Testimonials from Students and Parents
“Shiv is a clear communicator and a great motivator who leads by example. Perhaps more importantly, he is an effective role model who personifies the carpe diem spirit that we hope our children acquire. Shiv's broad interests, from academics to activities like being an instrument-rated pilot, make him a fascinating character. His welcoming inquisitive nature breaks down barriers and encourages participation and enthusiasm. As such, he's an approachable example of the sort of person that we hope our children aspire to become”. ~ Mark Rahner, BSP Parent
“Karina was very driven and motivated to start with, but this program taught her how to measure tangible goals. She has been deeply moved by Shiv’s commitment to life-long learning and looks to him as a role model.” ~ Nancy Mann, BSP Parent
“I will never forget a lesson Shiv taught us when he said to not look at the SAT as a ‘stepping stone’, I will always view the SAT and other future tests as opportunities for learning and gaining foundational skills, instead of just requirements to be met for the next level of education”. ~ Varun Bansal, BSP student
“From the description of the program we had felt that the program would have been very dry and very formal. Within the first few meetings, it felt more like a collaborative group effort toward this common goal of success. When Shiv started talking about helping other students in the community, he really lit a fire under all of us! We really started coming together and offering advice to one another. Before he really started talking about logistics of helping people in the community, most of us were in the group to help ourselves. After, we really began to help one another. For example, one of the seniors spoke up and offered advice about timing of the exam and relevant high school courses.” ~ Deirdre and Sean Carroll, BSP family
“What impacted me the most about Shiv was his quest for new knowledge, continually looking to improve himself as a human being so he could reach out to students. He is one of the most resourceful individuals I have ever met! An inspiration…you do not want to let him down because he believes in you.” ~ Karina Mann, BSP student
"The long term significance is that this sort of initiative will carry life-long lessons for the students about how to capture the energy of a motivated group of people and achieve a set of common goals." ~Ed Sheedy, BSP Parent
“The best part of this program for me was interacting with Shiv. One day before a team leader meeting; Shiv noticed I was wearing a lacrosse shirt. He took an interest and we had a lengthy conversation about the sport. After this, I really felt that in addition to being a mentor/teacher he was also a friend to the participants. He was not only interested in our potential “scores” but in our personal lives as well”. ~ Sean Carroll, BSP student
“I would often find myself utterly astonished from listening to Shiv share so much of himself and his passion for learning with these young people. He explained during an early session that his call to the medical profession was to improve and save lives. (simply stated) He explained that he was interested in scalability, meaning not only affecting lives one-by-one, but helping people who can then carry the work and values forward. It is this ripple effect that Shiv inspired among the students.” ~ Mary Ann Sperando, BSP parent
“My study habits have improved greatly after this summer because Shiv encouraged us to be more proactive by taking control of our learning. I am reading challenging articles and keeping index cards of terms and vocabulary words. I am making this part of a regular regime. As Shiv explained, this is habit forming. Over time it becomes second nature.” ~ Coleman Sperando, BSP student
“His book, “Success with Science” has provided many pointers to students. He is very approachable. My daughter was chosen to participate in the International Science Fair this year. Competing with projects from all parts of the world was something she was not sure how to prepare for. Shiv has been a winner at several International Science Fairs. He guided her on how to present her project in the best way and highlight the important aspects in her presentation board. Though he was busy as speaker at the fair, he still made time to meet the students from his county and wish them the best and provide encouragement. My daughter was able to win fourth place thanks to his mentorship and valuable guidance.” ~Usha Vardhan, BSP parent
“Shiv is an energetic and enthusiastic mentor. I had him as a student in Spanish during his High School years. His academic skills were and still are excellent. His dedication to the group of students and to Brevard County, to his friends, and his efforts make him a leader that the students look to for guidance. Shiv is always willing to be of assistance to those around him, tutoring, encouraging, mentoring, and cheering on the efforts of those who work him. For instilling these values in my daughter I thank him.” ~ L. Martin, BSP parent & Shiv’s high school teacher
“BSP definitely filled a community need and reached out to motivated students who are not aware of all the technical resources on the market. Since he offered his services for free, it helped students who could not pay for a commercial SAT course. Students with limited resources could compete on an equal level with students who are blessed with resources. Even the students who do have resources, no commercial program out there would share the information provided by Shiv. He shared his personal experiences, as well as, his college years. A wealth of knowledge was shared to all his students”. ~ Karina Mann, BSP student
