October 24, 2025 • 40 mins
We sit down with Dr. Hardeep Saluja, pharmacist, educator, and Rotary leader, to unpack how data literacy and service above self are reshaping modern pharmacy education and community health.
Hardeep brings us from his roots in New Delhi and early work in clinical trials to Boston for graduate school and on to Oklahoma, where he leads in the College of Pharmacy at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He explains that the most valuable lesson from U.S. education was learning how to unlearn—challenging assumptions, thinking critically, and solving problems with an open mind. That mindset led him to design dual PharmD programs: one with an MBA for leadership and management, and another with a Master of Science in Health Information Management for data, informatics, and quality improvement. The result is a new kind of pharmacist who understands both patient care and the systems that power it.
We dig into AI, automation, and the future of pharmacy: precision dosing, real-time biometrics from wearables, and faster diagnostics that make care more personal and effective. Hardeep argues that AI is the modern calculator, a tool that won’t replace pharmacists but will amplify those who know how to use it. He shares how he fosters a culture of openness, consensus, and student-centered growth, and why emotional intelligence and listening are as essential as clinical knowledge.
Service ties it all together. Hardeep reflects on Rotary’s global impact, from polio eradication to local vaccination efforts, and how students learn by doing: diabetes education, rural outreach, and charitable clinics. He also shares why he founded the American Association of Indian Pharmacy Professors to mentor new faculty and build an inclusive, international network. If you’re a student, educator, or Rotarian, you’ll leave with practical advice—keep your mind open, observe carefully, ask for opportunities, and get involved.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
Welcome to the Rotary Spark Podcast, where we
ignite ideas and celebrateservice above self.
Dr.
Hardeep Saluja, welcome to theRotary Spark Podcast.
Can you share a little bit aboutyour journey?
SPEAKER_00 (00:35):
Thank you, Brian, for having me.
Hello, everyone.
Let me introduce myself.
My name is Hardeep Saluja.
I'm originally from New Delhi,India, where I did my undergrad
from New Delhi in India.
And pharmacy is something thatwas always my passion.
I want to do something in thehealthcare field.
(00:57):
And I realized that theprofession of pharmacy will suit
well for me.
So I did my undergrad back homeand then came to the United
States over two decades ago as astudent.
Did my MSN PhD from Boston andthen landed up in Oklahoma in
2010.
So I have no idea about rotary.
(01:18):
I had seen science here andthere.
And then one day I got an emailand somebody invited me to
attend a rotary meeting.
I went to the meeting, atelunch, saw a few familiar faces,
and I realized that that will bea very good platform for me to
network and know people.
(01:38):
Because I was new inWeatherford, Oklahoma.
I wanted to meet people, and Irealized that Rotary gave me a
good platform for that.
So I just joined Rotary just tomeet people and see what they
do.
But after attending a couple ofmeetings, I realized that Rotary
is way more than justnetworking.
And as I slowly, slowly got moreinvolved in it, I realized the
(02:01):
potential and power of Rotary.
And before I knew it, I realizedthat I became a member of a
family that is in 200 countries.
So joining Rotary was just acasual invitation.
But before you know it, I becamea Rotarian.
And now I have been Rotarian foralmost 15 years.
SPEAKER_01 (02:22):
Wow.
That's some time.
SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
Yes.
Once you get into Rotary andonce you start meeting people,
Rotary grows on you.
And before you know it, youbecome a Rotarian.
SPEAKER_01 (02:38):
That's a long distance from India to the
United States.
Could you tell us a little bitabout the different and similar
values that you've experienced?
SPEAKER_00 (02:52):
Yes, absolutely.
So initially I wasn't too sureabout coming to the United
States.
So after my uh undergraduatedegree, I got a job to work in a
multinational pharmaceuticalcompany in the field of clinical
trials.
The company was very popular.
It used to be called Ranbaxi,but it's no more there right
(03:14):
now.
But it was a huge pharmaceuticalcompany in India, the first
Indian-based multinational, andI was involved in some clinical
trials.
And there somebody gave me avery good advice.
They said that if you want to besuccessful in the business of
pharma, get more education.
So then I looked at places whereI want to go.
(03:35):
Do I want to study in India?
Do I want to study abroad?
And of course, the United Statesis the leader when it comes to
research and development, andespecially in the field of
medicines.
So I thought I'll give it a try.
I applied to different schools,got a scholarship in Boston.
So I decided to pursue my studyhere, my education here in the
(03:57):
US.
When it comes to values, thereare a lot of similarities.
Of course, my undergrad was inIndia.
But then when I came to theUnited States, the way US does
things is very different thanwhat I was used to.
But I guess I was a goodlearner, so I adopted and
embraced the change.
(04:18):
Most important thing I feel likewhat US education gave me was
not how to learn, but itactually taught me how to
unlearn.
And the power of criticalthinking, problem-solving
skills, analyzing thingsobjectively.
I think all those skills Idefinitely gained here in the
(04:40):
United States.
And I love the US educationsystem.
So having said that, there are alot of similarities, but I felt
like there were moredifferences.
The way things were done in theUnited States were way more
open.
(05:16):
So in a nutshell, if I have tosay about US education system,
is uh the power to unlearn thatI learned here, critical
thinking and problem solvingskills.
SPEAKER_01 (05:34):
That's inspiring.
You know, I often I uh hear, youknow, criticism on the other
side tied to education ingeneral, but I you know I'm
often reminded it it it dependson who you're surrounded by and
and and what you're listeningto.
I read that you're that youcreated a a very unique uh dual
(05:58):
uh degree program.
Can you tell us a little bitabout that?
SPEAKER_00 (06:03):
Yes.
