Meet Darian Nwankwo | Research Scientist & Aspiring Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Darian Nwankwo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Darian, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I believe my willingness to try different approaches to life and not being too dogmatic in any approach taken thus far. It’s a pretty challenging thing not to be dogmatic, but I’m open to learning something new and immediately implementing it. I think this approach has allowed me to figure out which strategies are reasonable in certain settings and I think thats contributed to my success a lot. As well as being transparent about my failures. When I consider how I can improve, I’m always reflecting on my failures. Also, when I say failure, I’m speaking of situations where an outcome has occurred in a non-favorable manner. I try to remove the negative connotation associated with the word.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What I’m most excited about to date is that throughout my PhD I’ve come to realize that I’ve achieved a life goal of mine: to be paid to think. What I’m most proud of is the fact that my curiosity has not been demolished. If you look at my resume, I’m a computer scientst, but I don’t usually like to ascribe terms to what I do because I find joy in learning about different domains and I think that’s what has helped me pick up a few fields of study relatively easy. My curiosity to read helps a lot.

I wouldn’t say my journey was easy or hard. Nor, anywhere in between since I assess situations in my life from a “what can I learn” perspective. Thus, I’ll share a few lessons that I’ve learned throughout my life that may be useful to a select audience:
* Try to refrain from dogmatism in your thinking, especially when interacting with others.
* Be willing to connect with people regardless of their ethnic and geographical background.
* Never stop learning. Never stop contemplating. And always be willing to have a conversation, even when you think you know something.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Off rip, we’re going to waffle house. I don’t care what you think about waffle house, we’re going. Afterwards, I’d probably pull up on a local bookstore to chat over coffee. After we catch up, we’re definitely going to the courts. If you’re my best friend, you’re definitely a hooper too! Definitely pulling up on some parks to chill and catch a nice breeze. I’m very chill, so what I consider fun typically consists of me hanging out with friends or reading a novel. Anything beyond that is exhilarating, so I lean on my friends for more exciting activities!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Most immediately, my mother and father come to mind, but when it comes to where I am today, my father has the most significant impact. Throughout my matriculation at Morehouse College and, currently, Cornell University, a few names come to mind. Dr. John Howard, Dr. Shelby Wilson, Dr. Duane Cooper, Dr. Ilya Davis, Dr. Robert Kleinberg and Dr. David Bindel.

When it comes to literature, a few books come to mind that were pivotal in my mental development:
* Mastery by Robert Greene
* Mindset by Carol Dweck
* How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler & Charles Van Doren

These books have contributed the most to my development and sit at the top 3 spots on my top 7 list.

Website: darian.ai

Instagram: darian.ai

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darian-nwankwo-19b6711b4/

Twitter: darian_ai

Image Credits
Austyn Wyche