UCLA student picked to live in a house with five interns

By Nima Abtahi

Daily Bruin Contributor

It doesn’t happen often that students are granted the
opportunity to have their lives broadcast over the Internet for
millions of people to see. For UCLA’s Hassan Akmal, such a
rare occurrence will become reality.

As one of six winners from a pool of more than 1,500 applicants
from 25 different colleges across the nation, the 24-year-old
biochemistry student who also minors in Arabic will be an intern
for a summer program with global Internet company,
Chaitime.com.

Akmal will fly to Philadelphia to live in the “Summer of
Chai” house with five other interns.

“Basically, it’s a South Asian version of
(MTV’s) “˜The Real World,’ Akmal said.
“There’s going to be three guys and three girls living
in a three-story mansion in Philadelphia for eight weeks. The place
is going to be bugged and there are going to be cameras
everywhere.”

Though well aware of the ramifications of such an opportunity,
the easygoing Pakistan-native remained humble about his
accomplishment and graciously took time for an interview in the
lobby of Covel Commons.

To be selected as an intern, Akmal went through two rounds of
applications. The first round required an interview with general
questions about the world. Six students from each of the 25
universities made the cut.

“I wasn’t really thinking of applying in the first
place,” Akmal said. “The director of the Indian Student
Union wanted me to do it. I thought it might look good on my
medical school applications. You know, something
different.”

Akmal advanced to the second round where judges reviewed the
video of his interview thoroughly and required an essay of him.

“I did the essay in about 30 minutes,” he said,
laughing. “I write a lot of poetry and philosophy, so my
essay was very poetic and I guess they liked it.”

There is no doubt that Akmal’s outgoing personality and
charm also aided him in the judges’ decision.

As fate would have it, the Akmal secured the internship position
with five other students from the University of Florida, MIT, UC
Berkeley, University of Chicago and University of Virginia, with
whom he will be living with.

The interns will spend each day from June 12 to Aug. 11 being
profiled on the Web, writing diary entries every week, hosting
chats and going on field trips. In addition, they will gain
knowledge about the ins and outs of life at a global Internet
company.

Though excited about the whole endeavor, Akmal maintained a
realistic look toward the daunting task of living with complete
strangers for an audience.

“I’m kind of nervous about it,” he said.

Yet, the accomplished student has had experience in front of
spectators before. He helped put together the first Pakistani
Cultural Show, which took place last April. He has also played the
tabla, an Indian hand drum, in Las Vegas.

Perhaps the biggest audience he has performed for are the fans
that flock to see him play tennis.

A member of the UCLA men’s tennis team and a contender at
last year’s Davis Cup, the versatile Akmal excels in more
ways than one. Next year, Akmal plans to play professionally and
already has a one-year contract with Adidas.

He will compete in more competitions later this year and sees
the Chaitime internship as something on the side.

“I don’t want it to affect my tennis training.
I’ll be using the time I’m there to do my physical
training for competition,” he said.

In spite of his apprehension, Akmal maintains a positive outlook
toward the opportunity. “I’ll learn from the people I
live with and I can use this chance to be a role model for
youths.”

Akmal also acknowledged the implications of his summer
internship in regards to the entertainment industry. Miramax has
already approached him with possible film projects.

“This whole thing can open doors into the entertainment
industry, acting and maybe even tennis,” he said.

Meanwhile, this Renaissance man holds a liberal view of his
future. Whether he ends up a doctor, Andre Agassi’s opponent
or a movie star, he’s taking the steps toward his goals
now.