So um I teach at SouthwesternOklahoma State University in the
College of Pharmacy.
And I'm the department chair inthe Department of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, and we offer Pharm Ddegrees, which is Doctor of
Pharmacy.
So almost a decade ago, werealized that our students, if
they want to be successful, theyneed more skills.
(06:25):
Pharm D is a very powerfuldegree, but a combination of
PharmD with other degrees can beeven more powerful.
So our first initiative washaving a doctor of pharmacy
degree with MBA.
So students that want to rise upin the ladder in leadership or
become managers, we thought thatit would be a good combination
(06:46):
for them.
So initially, we started withPharmD with MBA.
That program became verypopular.
Students were very excited aboutthat.
And then a couple of years ago,we started a new dual degree
program.
We call it Farm D with MSHIM,and MSHIM stands for Masters of
(07:09):
Science in Health InformationManagement.
In today's technology world, weare generating so much data, and
especially in healthcare, buthow to manage that data, how to
manage that information is avery valuable skill.
So with FarmD, our students aretrained on drugs, drug products,
disease state, and everything,but we have a limited
(07:31):
understanding of how to manageall the information and data
that is generated in the healthcare setting.
So a couple of years ago, westarted that, and I am happy to
share with you that we are thesecond in the nation to have
this combination of Farm B withMSHIN.
And we are the first one in theneighboring states to have this
(07:52):
unique program.
And actually, we have beengetting a lot of inquiries about
this combination.
And I'm glad that we started itbecause it is adding a lot of
value to our program, and a lotof students are very interested
in taking on this opportunity.
SPEAKER_01 (08:11):
That's really exciting.
It got me thinking about uh uhmixing business uh management
skills and a variety of other uhskills with that doctorate, not
to say that I understand uh thatdegree completely, but I I think
(08:31):
that uh you know that'sfantastic.
A lot of degrees um not on thedoctorate level.
Um, you know, I one of thereasons why I I've resisted I
get traditional education isbecause it kind of taught to
stay in the fishbowl, so so tospeak.
So when I hear things that youknow legitimately expand the
(08:53):
minds of youth, it it inspiresme.
So thank you for sharing that.
Uh so where you mentioned youmentioned technology.
Uh, where do you see the role ofof tech and and data changing
the way that future pharmacistsare trained?
SPEAKER_00 (09:18):
So, you know, in today's technology technological
world, we have to keep ourselvesupdated.
And the big buzzword nowadays isAI that we hear all the time.
And you might have heard peoplesaying that AI will not replace
you, but people that know AIwill replace you.
And I feel like yesterday'scalculator is today's AI.
(09:42):
So as we see advancement in thetechnology, there will be things
that pharmacies that have beendoing manually might be taken
over by robotics and technology.
So, from the way we provideeducation to students, and
especially this is myphilosophy, I want to train
students on things that I willnot be teaching in the class.
(10:06):
I don't want them to just learn,but learn how to learn.
I definitely want them tounderstand the power of
construction, but also the powerof destruction.
Sometimes you have todeconstruct things and then
reconstruct again from groundup.
(10:28):
Because as things have beenchanging, students have to
become critical thinkers andthink out of the box and not
only just stick to one area thatthey are comfortable with.
To give you an example, likewhen we married these different
degrees, the idea was to open uptheir mind.
(10:49):
And with so much data beinggenerated, now we need people
that can handle the data.
There are things that computercan do for us, there are things
that AI can do for us, but theseare again the tools.
They will not replace humans.
This is what I think.
Wherever they are replacinghumans, humans need to develop
(11:10):
skills that they stay ahead ofthis technology.
These are tools for us, and thiswill help us to do our job
better.
So, to answer your question,pharmacy in the next 10 years, I
see there is a lot ofadvancements that will be
happening.
And I think our education systemhas to keep up with the pace at
(11:35):
which this technology has beenadvancing to keep our students
competent and making sure whenthey get out they can find a
job, they have a career, andthey can add value to the
profession.
SPEAKER_01 (11:50):
That's great.
Uh and now it gets me thinkingabout you know the
pharmaceutical industry and justtechnology in general.
I uh why do why do you think uhso many people are resisting it?
Do you think that it it'ssimilar to I mean, would it be
(12:12):
crazy to uh uh jump to theconclusion that it's uh similar
to what you mentioned, thecalculator and also uh you know
electricity?
I I I looked online uh withinthe last few days uh often using
and just kind of doing somelight research tied to AI, and I
saw some uh anti-electricitypropaganda from the late 1800s.
SPEAKER_00 (12:40):
Well, so what I want people to think in this way
horse riding used to be a skill,but it's not a skill anymore.
Driving is a skill today, it maynot be a skill tomorrow.
When uh printing press came,people were resistant to the
(13:00):
printing press.
When computers came, we had thesimilar discussion.
When I did my high school, wehad log tables, and we will look
at values from the log tablesand then you know solve our
problems and then take anti-logsand all that.
We don't need that anymore.
So, for example, when Chat GPTcame, there was a lot of
(13:24):
discussion that students willforget writing, students will
not be able to write.
Well, Google search is alreadythere, grammarly is there,
people are using these tools tomake their work better.
This is a way more advancedtool.
So, with all these advancedtools, now we have more
challenging um problems in frontof us as well.
(13:48):
To give you an example, rightnow, if somebody has a headache
and they take ibuprofen, theyonly have options 200 milligram,
400 milligram, 600 milligram,800 milligram.
Those are the options that youhave.
Maybe you can cut into half orwhatever.
But tomorrow, for a specificpatient, 127 milligram is best
for the patient, does not givethose any of those side effects.
(14:11):
Can we do that?
Probably these technologies willhelp you.
