By Abbi Telander

Kita (Sheth) Gandhi, BS ’98, and Salil Gandhi, AB ’96, are proud entrepreneurs and even prouder WashU volunteers. The couple resides in Chicago, where they make time for WashU while owning their own businesses. Salil, a member of the Chicago Professionals Network committee, runs a digital marketing agency. Kita, who is the new Chicago Eliot Society Committee chair, turned the side-gig of bringing STEM education to underserved elementary students into her full-time job in March. They recently sat down with us to talk about what WashU means to them.

How did WashU prepare you for the work you do now?

Salil: My undergrad experience at WashU in the biology department gave me a great foundation in research, and it also gave me the confidence to take what I was working on in grad school and commercialize it. I was running a biotech startup at 26, in large part because of the edge I had from my experiences I had at WashU.

Kita: I loved my time in the school of engineering! I gained critical thinking and organizational skills. I learned how to think like an engineer and how to communicate complex ideas effectively. And it cemented my belief in the importance of engineering, which led me to my business providing STEM enrichment classes for elementary schoolers.

What inspires you to give back to WashU?

Kita: We’re especially inspired by the no-loan, need-blind efforts. The fact that our gift means students who may not have the finances to be able to attend WashU can now have this experience makes us so proud.

Salil: Absolutely. I wouldn’t have been able to attend WashU without my scholarship, so now that we have the capacity to give back, we want to make the experience available for other students. And as small-business owners, we want to support and encourage alumni, which is why I’m on the committee for the Chicago Professionals Network. We want to add more value than just monetary — money can go so far, but the person-power is needed as well.

Kita: We’re at the point in our lives when we have the opportunity and flexibility to give with our time. I’ve been on the Chicago Eliot Society committee for some time now. We host a couple of events in Chicago every year, and we re-engage Eliot Society members. The Eliot team at WashU does the heavy lifting, but I was happy to become the committee chair to help make these important networking events happen.

The work of the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship excites Kita and Salil. Kita says, “It’s such an amazing resource for students and alumni. I always wonder if I would have started a business sooner if the center had been here when we were students.” Salil, who was one of few on-campus entrepreneurs when he brought his high school DJing business to WashU in 1992, encourages students from every school to take advantage of the resources at Skandalaris. He says, “So many cool ideas and opportunities come from the chance to be innovative at a relatively young age. Skandalaris provides mentorship, funding, and permission to try things.”

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

Salil: I would love to see a recommitment to the value of education. Great universities like this one can only do so much to be able to fill that void. Support of education is going to be crucial in the coming years.

Kita: I agree. Education is so important — especially STEM education. I started my business because I was worried there weren’t enough kids going into engineering, or even enough kids realizing that engineering was a possibility for them. Improving access to education from a young age all the way up is so vital.

Both of our dads were immigrants and first-generation college students. They didn’t have the support that students today at WashU do. They would have benefitted so much from the student experience infrastructure that we have now — even just the insight of what college was going to be like. We want to support those students who need the resources to make the most of their WashU experience.