Alumni Spotlight is a series of interviews conducted with members of the Dalhousie Alumni Association.
Sanjay Gopal
Class of ‘91
Bachelor of science in electrical engineering (’94 TUNS – Technical University of Nova Scotia, now DalTech)
Known then as: “Sanj” or “Gopes”
Current role:
Sales Manager, Global Accounts, Sprint (New York, N.Y.)
Dal Gazette: You are among a vibrant community of Dalhousie graduates living in New York City. Are there opportunities to connect with other Dal alumni in New York?
Sanjay Gopal: I have recently become the co-chair of the New York Dalhousie Alumni chapter and have been involved with the Dalhousie foundation as President for the last seven years. There are annual alumni events in New York―I have attended them for the past 14 years and they are a great opportunity to connect with fellow Dalhousie alumni, Dalhousie president Tom Traves and his staff.
DG: Why did you decide to attend Dal?
SG: I am originally from Halifax―born and raised in Clayton Park, so it was a natural fit to attend Dalhousie, as it was my hometown university. Also, I was very interested in sciences and Dal had a great reputation.
DG: Where did you live while you were at Dal?
SG: I lived at home for a while and then on South Street, Atlantic Street and Victoria Road.
DG: Where could you be found most often on campus while you were at Dal?
SG: I could most often be found in the Green Room of the SUB or at the Grawood.
DG: Favourite place to study while at Dal?
SG: My favourite place to study on campus was the fourth floor of the Killam Library. I also sometimes studied at TUNS, which was a more solitary study environment―maybe more conducive for studying, but less communal than the Killam.
DG: What was your biggest distraction while you were at Dal?
SG: My biggest distraction was definitely downtown Halifax―there is so much to do downtown.
DG: What was your favourite cafeteria food on campus?
SG: Definitely the French fries.
DG: What is your favourite Dal memory?
SG: My favourite Dalhousie memories were graduation and the iron ring ceremony at TUNS.
DG: How did your Dal experience prepare you for your current role?
SG: At Dal, I specialized in data communications so it was a great basis for working in the communications industry. I started working in the tech world and have had success in taking technical premises and translating them into layperson terms – which has been useful and allowed me to end up running sales of engineering groups.
DG: What do you see as the best thing about being a Dal alum?
SG: A couple of my family members have graduated from Dal and some are currently attending Dal―it’s nice to have that link. I also enjoyed making life-long friends through my fraternity (Sigma Chi).
DG: Do you have any words of wisdom for current Dal students – something you wish you had known when you were a student?
SG: The thing I wish I had known is that there is a huge world outside of Halifax and Nova Scotia and in this world, a Dal education is valuable. When I was working in the US, I quickly realized that there was a need for trained engineers in the US and that more people than I expected had heard of Dalhousie. I was in a meeting with the CIO of KPMG a few years ago and I was happily surprised to find out that he knew of Dal when I mentioned I had studied there!
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