This sculpture, a memorial to Ravi Thackurdeen '14, was dedicated in June 2015 and given by his family. The result of close collaboration between artist/fabricator Kurt Wulfmeyer and the Thackurdeens, the 5-foot-diameter sphere is intended to "glow from the inside," as the family requested. It is made of bronze plate cut in the shape of actual botanical samples that Ravi had enjoyed collecting for a course.
Ravi’s legacy lives on at Swarthmore through this sculpture and through the Ravi Thackurdeen ’14 Memorial Scholarship, established in 2012 by the Thackurdeen family and friends in memory of a young man who not only embraced life with every fiber of his being, but touched others’ lives so profoundly. Filled with boundless energy and enthusiasm, Ravi cherished his time at Swarthmore — a place he said “felt like home” — as well as his many dynamic learning experiences and the opportunities afforded to him as a student. His greatest wish was to “make a difference in the world.” Ravi served on the Swarthmore Fire and Protective Association ambulance squad, tutored elementary and middle school students from Chester, Pa., and was a 2012 Richard Rubin Scholar, who planned to major in chemistry.
Read more about Ravi and how he was remembered by the Swarthmore community following his passing.