The paint industry that you seenowadays, when you take a
specific color that you want onthe wall and you take it to any
of the stores, they can exactlymatch it to the color that
you're looking for.
So, with these technologies willhelp us with the precisions and
(14:34):
all.
Some of the testings that wewere doing earlier will take you
know, sometimes days to get theresults back.
Now they are right on your tipwith your smart watches, with
all those people wearing ringsand all that that are giving you
constant data.
So I'm a technology proponent,and I personally think that
(14:57):
these technologies will helpimprove our life, quality of our
life.
So I think we should embrace itrather than being opposed to it
because if we don't change, thentechnology will change us.
So keeping updated with thesetechnologies and training the
newer generation on thesetechnologies, I think that is
(15:19):
the future.
SPEAKER_01 (15:21):
When you look back at your work leading the
department of pharmaceuticalsciences, what are you most
proud of?
SPEAKER_00 (15:31):
Well, I'm proud of helping my students and bringing
my department close andtogether.
Um as a department chair in thedepartment of pharmaceutical
sciences.
Um, my leadership style, Ibelieve in open communication
and building consensus anduplifting the morale of the
(15:53):
department and the college ingeneral, and of course, making
sure our students get the besttraining.
And I think I'm able to achievethat.
There were a few things that weinitiated in the department to
make positive changes in thecollege.
Starting this farm D with MSHIMwas one of the big initiatives
(16:17):
that I took.
Teen was very supportive of it,and um, we were able to launch
it very well.
So I think overall, what I'mpersonally proud of is that I'm
at a position where I'm able tohelp my students to provide them
the best education, besttraining.
(16:38):
So when they go out, they arevery well prepared to be in a in
the society where they arecompetent, they are successful,
and they bring a lot of positivechanges in the society.
So they all will be goodcontributors into the society.
So I think that's what I'm mostproud of.
SPEAKER_01 (17:02):
You're an active member of the Weatherford Rotary
Club.
What does the rotary motto,service above self, mean to you
personally?
SPEAKER_00 (17:14):
So, um, as I said, I've been a Rotarian for many,
many years now, almost 15 years.
So when you talk about serviceabove self, these are just three
very powerful words.
And each word carries a lot ofweight and meaning.
So the first thing word that yousee here is service.
(17:36):
How can we serve others?
How can we serve selflessly tobring changes in the community,
to help anyone?
And when you have this serviceabove you, that basically,
according to me, I feel likeyou're going above and beyond
trying to help the community,trying to help the people,
(17:58):
giving back to the community.
And rotary service of our motorservices above self motto is not
only just the community thatyou're living in, we're serving
the community that you know thatis right here in Weatherford.
We are serving the community inOklahoma City, we are serving
the United States, but we arealso serving the whole world.
(18:19):
So pulse polio immunization hasbeen very close to my heart, and
Rotary has done such a fabulousjob with it.
Growing up in India, as apharmacy student, we will
administer polio drops to kidsand explain them why these um
drops are important, why theyshould get vaccinated.
At that point, I didn't realizethat the rotary was behind this.
(18:43):
So when I became a rotarian, Irealized that's such a novel
thing, a novel cause that rotarypicked up.
Giving life to a kid, just twodrops, can completely change
their life.
Uh, really, you know, very closeto my heart.
(19:05):
Because you know, in Indiagrowing up, we will hear about
you know, polio cases here andthere, and as you know, that
India has completely eradicatedpolio.
So these three powerful wordswhere you're selfless,
selflessly helping not only justpeople around you, but actually
(19:27):
helping people all around theworld.
Every dollar that we spend oryou know we give to the rotary,
it not only just helps you andI, but actually it is helping
people all the world, peoplethat we don't even know that we
are helping.
SPEAKER_01 (19:47):
How do you encourage students and professionals to
balance career success withgiving back to their
communities?
SPEAKER_00 (19:57):
Well, um not only just the students.
I mean, this is my message toeveryone.
We all have to work, we all haveto pay our bills, we have
responsibilities.
But it's very important ashumans that we all live
together.
And when we all live together,then we all have to take care of
ourselves.
And when we take care of youknow ourselves and others when
(20:19):
we take care, that makes asociety that is flourishing,
society that is peaceful,society that you want to be in.
So if I if you give an exampleabout um how we do that with our
students, our students arealways involved in multiple
community service activities.
We encourage students toparticipate in food banks, we
(20:42):
encourage students toparticipate whenever we are
immunizing.
And since our students in theCollege of Pharmacy have unique
healthcare skills, so most ofour students, you know, they are
involved in a lot of differentprojects, like, for example,
diabetes education, providingvaccination, explaining people
(21:03):
how you know hypertension can beharmful to them.
Going and serving uh in ruralhospitals or uh in pharmacies,
we have actually a charitableclinic here in Weatherford, it's
called Adapi Clinic.
Most of factories and ourstudents are involved in that,
(21:23):
trying to be part of um you knowgoing to schools and helping
school kids.
So our students in general arevery heavily involved.
Rotarians here are also veryheavily involved in the
community.
Where we realize that there is aneed, um, benefit community in
(21:46):
general always steps up andsays, All right, we will help
wherever the need is.
To give you one example,whenever COVID hit, College of
Pharmacy and the University gottogether and we were able to
vaccinate over 20,000 people.
The student body, the faculties,professors in the pharmacy that
(22:10):
are actually trained tovaccinate and all, everybody
chimed in.
And as I said, we were able tovaccinate over 20,000 people
here in Western Oklahoma.
So overall, I think we are umvery well connected with the
(22:35):
community, and we want toinstill that that community
service component must always bethere, and our students
understand the importance of it.
