Page 6 - June 2020
P. 6
COVER STORY
MEET THE CHAMPIONS: NIKHIL BADWAIK & JAMES WANTZ
Nikhil Badwaik, 2020 District International Speech Champion, and James Wantz, 2020 District Speech Evaluation Champion, answer questions posed by the editor about who they are and their perspective why they do
what they do.
Nikhil Badwaik for my Master’s Degree in Computer Science.
Background When did you join Toastmasters and what
: I was born and grew up in a semi-rural prompted you to do so?
eastern part of India. I am the only son, along I studied at a non-English speaking school in
with a sister, to my parents. Being raised in an India, hence I wasn’t comfortable talking with
Indian middle-class society I was always told I professors, college friends, and eventually with
had to choose one of two options for my career colleagues at my work place for the first three
path i.e. engineer or doctor. Long story short, I years of me being in the US. I couldn’t forget
only had one option. Become an engineer. My what my parents said the night before I came to
score in the entrance exam was way low to qualify the US for the first time. They said: Nikhil, there
for a medical degree. After finishing a bachelor’s is nothing you can’t win over. If you work hard
degree I decided to pursue my Masters in the you can overcome any obstacles, and this is just
US. That’s how I came to San Jose, CA in 2010 the beginning. Initially I tried improving my
6 ONE COMMUNITY
