SHREVEPORT – Devesh Sarda wasn’t planning on participating in the LSUS Student Government Association.

The Caddo Magnet graduate who entered college with semesters of credit hours under his belt intended to try his hand at a lot of different activities, but student government wasn’t on that list until chance meetings at multiple LSUS student recruiting events.

During Week of Welcome, a celebration of the first week of fall classes, Sarda met then-vice president Joshua Bailey, whose personality influenced Sarda to run for the senate in his first semester.

Fast forward three years, and now Sarda, the current LSUS student body president, is the first LSUS student to represent all of Louisiana public colleges as the student representative to the Louisiana Board of Regents.

Sarda took his oath in Baton Rouge on June 18 and will participate in the Board of Regents’ monthly meetings for the coming year.

“It’s a hard job to represent each and every student that attends a Louisiana public university, but I plan on doing with it full transparency,” Sarda said. “From a student perspective, the biggest topic we constantly hear about is AI (artificial intelligence).

“As a computer science major who works in AI, it’ll be a unique opportunity to present that side of things.”

AI in academia usually grapples with how to incorporate the technology into coursework, leveraging it as a tool as opposed to a shortcut for students completing writing assignments.

But Sarda’s relationship with AI is inherently different. The software engineering student conducts research in LSUS’s lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning.

He co-authored work with lab director Dr. Subhajit Chakrabarty concerning generative AI’s ability to take existing MRI images of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and generate images of what discs not viewable in that MRI would like.

The study, one of the first of its kind, was published in December in the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine, one of the most acclaimed journals in the field.

“It’s an experience that I don’t think many students get, especially undergraduate students, and I’m glad I was chosen to get this experience,” Sarda said. “(Chakrabarty) trained me so I could start on research, and to get that first publication, I wasn’t expecting it, it was surreal.

“But then you keep working on it, and it’s like you get that first taste of blood in the water.”

The research has the potential to reduce time and expense by requiring fewer MRIs before surgery.

Sarda said Chakrabarty established a collaborative culture in the lab that’s led to six overall publications in the last calendar year, two of which Sarda was a co-author.

“In the beginning, it’s not expected that you’ll be at a research publication level, but (Chakrabarty) trains you,” Sarda said. “Once he thinks you’re ready, he gives you milestones to reach.

“It might not seem like much, but it’s a build up of what you’ve been working on. And then you turn back and look, and all of a sudden, you’ve built a building.”

The “undergraduate” label for Sarda is a bit misleading. When he crossed the graduation stage this May to receive his bachelor’s degree, he was halfway to completing his master’s degree in computer systems technology with a burgeoning research portfolio uncommon even for graduate students.

It’d be valid accomplishments for any student, but Sarda decided he was going to take advantage of all LSUS has to offer.

Sarda works in LSUS’s Security Operations Center as a cybersecurity analyst, protecting the university’s networks during business hours.

“(Security Operations Center Lead) Ched Wiggins always tells us that getting that first cybersecurity job is the most difficult, and we’re getting that job experience right here at LSUS,” Sarda said. “Everybody, if they work hard enough, can get a security certification, but having that job-level experience that one can get at LSUS is unique.

“It’s been a great experience to work with my fellow SOC analysts, and we’re all gaining certain knowledge and expertise in different areas of cybersecurity.”

If one’s counting, that’s a full academic load of undergraduate and graduate courses with a 4.0 GPA, the student body president, now the student representative to the Board of Regents, a published researcher, and a SOC analyst.

Sprinkle in event planning experience through the Student Activities Board, and then add a debate national championship to the list.

Sarda is a member of the LSUS Debate team that claimed the 2025 Scholastic National Championship, which includes all undergraduate debate divisions in the International Public Debate Association’s national tournament.

It’s an activity he picked up about a year-and-a-half ago, one he credits with his election to the Board of Regents thanks to speaking skills he’s learned.

“The speech that I gave to the Board of Regents was written in the format that (debate coach A.J. Edwards) taught us,” Sarda said. “The scholastic championship is a wonderful thing because it’s something this team worked really hard for.

“Teammates like CJ Longino, Cameron Thoele, Micah Robinson – everybody was very helpful.”

Time management is in the vocabulary of every college student, but Sarda seems to redefine the term with the way he juggles his obligations.

“It’s about creating a schedule and following schedule,” Sarda said. “Sometimes it goes according to plan, and sometimes you have to allow for leeway if one thing exceeds the time you allocated.

“It’s really by God’s grace that I fit everything that I do into 24 hours. Scheduling and God’s grace.”

So what’s next for Devesh Sarda, who will complete his master’s degree in roughly one year?

Will he pursue a doctorate, go straight into industry, or perhaps a combination of the two? Maybe public office?

“LSUS has unlocked a lot of paths through the activities that are available to me here,” Sarda said. “I can go various ways.

“Only God knows, and time will tell which I will take.”

Sarda had various paths to choose from when deciding on a college, but what he didn’t realize at the time was the sense of belonging he would find at LSUS.

“It really is a community – the staff, professors and students form a team that will help you succeed,” Sarda said. “Because of TOPS and other scholarships, I was getting paid to come here.

“But you get here and realize how many opportunities are available – everything from biology labs to chemistry and psychology labs to all the opportunities in history and business and with the (Noel Collection and Northwest Louisiana Archives). It’s such a unique spot.”