SPEAKER_01 (22:48):
It looks like you founded the American Association
of Indian uh PharmacyProfessors, AAIPP, is that
correct?
Yes, I'm the founding member,absolutely.
What inspired that and how hasit helped uh connect
(23:08):
professionals throughout theworld?
Okay, so we are recording this?
SPEAKER_00 (23:14):
Yeah.
Okay.
So um we have an associationcalled American Association of
Colleges of Pharmacy.
So when I graduated with my PhD,uh pharmacy profession was very
much in demand, and people werelooking for professors that want
to teach Pharm D students andwant to teach in the College of
(23:36):
Pharmacy.
So when I joined almost 16 yearsago, I joined and you know I was
able to settle well here.
But there were a lot ofchallenges, there were a lot of
unknowns because I was educatedin an Indian system.
And when you come as a graduatestudent in America, we were
(23:58):
mostly involved in our field, inthe research and the area of
expertise that I have.
And whenever you're doing yourPhD, you become so focused on
looking at one thingmicroscopically that sometimes
you miss the bigger picture.
So when I started here as anassistant professor in Oklahoma,
(24:18):
I realized that I'm very goodwith whatever stuff I learned
during my PhD, but there are alot of unknowns, like how the
education system in Americaworks.
I realized I didn't have a verygood understanding of it.
And looking at the Pharm Bprogram, the way we learn
pharmacy back home versus howstudents learn here was also
(24:41):
different.
So we will meet at AECP, and inthe past 15, 16 years, we
realized that the number ofIndian professors are growing.
So we realize that, you know,like we struggled with those
challenges and all, but welearned somehow.
But I think if we create aplatform where we can actually
help younger professors comingin and kind of provide a
(25:05):
platform where they can getmentorship, where they can talk
to people who have been in thefield for someone.
And the idea was to celebratethe contribution of Indian
professors here in America.
Even though we call it AAIPT,but I philosophically actually
meant Indian subcontinent.
(25:25):
So we were involving people fromBangladesh, from Pakistan, from
Burma, from nearby countries.
So where the number ofprofessors are very limited,
they may not be able to form anassociation or whatever, but at
least we can serve as a platformfor them to connect.
And philosophically, I actuallyrepresents inclusion.
(25:47):
We wanted to start small in thatwe want to test what is that,
what kind of response we'll get.
We got wonderful, amazingresponse.
And I is definitely uhphilosophically stands for
inclusion.
We have people that participatefrom you know all parts of the
world.
(26:07):
And another thing that wethought that this can also serve
as a platform for people aroundthe world.
To give you an example, US wasthe first country to have a
pharma D program.
Two decades ago, it was just BSNpharmacy.
In past two decades, you willsee that pharmacy has completely
(26:30):
changed a lot, and now it's allmost of it, what our students
learn is clinical skills.
And I realized that those skillsare very important for
pharmacists that are beingtrained in other parts of the
world.
So we partnered with uh teachingassociation in India, and we
realized that we can help themalso to see how things function
(26:53):
here, how pharmacy is changing,provide a platform for
collaboration and be a voice offaculties.
And as I said, we just want tomake sure that a lot of like
Indian uh professors from Indianorigin that have been deans and
(27:14):
all that, they have cometogether and said that well, if
you people want to go inleadership or young professors
that might be facing challengesand understanding things,
navigating, understanding theculture, um, they're willing to
mentor us.
And whatever little bit we know,we are trying to help others.
(27:34):
So the idea behind starting thiswas to provide a platform to
connect people.
And in past three years, we havereceived wonderful response.
People are thanking us thatsomebody took an initiative.
Multiple people even shared thatthey all thought about starting
something like this, buteverybody was apprehensive who
will take initiative, who willtake initiative.
(27:56):
So I'm glad myself and some ofmy friends who got together and
we took a chance.
And I'm proud that we all took achance.
We are rather than thinking weexecuted it, and that actually
is helping um people connect andhelping bring people together.
SPEAKER_01 (28:20):
How many how many people are in the association?
SPEAKER_00 (28:26):
So since we are only three years old, actually,
technically two years old, thefirst one that we did was just
to test water.
So whenever we do our banquets,we almost have 60 to 70 people
attend, depending on the year.
Membership wise, right now Ithink we are anywhere between 70
and 100.
Oh wow.
(28:46):
Um, but you know, every time,yeah.
So we have a decent number ofpeople that are connected with
us.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (28:57):
That's really cool.
Yeah, I'll have to uh check outthe website.
It's um let's see, I'm just kindof looking it up for reference.
SPEAKER_00 (29:05):
The website is www.aitc.us.
SPEAKER_01 (29:11):
Okay.
A I P P dot US.
Gotcha.
So it it sounds like you'vementored a lot of uh a lot of
(29:32):
students and uh young faculty.
What's a one piece of advicethat you would give to anyone
starting out their careers in inpharmacy or academia?
SPEAKER_00 (29:51):
One piece of advice that I'll give all of them that
just keep your mind open, keepyour eyes and mind open.
You never know.
What's gonna be coming in thefuture?
So whenever you start your owncareer, you think that this is
what I will be doing.
But as time changes, you realizeyou will land up doing something
(30:12):
completely different that younever thought of.
So having an open mind andalways this uh desire to learn,
I think that will that will bemy one advice.
Another thing that I think Iwill I always share to my
students and everyone be a goodobserver, observe what's going
(30:33):
on around you.
All our students they arescientifically very strong, but
to be successful in the field,they must have very strong
emotional intelligence.
And one thing I think, and I'mtrying myself to be better at
it, uh having this understandingof self-awareness and
(30:59):
recognizing the power oflistening.
