Problem solved: Mehta makes most of undergrad years

As you’ll find with many high achievers, a primary positive turning point in the young life of Rishi Mehta came disguised as a significant challenge. In 2016, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an incurable condition that causes inflammation in the lining of the large intestine. Symptoms tend to flare up intermittently for life. It’s not the sort of news a 16-year-old receives well. But Rishi Mehta was not your typical 16-year-old.

Rishi’s evolving relationship with Cincinnati Children’s not only aided in the management of his condition, but helped him see how his experiences, interests and innate abilities could unite in a career path. A mentor at Children’s, Dr. Laura Ramsey, helped Rishi to self-design a project that examined different drug interactions and personalized medicine to treat his disease.

“My early educational interests were geared toward a career in medicine, and this situation reinforced why I wanted to be a part of the system. I’d gone through it myself, but when I realized I wanted to begin solving problems, that led me to become involved with the research side of medicine.”

He would soon become a dedicated volunteer with the Southern Ohio chapter of the national Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, which further extended his perspective from his own situation to the well-being of others while leveraging his emerging strengths. He sits on a research committee that reviews incoming grants for a foundation called Improve Care Now, essentially a consortium of all the pediatric and adult gastrointestinal clinics around the country that are focused on that area of research. And Rishi’s senior capstone project involves the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation after having tackled volunteer projects with them for a couple years, in addition to four years of research plus a summer internship at Children’s.

Rishi’s entire orientation — pre-college, at UC and in his forthcoming professional life — is centered around solving problems. He follows his curiosity, is open to new possibilities and responds to his personal passions, always with a desire to understand what could make things better for the people involved. 

Rishi’s medical condition and subsequent research work have predisposed him toward the healthcare field, and it combines with his Queen City Consulting work to lay a foundation for his short-term career aspirations. Following graduation, he will join the Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting firm in Philadelphia that works with many large client companies to solve a variety of business problems. Think Queen City Consulting on a massive scale.

“Specifically I’m interested in the healthcare sector, and Boston Consulting Group works with large biopharmaceutical companies, medical technology firms, healthcare payers and providers, and different state health systems, so that’s something I’m looking forward to. I plan to work in consulting for two years and add some different skills, sharpen my analytical toolset, make some connections, and then figure out what’s next for me.”

He thinks he may return to school to get an MBA and a medical degree, which would expose him to different types of patients and settings while learning about different opportunities and solutions in the medical sphere. He is intrigued by conundrums in the chronic care space, where patients are paying a lot but not necessarily experiencing the best outcomes.

“I think I’d like to work with companies that have direct impact with patients and help them reconfigure that relationship in ways that are mutually beneficial for all parties, which is something that has been neglected for a long time,” he said.

However his life and career unfold, Rishi is grateful for being a Bearcat and therefore, in his usual forward-thinking way, he wants to be more than a passive alumnus. So in the summer of 2021 he parlayed that interest into his role with the UC Foundation and its Alumni Engagement Committee, which helps guide the UC Alumni Association in the continuous process of strengthening the university–alumni partnership. His term will end with his April graduation. That will be a bittersweet development for committee chair Ruthie Keefe.

“I remember wrapping up last year’s interview with Rishi and thinking, ‘How can I be so lucky to have such an incredible young man on our committee?’” she said. “What really stood out was his innate ability to articulate the value of philanthropy and engagement. He brings a needed perspective in terms of new alumni engagement, emphasizing the importance of engaging students well before they graduate. He’s been a tremendous asset to the committee’s work.”

In hindsight, maybe it was fortuitous for Rishi, as well as all the people in his current and future sphere of influence, that he developed ulcerative colitis — and an omen that the disease goes by the abbreviation “UC” in the medical world. It was a major factor in his choosing UC as his academic and experiential training ground, and being at UC has prepared a path where he can apply his unique skills to matters of great universal importance.

“In my time here I’ve been able to explore things I’d wanted to and push my boundaries. It’s really cool to combine my initial interests with what the city of Cincinnati and the university have given me in terms of new opportunities, which has completely shaped my professional trajectory.”

This story is part of a series of profiles of members of the University of Cincinnati Foundation’s Alumni Engagement Committee, composed of volunteers who help guide the work of the UC Alumni Association within the framework of the Foundation’s larger advancement efforts on behalf of the UC community.