Raahi Mehta and Arnav Chandak, this year’s Knights of St. Patrick from Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, reflect the ambition and systems thinking that define ISE at the Grainger College of Engineering. In this Q&A, they share how ISE shaped their approach to leadership, why curiosity matters more than credentials, and how they plan to design impact.
The Knights of St. Patrick represent scholarship, leadership and service within the Grainger College of Engineering. Representing the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, Raahi Mehta and Arnav Chandak, reflect the range of ambition and systems thinking that define ISE. From consulting and mentorship to crypto and decentralized finance, both are building paths that extend far beyond the classroom.
Raahi Mehta
What inspired you to pursue a degree in ISE? When did you know it was the right fit?
ISE appealed to me because it focuses on how real systems work, not just how they look on paper. I like problems where you have constraints, tradeoffs, and human factors and the best solution is the one people can actually rely on. I knew it was the right fit once I realized I was most energized by improving processes, reducing friction and making complex work feel simpler for the people inside it.
What are your career goals after graduation?
After graduation, I want to work in strategy consulting in a role that combines analytics with process improvement and human factors. My goal is to design systems that are efficient in theory and practical on the floor, whether that means improving workflows, reducing wasted time or making tools and processes more intuitive. Long term, I want to lead teams that build scalable operational systems and drive measurable impact.
How has ISE shaped the way you think or lead?
ISE has trained me to think in systems and lead with structure. I naturally look for bottlenecks, unclear handoffs, and places where people are relying on last minute effort instead of a sustainable process. It also taught me that strong leadership is not forcing a solution, it is listening, building trust and designing changes people will actually adopt.
What advice would you give to incoming students?
Do not confuse struggling with not belonging. Sometimes a hard class just means you are actually learning something new. Start assignments earlier than you think you need to use office hours before you feel behind and find people to learn with. Also, get involved early. The fastest growth I had came from RSO leadership where I had to communicate clearly, plan ahead and follow through. Make sure to join IISE!
Arnav Chandak
Why did you choose Illinois and the Grainger College of Engineering?
Grainger was the obvious choice once I understood what actually makes a program worth attending. The quality of people around you shapes how you think, and Grainger puts you around students and professors who are genuinely exceptional. It gives you room to move across technical, research, and business directions without locking you into one path too early.
What inspired you to pursue a degree in ISE?
I've always been someone who wanted to sit at the intersection of engineering and business. While every engineering degree is technically impressive in its own right, ISE let me build what I think of as a T-shaped portfolio. Deep expertise in one area, with competence across several others. The curriculum spans finance, optimization, operations, and manufacturing, and gives you the freedom to move between those without feeling like you're falling behind. It’s also amazing to see how courses overlap and everything ties together eventually!
What are your career goals after graduation?
I’m interested in crypto and decentralized finance. The systems thinking and quantitative toolkit ISE provides map well onto the kinds of problems that space presents—complex, fast-moving, and underserved by traditional approaches.
What advice would you give to incoming students?
Don’t optimize for what looks good on a résumé—optimize for what genuinely interests you. Most people get this backwards. The people who end up doing the most interesting work are usually the ones who let curiosity lead. ISE gives you an incredibly wide surface area to explore, so use it. Go deep on what pulls you and trust that the dots will connect later.