I think they they are veryimportant skills that if you
learn those skills and practicethat, I think they will be very
successful in whatever they aredoing.
SPEAKER_01 (31:20):
Listening is uh it doesn't come naturally for
everyone.
SPEAKER_00 (31:29):
I personally think these are all acquired skills.
So if you have trouble or if yourealize that there are skills
that you want to learn and youhave difficulty doing it on your
own, somebody has already doneit.
So reaching out and seeking helpwill definitely, you know, my
(31:52):
advice to people you don't haveto reinvent the wheel.
You realize that you might befacing challenges.
It's not just you, other peoplehave faced as well.
Learning from their experienceshas been very beneficial.
So I'm never hesitant in goingout and asking for help.
Um, I may have a mind block thatif I go, he may answer or she
(32:16):
may or may not answer.
But experience has taught methat if I try, I may fail.
If not, I already know that isthat keep trying.
SPEAKER_01 (32:29):
That's a really good point.
It reminds me of uh just thenatural tendency to absorb
qualities of other individualsthat you spend time with.
Uh and you know, for me, as Ispend time around people that
are really good activelisteners, uh gradually, you
(32:52):
know, I'm continually remindedof people that are better at
listening than myself, uh kindof seeps in a little bit over
time.
If you have one message to pushout to existing or prospective
rhetorians, what would that be?
SPEAKER_00 (33:14):
So one message that I will have in one word if I
summarize it, I will say getinvolved.
Involvement will be I think akey here.
And to get younger peopleinvolved, I think seasoned
rotarians should help them getinvolved because whenever they
(33:37):
are engaged, and as seasonedrotarians, if you have been a
rotarian for some time, welcomethe young people.
Multiple times people don't knowwhat they don't know.
So there comes our job to makethem comfortable, show them what
(33:58):
rotary is all about, and thesooner they get involved, sooner
they get connected with rotary,connected with community, build
friendship, and then theyrealize that they become part of
a rotary family and they don'twant to leave it.
Studies have very clearlysuggested that people that
(34:22):
become rotarian and they stayRotarian for some time, they
want to be Rotarian forever.
They don't want to leave.
So, to give you an example,whenever I became a rotarian to
network, to meet people, andmeet community, I was not very
heavily involved in doingthings.
(34:43):
But slowly, slowly, as I starteddoing things and I started
getting more involved inprojects and giving back to
rotary, giving back tocommunity, it started bringing
so much joy and satisfactionthat I'm contributing something
to the community.
So for young people, wheneverthey come in, again observe,
(35:03):
don't hesitate to ask.
If you want to see any changesin the club, speak up.
If you want to come in theboard, go and ask, how can I be
in the board?
If you want to be in a certaincommittee, get up and say, Okay,
I would like to be in thatcommittee.
And one more thing that Idefinitely want to share,
(35:26):
especially with young Rutarians,initially you might think, well,
there might be a lot of workinvolved, and I have to do
everything.
No, somebody has already doneit.
I didn't realize that districthas so many resources.
You know, when I became apresident, I got more involved
(35:46):
in it, and when I startedattending district meetings,
getting more involved, Irealized there are things that I
thought, well, I have to do onmy own if I take up on this
responsibility.
Actually, no, there's a lot ofhelp available.
We want to start a rotat clubhere in Weatherford.
And when I reached out topeople, I said this is what we
can do.
But I also connected them withthe district and said that,
(36:10):
well, we have a chairpersonwho's oversees a road rat club.
Let's reach out to them and theywill provide you all the
information that you need tomake your life easy.
We all are busy, especiallyyoung rotarians, when they come
in, they already have aprofession, they have a family,
they have work to do.
We understand that.
So we want to get them involved,we don't want to overburden
(36:34):
them.
So it's important that theyunderstand that there are
resources available that theycan take advantage of.
So, again, in one word, if Ihave to share that what young
Rotarians and even seasonedrotarians should do is get
involved.
SPEAKER_01 (36:55):
That's really good advice.
Yeah, I I don't have a lot ofexperience in rotary, but based
on what I've been exposed to,that's that that's very solid
advice.
Uh thank you.
Uh Dr.
Saluja, uh, where can listenerslearn more about your work or
(37:15):
connect with you online?
SPEAKER_00 (37:19):
Well, I can provide you my university information if
you type my name on Swasusearch, or even if you type my
name, Hardet Saluja, and spaceSWSU, you will see my contact
information.
I'm also active on LinkedIn.
So you can see or connect me onLinkedIn.
(37:43):
You'll be able to, I hope you'llbe able to find me on LinkedIn
as well.
Okay.
Um reach out to me via email ormy office phone number or
through the road free email.
Um, whatever works for you.
Would love to connect.
SPEAKER_01 (37:59):
Perfect.
And that uh information willalso be available on District
5750's website atrotary5750.org.
Also Yes, it should.
SPEAKER_00 (38:09):
Oh, go ahead.
Yes, absolutely.
You're right on the road freewebsite, Rotary5750 or Rotary
International.
So if you go to 5750 and you seeWeatherford Rotary Club, you
should be able to access myinformation.
SPEAKER_01 (38:24):
And uh and if anyone gets lost, also on uh the Rotary
Spark Podcast uh um website, uhthe information will be
available there.
There'll be a back link that uhdirectly ties to you um and this
episode.
So uh there are a lot ofoptions.
(38:47):
Um and thank you for sharing theadditional communication avenues
because you know sometimespeople want to reach out or
learn a bit a little bit more,and it's good to be able to find
that information online.
Well, um thank thank you forjoining us and uh uh look
forward to chatting with youagain on and offline.
(39:08):
Um that's that's the RotarySpark podcast.
Uh thank you for joining us,everyone.
Happy World Polio Day.
