.181 Raj Shah

A true gentleman, Raj is one those gems who I wish I had met sooner in life. He is one of the few people that attended every TEDx event I’d produced in college, and when our senior year arrived, he joined the team himself. Thank goodness he did — Raj brought such a unique perspective, refreshing personality and wonderful sense of humor to the team, all of which I deeply appreciated and still do today.

Two things I noticed very quickly with Raj were his impressive intelligence and how truly kind he is to everyone he meets. He’s incredible at listening and processing information and then has the ability to turn those thoughts into helpful solutions, which most of the time were things no one had thought of. Raj is so very generous with his time and support and he matches that with genuine compassion. One of my favorite things is to watch/listen to Raj when he’s talking about something he’s passionate about. For example, I have wonderful memories of working late into the night on TEDx tasks in the Marvin Center and as a small break, we’d talk about tennis. I knew the basics but hearing Raj’s knowledge and passion for the sport and the players was always a joy for me.

Raj, thank you for being a crucial member of our team and for providing me with so much laughter and so many new big ideas and perspectives. Thank you for being such a good human being and for setting the example of how to treat people. Thank you for always being open and willing to chat or catch up. I’m coming to Miami the first chance I get! Thank you for being such a great guy, Raj. Thank you for being you.

-BD