“Shiv has also shown younger students that exercising the body is as important as the mind. He will spend time to play tennis, basketball and golf with them and use himself as an example for a healthy balance life style. He has successfully demonstrated his compassion towards others by counseling his students with his pleasant and encouraging attitude”. ~ Bennet & Vanessa Wong, BSP parents
“Shiv taught us, hard work, time, and dedication are the key to success. Being smart has no importance here. If a student is willing to put in the effort, then he or she is guaranteed improvement. I also know that the colleges I dreamed of getting into are not as far away as I might have thought. This program showed me, personally, that what you think you can do is probably only a fraction of your potential. BSP opened the door and showed me the numerous opportunities and possibilities that are available”. ~ Jaclyn Martin, BSP Student
“The eloquent communication skills of Shiv impressed and inspired me to attempt to speak like him in everyday life. The speaking skills gained through my interactions with Shiv in the program will carry me through college as a social, communicative student.” ~Sanju Vardhan, BSP student
"He absolutely inspired my daughter to remove the “boundaries” in her thinking and reinforced that it was good to explore; to learn and try things and just simply get the most out of life. He was passionate about his interests such as learning to fly and his interests in the sciences. Shiv encouraged the students to seek their own passions in life and not be hampered by barriers. Shiv was able to give my daughter a new outlook on things, a sense of more freedom in how she thought about what she wanted out of life. Through discussions about some the research he has been involved in, it drove my daughter to think more about what was important to her. As an example, she is a very accomplished soccer player. For the first time in 10 years though, she decided to take some time off from soccer to devote more time to her other goals in life. She realizes that it’s a big world out there and there are many other things that interest her." ~ Ed Sheedy, BSP parent
“At one session the group was discussing developing vocabulary skills by reading well-written articles. Almost as an aside, Shiv tells the students that reading controversial articles and articles with ideas that are against their own convictions will additionally grow their own tolerance for, understanding of, and acceptance of others whose thought processes are different from their own. Shiv has the gift of igniting a desire to be a better person and in the process create a better world”.
~ Mary Ann Sperando, BSP parent
“Karina was very driven and motivated to start with, but this program taught her how to measure tangible goals. She has been deeply moved by Shiv’s commitment to life-long learning and looks to him as a role model.” ~ Nancy Mann, BSP Parent
“I will never forget a lesson Shiv taught us when he said to not look at the SAT as a ‘stepping stone’, I will always view the SAT and other future tests as opportunities for learning and gaining foundational skills, instead of just requirements to be met for the next level of education”. ~ Varun Bansal, BSP student
“From the description of the program we had felt that the program would have been very dry and very formal. Within the first few meetings, it felt more like a collaborative group effort toward this common goal of success. When Shiv started talking about helping other students in the community, he really lit a fire under all of us! We really started coming together and offering advice to one another. Before he really started talking about logistics of helping people in the community, most of us were in the group to help ourselves. After, we really began to help one another. For example, one of the seniors spoke up and offered advice about timing of the exam and relevant high school courses.” ~ Deirdre and Sean Carroll, BSP family
“What impacted me the most about Shiv was his quest for new knowledge, continually looking to improve himself as a human being so he could reach out to students. He is one of the most resourceful individuals I have ever met! An inspiration…you do not want to let him down because he believes in you.” ~ Karina Mann, BSP student
"The long term significance is that this sort of initiative will carry life-long lessons for the students about how to capture the energy of a motivated group of people and achieve a set of common goals." ~Ed Sheedy, BSP Parent
“The best part of this program for me was interacting with Shiv. One day before a team leader meeting; Shiv noticed I was wearing a lacrosse shirt. He took an interest and we had a lengthy conversation about the sport. After this, I really felt that in addition to being a mentor/teacher he was also a friend to the participants. He was not only interested in our potential “scores” but in our personal lives as well”. ~ Sean Carroll, BSP student