Um, you know, the it might berunning close to the actual
event itself, but if anyone'scatching this right before six,
we're gonna be at the truckyardin Oklahoma City, uh, downtown.
(39:28):
You can Google that, you'll beable to access that information.
And we're gonna be out there fora few hours, rain or shine.
Uh there are already plans topush us inside if uh the rain
pops up.
So again, uh thank you everyonefor listening, and uh I look
forward to connecting uh witheveryone.
(39:49):
Goodbye.
Welcome to the Rotary Spark Podcast, where we
ignite ideas and celebrateservice above self.
Dr.
Hardeep Saluja, welcome to theRotary Spark Podcast.
Can you share a little bit aboutyour journey?
SPEAKER_00 (00:35):
Thank you, Brian, for having me.
Hello, everyone.
Let me introduce myself.
My name is Hardeep Saluja.
I'm originally from New Delhi,India, where I did my undergrad
from New Delhi in India.
And pharmacy is something thatwas always my passion.
I want to do something in thehealthcare field.
(00:57):
And I realized that theprofession of pharmacy will suit
well for me.
So I did my undergrad back homeand then came to the United
States over two decades ago as astudent.
Did my MSN PhD from Boston andthen landed up in Oklahoma in
2010.
So I have no idea about rotary.
(01:18):
I had seen science here andthere.
And then one day I got an emailand somebody invited me to
attend a rotary meeting.
I went to the meeting, atelunch, saw a few familiar faces,
and I realized that that will bea very good platform for me to
network and know people.
(01:38):
Because I was new inWeatherford, Oklahoma.
I wanted to meet people, and Irealized that Rotary gave me a
good platform for that.
So I just joined Rotary just tomeet people and see what they
do.
But after attending a couple ofmeetings, I realized that Rotary
is way more than justnetworking.
And as I slowly, slowly got moreinvolved in it, I realized the
(02:01):
potential and power of Rotary.
And before I knew it, I realizedthat I became a member of a
family that is in 200 countries.
So joining Rotary was just acasual invitation.
But before you know it, I becamea Rotarian.
And now I have been Rotarian foralmost 15 years.
SPEAKER_01 (02:22):
Wow.
That's some time.
SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
Yes.
Once you get into Rotary andonce you start meeting people,
Rotary grows on you.
And before you know it, youbecome a Rotarian.
SPEAKER_01 (02:38):
That's a long distance from India to the
United States.
Could you tell us a little bitabout the different and similar
values that you've experienced?
SPEAKER_00 (02:52):
Yes, absolutely.
So initially I wasn't too sureabout coming to the United
States.
So after my uh undergraduatedegree, I got a job to work in a
multinational pharmaceuticalcompany in the field of clinical
trials.
The company was very popular.
It used to be called Ranbaxi,but it's no more there right
(03:14):
now.
But it was a huge pharmaceuticalcompany in India, the first
Indian-based multinational, andI was involved in some clinical
trials.
And there somebody gave me avery good advice.
They said that if you want to besuccessful in the business of
pharma, get more education.
So then I looked at places whereI want to go.
(03:35):
Do I want to study in India?
Do I want to study abroad?
And of course, the United Statesis the leader when it comes to
research and development, andespecially in the field of
medicines.
So I thought I'll give it a try.
I applied to different schools,got a scholarship in Boston.
So I decided to pursue my studyhere, my education here in the
(03:57):
US.
When it comes to values, thereare a lot of similarities.
Of course, my undergrad was inIndia.
But then when I came to theUnited States, the way US does
things is very different thanwhat I was used to.
But I guess I was a goodlearner, so I adopted and
embraced the change.
(04:18):
Most important thing I feel likewhat US education gave me was
not how to learn, but itactually taught me how to
unlearn.
And the power of criticalthinking, problem-solving
skills, analyzing thingsobjectively.
I think all those skills Idefinitely gained here in the
(04:40):
United States.
And I love the US educationsystem.
So having said that, there are alot of similarities, but I felt
like there were moredifferences.
The way things were done in theUnited States were way more
open.
(05:16):
So in a nutshell, if I have tosay about US education system,
is uh the power to unlearn thatI learned here, critical
thinking and problem solvingskills.
SPEAKER_01 (05:34):
That's inspiring.
You know, I often I uh hear, youknow, criticism on the other
side tied to education ingeneral, but I you know I'm
often reminded it it it dependson who you're surrounded by and
and and what you're listeningto.
I read that you're that youcreated a a very unique uh dual
(05:58):
uh degree program.
Can you tell us a little bitabout that?
SPEAKER_00 (06:03):
Yes.
So um I teach at SouthwesternOklahoma State University in the
College of Pharmacy.
And I'm the department chair inthe Department of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, and we offer Pharm Ddegrees, which is Doctor of
Pharmacy.
So almost a decade ago, werealized that our students, if
they want to be successful, theyneed more skills.
(06:25):
Pharm D is a very powerfuldegree, but a combination of
PharmD with other degrees can beeven more powerful.
So our first initiative washaving a doctor of pharmacy
degree with MBA.
So students that want to rise upin the ladder in leadership or
become managers, we thought thatit would be a good combination
(06:46):
for them.
So initially, we started withPharmD with MBA.
That program became verypopular.
Students were very excited aboutthat.
And then a couple of years ago,we started a new dual degree
program.
We call it Farm D with MSHIM,and MSHIM stands for Masters of
(07:09):
Science in Health InformationManagement.
In today's technology world, weare generating so much data, and
especially in healthcare, buthow to manage that data, how to
manage that information is avery valuable skill.
So with FarmD, our students aretrained on drugs, drug products,
disease state, and everything,but we have a limited
(07:31):
understanding of how to manageall the information and data
that is generated in the healthcare setting.
