Malhar Rathod, a second-year computer engineering student and John H. Martinson Honors Program member, was selected as Georgia Tech’s 2026 Second Year New Student Convocation Speaker. A passion for making an impact and his first-year experience at Georgia Tech led Malhar to become a convocation speaker, hoping to guide the next cohort of students as they begin their academic journey. 

Inspired by how his first year at Tech shaped him, Malhar sought to use his time as a speaker to show students that, “nobody does this alone” during their Georgia Tech experience. While speaking in front of the incoming class of 4,100+ students was daunting, starting his speech and moving away from giving a “perfect, polished speech” allowed Malhar to give incoming students an authentic first look at their time at Georgia Tech and how they will never be alone during their journey here. After his speech, Malhar received kind messages from students telling him how much his speech meant to them, cementing his passion for leaving an impact and how much he enjoys public speaking. 

Malhar credits the JMHP’s community as a big part of his first year at Tech that encouraged him to get involved across Tech and helped him uncover opportunities for growth. When attending the 2026 Southern Regional Honors Council (SRHC) research conference, Malhar learned about the Second-Year Convocation Speaker application when inquiring about speaker opportunities from Dr. Amy D’Unger—JMHP Faculty Director—and Amie Raines—Program and Operations Manager.  

Beyond his public speaking work, Malhar is heavily involved on Georgia Tech’s campus. During his SRHC experience, Malhar presented research on detecting stress and cognitive load from Aphasia patient data. In addition to research, Malhar served as a 2026 JMHP New Student Retreat Guide and worked as a teaching assistant during a high school summer break at the Georgia Tech Seth Bonder Data Science Summer Program helping students learn how to code in Python. Outside of the JMHP, Malhar conducts undergraduate research in a bioinformatics lab and competes in hackathons. Last spring, he won a track in SproutGT, a hackathon hosted by HexLabs on Georgia’s Tech campus. 

For anyone interested in becoming a future Second Year New Student Convocation Speaker, Malhar shares advice to help you on your journey: 

“Just go for it, even if it feels intimidating. You don't need to be a perfect speaker, you don’t need to have everything figured out, you need something real to say. Think about what your first year at Tech actually taught you and speak from that. Describe your experiences and tell them why what you learned from them is useful for the next four years. The students listening want to hear something honest, not something rehearsed. Being nervous is normal. It means you care about what you’re doing.”  

Going forward, Malhar is excited to keep growing and provide students with mentorship and meaningful support alongside his dedication to taking on more research and projects.  

The John H. Martinson Honors Program wishes Malhar good luck as he continues his journey at Georgia Tech and explores his passion for impact!