Grads Who Made It Happen: From College to Career-Ready at USG

Graduates of nine institutions that offer degrees on USG’s campus graced the stage in recent weeks to celebrate the milestone of college graduation and to take the next steps in their career journey. A few of their stories are below. Congratulations to the class of 2025!

Alim Saidkhojdaev, Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering, University of Maryland 

For Alim Saidkhojdaev, taking classes at USG translated to financial benefits and personalized attention from professors. After interning for two years with Euclid Techlabs, Alim has joined the company as a research engineer. Euclid Techlabs is a research and development company based in Beltsville, Md.   

“USG is a smaller campus than College Park, which means smaller class sizes,” Alim says. “These smaller class sizes foster a better community in my opinion and allow students to better engage with faculty. USG specific scholarships also helped me pay for my tuition.”

Alim’s interest in engineering began early on, and a dual-enrollment program allowed him to complete an associate’s degree in general engineering from Montgomery College by the time he graduated from high school. 

He was drawn to the cyber-physical systems engineering degree because of its foundation in both hardware and software. 

“All the way from the transistor level of how the billions of tiny transistors in a computer function, up to application level such as creating a phone app,” he said. “The curriculum also includes a lot of hands-on lab time, which is a great experience.”

 

Qian Harasta, B.S./M.S, Dental Hygiene, University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Dentistry

Qian Harasta was a perfect fit for the Clinical Dental Hygiene Leadership program offered by UMB’s School of Dentistry at USG. The program attracts students with backgrounds outside of dentistry who are passionate about transitioning to dental hygiene and assuming leadership roles. A key requirement to enter the program is possession of a bachelor’s degree. Qian came to the program with a bachelor’s degree in human resource management – and an interest in health care that began in childhood.

At USG, students complete a two-year B.S./M.S. dual degree in the program. Qian first completed pre-requisites at Carroll Community College. After that, she was ready for the dual B.S./M.S program.

“Attending UMB at USG provided me access to cutting-edge clinical and laboratory facilities,” Qian said. “The faculty are incredibly supportive of students. The campus itself offered a welcoming and collaborative atmosphere, with plenty of study spaces and opportunities to engage in interprofessional activities with students from other programs and schools.”

Qian now teaches and supervises dental hygiene students on the main campus in Baltimore, with occasional coverage at the clinic at USG. In addition to her teaching role, she’s helping in a collaboration between the school and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services to provide oral care to underserved communities.
 

Aarshiya Katwal, B.A., Psychology, UMBC

Helping others motivated Aarshiya Katwal to pursue psychology as a major. During her time at UMBC, her desire to help people extended beyond the classroom. This past year, Aarshiya worked with Montgomery County community members and Habitat for Humanity in North Carolina to raise more than $1,000 for Hurricane Helene victims.   

Now a newly minted graduate, Aarshiya aspires to be a research assistant and apply to graduate school in the near future. 

Of her time at UMBC at USG, Aarshiya said, “it has provided me with numerous opportunities that have enabled me to grow and develop my leadership, confidence, and empathy skills. I've had the chance to be a student worker at the UMBC-Shady Grove Welcome Center, where I've worked alongside the best faculty and fellow student workers,” she said. 

“Being at UMBC at USG allowed me to cultivate a strong sense of purpose through the examples of my supervisors and professors, as the reason this university felt so welcoming is due to their superb, empathetic nature.”

To learn about these programs and others offered at The Universities at Shady Grove, visit our degree programs page.