So a couple of years ago, westarted that, and I am happy to
share with you that we are thesecond in the nation to have
this combination of Farm B withMSHIN.
And we are the first one in theneighboring states to have this
(07:52):
unique program.
And actually, we have beengetting a lot of inquiries about
this combination.
And I'm glad that we started itbecause it is adding a lot of
value to our program, and a lotof students are very interested
in taking on this opportunity.
SPEAKER_01 (08:11):
That's really exciting.
It got me thinking about uh uhmixing business uh management
skills and a variety of other uhskills with that doctorate, not
to say that I understand uh thatdegree completely, but I I think
(08:31):
that uh you know that'sfantastic.
A lot of degrees um not on thedoctorate level.
Um, you know, I one of thereasons why I I've resisted I
get traditional education isbecause it kind of taught to
stay in the fishbowl, so so tospeak.
So when I hear things that youknow legitimately expand the
(08:53):
minds of youth, it it inspiresme.
So thank you for sharing that.
Uh so where you mentioned youmentioned technology.
Uh, where do you see the role ofof tech and and data changing
the way that future pharmacistsare trained?
SPEAKER_00 (09:18):
So, you know, in today's technology technological
world, we have to keep ourselvesupdated.
And the big buzzword nowadays isAI that we hear all the time.
And you might have heard peoplesaying that AI will not replace
you, but people that know AIwill replace you.
And I feel like yesterday'scalculator is today's AI.
(09:42):
So as we see advancement in thetechnology, there will be things
that pharmacies that have beendoing manually might be taken
over by robotics and technology.
So, from the way we provideeducation to students, and
especially this is myphilosophy, I want to train
students on things that I willnot be teaching in the class.
(10:06):
I don't want them to just learn,but learn how to learn.
I definitely want them tounderstand the power of
construction, but also the powerof destruction.
Sometimes you have todeconstruct things and then
reconstruct again from groundup.
(10:28):
Because as things have beenchanging, students have to
become critical thinkers andthink out of the box and not
only just stick to one area thatthey are comfortable with.
To give you an example, likewhen we married these different
degrees, the idea was to open uptheir mind.
(10:49):
And with so much data beinggenerated, now we need people
that can handle the data.
There are things that computercan do for us, there are things
that AI can do for us, but theseare again the tools.
They will not replace humans.
This is what I think.
Wherever they are replacinghumans, humans need to develop
(11:10):
skills that they stay ahead ofthis technology.
These are tools for us, and thiswill help us to do our job
better.
So, to answer your question,pharmacy in the next 10 years, I
see there is a lot ofadvancements that will be
happening.
And I think our education systemhas to keep up with the pace at
(11:35):
which this technology has beenadvancing to keep our students
competent and making sure whenthey get out they can find a
job, they have a career, andthey can add value to the
profession.
SPEAKER_01 (11:50):
That's great.
Uh and now it gets me thinkingabout you know the
pharmaceutical industry and justtechnology in general.
I uh why do why do you think uhso many people are resisting it?
Do you think that it it'ssimilar to I mean, would it be
(12:12):
crazy to uh uh jump to theconclusion that it's uh similar
to what you mentioned, thecalculator and also uh you know
electricity?
I I I looked online uh withinthe last few days uh often using
and just kind of doing somelight research tied to AI, and I
saw some uh anti-electricitypropaganda from the late 1800s.
SPEAKER_00 (12:40):
Well, so what I want people to think in this way
horse riding used to be a skill,but it's not a skill anymore.
Driving is a skill today, it maynot be a skill tomorrow.
When uh printing press came,people were resistant to the
(13:00):
printing press.
When computers came, we had thesimilar discussion.
When I did my high school, wehad log tables, and we will look
at values from the log tablesand then you know solve our
problems and then take anti-logsand all that.
We don't need that anymore.
So, for example, when Chat GPTcame, there was a lot of
(13:24):
discussion that students willforget writing, students will
not be able to write.
Well, Google search is alreadythere, grammarly is there,
people are using these tools tomake their work better.
This is a way more advancedtool.
So, with all these advancedtools, now we have more
challenging um problems in frontof us as well.
(13:48):
To give you an example, rightnow, if somebody has a headache
and they take ibuprofen, theyonly have options 200 milligram,
400 milligram, 600 milligram,800 milligram.
Those are the options that youhave.
Maybe you can cut into half orwhatever.
But tomorrow, for a specificpatient, 127 milligram is best
for the patient, does not givethose any of those side effects.
(14:11):
Can we do that?
Probably these technologies willhelp you.
The paint industry that you seenowadays, when you take a
specific color that you want onthe wall and you take it to any
of the stores, they can exactlymatch it to the color that
you're looking for.
So, with these technologies willhelp us with the precisions and
(14:34):
all.
Some of the testings that wewere doing earlier will take you
know, sometimes days to get theresults back.
Now they are right on your tipwith your smart watches, with
all those people wearing ringsand all that that are giving you
constant data.
So I'm a technology proponent,and I personally think that
(14:57):
these technologies will helpimprove our life, quality of our
life.
So I think we should embrace itrather than being opposed to it
because if we don't change, thentechnology will change us.
So keeping updated with thesetechnologies and training the
newer generation on thesetechnologies, I think that is
(15:19):
the future.
SPEAKER_01 (15:21):
When you look back at your work leading the
department of pharmaceuticalsciences, what are you most
proud of?
SPEAKER_00 (15:31):
Well, I'm proud of helping my students and bringing
my department close andtogether.
Um as a department chair in thedepartment of pharmaceutical
sciences.
