: LaGrange High School
College (Current or Future): Georgia Institute of Technology
Major/Intended Major: Aerospace Engineering
Financial Aid Program: Zell Miller Scholarship
Karan Lakhwani is quick to praise his older sister when discussing the Zell Miller Scholarship.
“My sister Sonika gave me first-hand knowledge about the scholarship,” said Karan, who also got information about the Zell Miller Scholarship from Bernice Thomas, his guidance counselor at LaGrange High School.
Sonika Lakhwani received Zell Miller for four years at the University of Georgia before graduating in May 2017.
“She spent a lot of effort trying to get me to go to Georgia, but she’s supportive of me,” Karan told the LaGrange Daily News about his decision to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology. “She’s happy with what I’m doing.”
What he’s doing is attempting to turn a youthful passion of building airplanes into a potential future profession.
“As a kid I always got to travel and airplanes always fascinated me,” Lakhwani said. “To be able to build those and problem solve and figure out how to make them more productive and more efficient, I was always fascinated and it was always something I wanted to do.”
While at LaGrange, Karan co-founded and co-captained the school’s science bowl team and volunteered for four years at WellStar West Georgia Medical Center. He also took advantage of Georgia's Dual Enrollment, formerly the Move On When Ready (MOWR) program, taking classes at both the University of West Georgia and West Georgia Technical College.
“Using MOWR and the Zell Miller Scholarship means I will have little to no debt when I graduate college,” said Lakhwani, who plans to major in aerospace engineering. “I would love to have the opportunity to design, produce and test new aircraft that have better fuel efficiency and a longer range than current aircraft.”
Lakhwani advises other students to take advantage of opportunities to better themselves.
“I would tell students to challenge themselves in high school. High school is all about becoming a better, smarter person and this can only be accomplished by challenging yourself,” Lakhwani said. “I would advise them to take a harder course load, but also save time for friends and family.”