“I would often find myself utterly astonished from listening to Shiv share so much of himself and his passion for learning with these young people. He explained during an early session that his call to the medical profession was to improve and save lives. (simply stated) He explained that he was interested in scalability, meaning not only affecting lives one-by-one, but helping people who can then carry the work and values forward. It is this ripple effect that Shiv inspired among the students.” ~ Mary Ann Sperando, BSP parent
“My study habits have improved greatly after this summer because Shiv encouraged us to be more proactive by taking control of our learning. I am reading challenging articles and keeping index cards of terms and vocabulary words. I am making this part of a regular regime. As Shiv explained, this is habit forming. Over time it becomes second nature.” ~ Coleman Sperando, BSP student
“His book, “Success with Science” has provided many pointers to students. He is very approachable. My daughter was chosen to participate in the International Science Fair this year. Competing with projects from all parts of the world was something she was not sure how to prepare for. Shiv has been a winner at several International Science Fairs. He guided her on how to present her project in the best way and highlight the important aspects in her presentation board. Though he was busy as speaker at the fair, he still made time to meet the students from his county and wish them the best and provide encouragement. My daughter was able to win fourth place thanks to his mentorship and valuable guidance.” ~Usha Vardhan, BSP parent
“Shiv is an energetic and enthusiastic mentor. I had him as a student in Spanish during his High School years. His academic skills were and still are excellent. His dedication to the group of students and to Brevard County, to his friends, and his efforts make him a leader that the students look to for guidance. Shiv is always willing to be of assistance to those around him, tutoring, encouraging, mentoring, and cheering on the efforts of those who work him. For instilling these values in my daughter I thank him.” ~ L. Martin, BSP parent & Shiv’s high school teacher
“BSP definitely filled a community need and reached out to motivated students who are not aware of all the technical resources on the market. Since he offered his services for free, it helped students who could not pay for a commercial SAT course. Students with limited resources could compete on an equal level with students who are blessed with resources. Even the students who do have resources, no commercial program out there would share the information provided by Shiv. He shared his personal experiences, as well as, his college years. A wealth of knowledge was shared to all his students”. ~ Karina Mann, BSP student
“Shiv has also shown younger students that exercising the body is as important as the mind. He will spend time to play tennis, basketball and golf with them and use himself as an example for a healthy balance life style. He has successfully demonstrated his compassion towards others by counseling his students with his pleasant and encouraging attitude”. ~ Bennet & Vanessa Wong, BSP parents
“Shiv taught us, hard work, time, and dedication are the key to success. Being smart has no importance here. If a student is willing to put in the effort, then he or she is guaranteed improvement. I also know that the colleges I dreamed of getting into are not as far away as I might have thought. This program showed me, personally, that what you think you can do is probably only a fraction of your potential. BSP opened the door and showed me the numerous opportunities and possibilities that are available”. ~ Jaclyn Martin, BSP Student
“The eloquent communication skills of Shiv impressed and inspired me to attempt to speak like him in everyday life. The speaking skills gained through my interactions with Shiv in the program will carry me through college as a social, communicative student.” ~Sanju Vardhan, BSP student
"He absolutely inspired my daughter to remove the “boundaries” in her thinking and reinforced that it was good to explore; to learn and try things and just simply get the most out of life. He was passionate about his interests such as learning to fly and his interests in the sciences. Shiv encouraged the students to seek their own passions in life and not be hampered by barriers. Shiv was able to give my daughter a new outlook on things, a sense of more freedom in how she thought about what she wanted out of life. Through discussions about some the research he has been involved in, it drove my daughter to think more about what was important to her. As an example, she is a very accomplished soccer player. For the first time in 10 years though, she decided to take some time off from soccer to devote more time to her other goals in life. She realizes that it’s a big world out there and there are many other things that interest her." ~ Ed Sheedy, BSP parent
“At one session the group was discussing developing vocabulary skills by reading well-written articles. Almost as an aside, Shiv tells the students that reading controversial articles and articles with ideas that are against their own convictions will additionally grow their own tolerance for, understanding of, and acceptance of others whose thought processes are different from their own. Shiv has the gift of igniting a desire to be a better person and in the process create a better world”.
~ Mary Ann Sperando, BSP parent
