UT Dallas Opens World of Experiences for Alumnus

The four years that Dr. Nidhish Lokesh BS’19 spent at The University of Texas at Dallas sometimes seem like a blur of activity to the young alumnus. Between the Eugene McDermott Scholars Program, the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College and keeping up with his biochemistry studies, he also found time to volunteer as an emergency medical technician (EMT), compete with the University’s ultimate frisbee club team and sing in the UT Dallas choir. And that’s just a sampling of his extracurriculars.

“I’ve always wanted to do everything,” Lokesh said. “I’ve always been a little bit of a jack-of-all-trades, and that’s led to a really full, rich experience in life that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

Lokesh is currently halfway through a three-year internal medicine residency at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas where he graduated from medical school in 2024. And volunteering as a licensed EMT while at UT Dallas is only part of the story.

Lokesh and a fellow student founded the University Emergency Medical Response service in 2017 that today is a reliable presence on campus providing trained student volunteers as first-responders for medical emergencies.

Born in India, Lokesh’s family moved to the U.S. when he was an infant. They briefly lived in Chicago before moving to the Dallas area, eventually settling in Flower Mound. As high school valedictorian and a National Merit Scholar, Lokesh had options when it came time to choose a college. He initially leaned toward the school many of his friends applied to — The University of Texas at Austin. But a cold and snowy weekend in 2015 changed his mind and the trajectory of his college education.

At the 2015 McDermott Scholars Finalists’ Weekend at UT Dallas, which took place during a rare Texas winter storm, Lokesh met faculty, current scholars and alumni of the prestigious program. The weekend also gave Lokesh a chance to experience the program, and the University, up close.

“I had applied to colleges pretty broadly and really my first choice was UT Austin, but I decided to go to the McDermott weekend to see what it was all about despite the ice storm,” Lokesh said. “It was one of the best decisions I’ve made for my education and career because as soon as I got there, I think I fell in love with the program.”

Lokesh said the program director and staff made the visiting high school seniors feel welcome and wanted.

“But what sold me was hearing about the experiences of the current scholars and all the opportunities that they had by choosing the McDermott program,” Lokesh said. “I went home and raved to my mom that I had to go to UTD.”

Lokesh said the friendships with roommates and fellow McDermott Scholars have been some of the greatest impacts on his life. He continues to be close to those friends, frequently traveling with them to destinations around the world.

One of those close friends was fellow McDermott Scholar Umer Nadir BS’19 who earned an EMT certification alongside Lokesh during their freshmen year. Together the two then organized and launched the on-campus University Emergency Medical Response (UEMR) service. Lokesh said he was drawn to emergency medical services while a Boy Scout earning the first aid merit badge. He was always the one in his troop to help his friends with injuries.

“That was like frontline experience in emergency medicine, and the fast-paced setting appealed to me,” Lokesh said. “When Umer and I became EMTs, we wondered where we would get working experience and that’s where the idea for UEMR came from.”

The friends quickly realized that being McDermott Scholars would be helpful to their plan because in their student capacity they had already met many of the University administrators they would need to convince that UEMR was a worthwhile campus investment. Lokesh also came to know emergency medicine faculty members at UT Southwestern who later became important mentors for him. They guided the friends and introduced them to fellow faculty who were helpful in starting the service.

Nadir and Lokesh jumped innumerable hurdles to obtain approval for UEMR, and in 2017 the service became a reality. What started as a service of six or seven EMTs grew rapidly as the team began recruiting students interested in earning EMT licenses and volunteering.

“We were resourceful and persistent,” Lokesh said. “Especially Umer who has this ability to navigate complexity and make things possible. We started off with just two golf carts with our logo painted on the side and a little EMS bag on the back with some rudimentary equipment. It’s amazing how much we grew in just the two years that followed.”

Lokesh continued his unbelievably busy routine at UT Dallas that included working shifts for UEMR, attending classes in preparation for applying to medical school and practicing several times a week and traveling to tournaments around the country with the University’s ultimate frisbee club team. And add to that joining the University choir as a junior, continuing to nurture a childhood love of music.

His schedule didn’t prevent him from pursuing a study abroad trip as part of the McDermott program, and Lokesh completed a public health internship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with Joey Campain BS’19, a roommate and McDermott Scholar. The two worked for a government nonprofit that promoted preventive health, nutrition and exercise to the public.

“It was my first foray into health policy and preventive health programs, and it was really enjoyable,” Lokesh said. “The study abroad trip was amazing for me and something I really looked forward to. Before starting college, I didn’t know students could study abroad.”

The two friends also studied Spanish three hours a day in an immersive language school that Lokesh says was invaluable, especially now in his medical role in a city with a large Hispanic population.

In 2020, Lokesh began medical school at UT Southwestern and also began the process of deciding what kind of medicine to practice. With experience as a volunteer EMT, he thought for some time that emergency medicine would be his career path, but with time he began to realize that perhaps emergency medicine might not be right for him.

“In part, it was a longevity decision,” Lokesh said. “I decided to go into internal medicine at UT Southwestern because I think I wanted to slow things down. Internal medicine is a cerebral specialty, and I love learning and thinking through things. Every day I show up for work and I get to be engaged and curious and always learning.”

Lokesh is now contemplating what comes after his residency and is considering applying to a cardiology fellowship. But whatever the next chapter holds, it will include his love of travel and exploring the world with his friends.

“Because of the McDermott Scholars Program, I met my roommates and friends who are the people in my life who push me in pretty much every aspect of my life,” Lokesh said. “They inspire me.”

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