Um, my leadership style, Ibelieve in open communication
and building consensus anduplifting the morale of the
(15:53):
department and the college ingeneral, and of course, making
sure our students get the besttraining.
And I think I'm able to achievethat.
There were a few things that weinitiated in the department to
make positive changes in thecollege.
Starting this farm D with MSHIMwas one of the big initiatives
(16:17):
that I took.
Teen was very supportive of it,and um, we were able to launch
it very well.
So I think overall, what I'mpersonally proud of is that I'm
at a position where I'm able tohelp my students to provide them
the best education, besttraining.
(16:38):
So when they go out, they arevery well prepared to be in a in
the society where they arecompetent, they are successful,
and they bring a lot of positivechanges in the society.
So they all will be goodcontributors into the society.
So I think that's what I'm mostproud of.
SPEAKER_01 (17:02):
You're an active member of the Weatherford Rotary
Club.
What does the rotary motto,service above self, mean to you
personally?
SPEAKER_00 (17:14):
So, um, as I said, I've been a Rotarian for many,
many years now, almost 15 years.
So when you talk about serviceabove self, these are just three
very powerful words.
And each word carries a lot ofweight and meaning.
So the first thing word that yousee here is service.
(17:36):
How can we serve others?
How can we serve selflessly tobring changes in the community,
to help anyone?
And when you have this serviceabove you, that basically,
according to me, I feel likeyou're going above and beyond
trying to help the community,trying to help the people,
(17:58):
giving back to the community.
And rotary service of our motorservices above self motto is not
only just the community thatyou're living in, we're serving
the community that you know thatis right here in Weatherford.
We are serving the community inOklahoma City, we are serving
the United States, but we arealso serving the whole world.
(18:19):
So pulse polio immunization hasbeen very close to my heart, and
Rotary has done such a fabulousjob with it.
Growing up in India, as apharmacy student, we will
administer polio drops to kidsand explain them why these um
drops are important, why theyshould get vaccinated.
At that point, I didn't realizethat the rotary was behind this.
(18:43):
So when I became a rotarian, Irealized that's such a novel
thing, a novel cause that rotarypicked up.
Giving life to a kid, just twodrops, can completely change
their life.
Uh, really, you know, very closeto my heart.
(19:05):
Because you know, in Indiagrowing up, we will hear about
you know, polio cases here andthere, and as you know, that
India has completely eradicatedpolio.
So these three powerful wordswhere you're selfless,
selflessly helping not only justpeople around you, but actually
(19:27):
helping people all around theworld.
Every dollar that we spend oryou know we give to the rotary,
it not only just helps you andI, but actually it is helping
people all the world, peoplethat we don't even know that we
are helping.
SPEAKER_01 (19:47):
How do you encourage students and professionals to
balance career success withgiving back to their
communities?
SPEAKER_00 (19:57):
Well, um not only just the students.
I mean, this is my message toeveryone.
We all have to work, we all haveto pay our bills, we have
responsibilities.
But it's very important ashumans that we all live
together.
And when we all live together,then we all have to take care of
ourselves.
And when we take care of youknow ourselves and others when
(20:19):
we take care, that makes asociety that is flourishing,
society that is peaceful,society that you want to be in.
So if I if you give an exampleabout um how we do that with our
students, our students arealways involved in multiple
community service activities.
We encourage students toparticipate in food banks, we
(20:42):
encourage students toparticipate whenever we are
immunizing.
And since our students in theCollege of Pharmacy have unique
healthcare skills, so most ofour students, you know, they are
involved in a lot of differentprojects, like, for example,
diabetes education, providingvaccination, explaining people
(21:03):
how you know hypertension can beharmful to them.
Going and serving uh in ruralhospitals or uh in pharmacies,
we have actually a charitableclinic here in Weatherford, it's
called Adapi Clinic.
Most of factories and ourstudents are involved in that,
(21:23):
trying to be part of um you knowgoing to schools and helping
school kids.
So our students in general arevery heavily involved.
Rotarians here are also veryheavily involved in the
community.
Where we realize that there is aneed, um, benefit community in
(21:46):
general always steps up andsays, All right, we will help
wherever the need is.
To give you one example,whenever COVID hit, College of
Pharmacy and the University gottogether and we were able to
vaccinate over 20,000 people.
The student body, the faculties,professors in the pharmacy that
(22:10):
are actually trained tovaccinate and all, everybody
chimed in.
And as I said, we were able tovaccinate over 20,000 people
here in Western Oklahoma.
So overall, I think we are umvery well connected with the
(22:35):
community, and we want toinstill that that community
service component must always bethere, and our students
understand the importance of it.
SPEAKER_01 (22:48):
It looks like you founded the American Association
of Indian uh PharmacyProfessors, AAIPP, is that
correct?
Yes, I'm the founding member,absolutely.
What inspired that and how hasit helped uh connect
(23:08):
professionals throughout theworld?
Okay, so we are recording this?
SPEAKER_00 (23:14):
Yeah.
Okay.
So um we have an associationcalled American Association of
Colleges of Pharmacy.
So when I graduated with my PhD,uh pharmacy profession was very
much in demand, and people werelooking for professors that want
to teach Pharm D students andwant to teach in the College of
(23:36):
Pharmacy.
So when I joined almost 16 yearsago, I joined and you know I was
able to settle well here.
But there were a lot ofchallenges, there were a lot of
unknowns because I was educatedin an Indian system.
And when you come as a graduatestudent in America, we were
(23:58):
mostly involved in our field, inthe research and the area of
expertise that I have.
And whenever you're doing yourPhD, you become so focused on
looking at one thingmicroscopically that sometimes
you miss the bigger picture.
So when I started here as anassistant professor in Oklahoma,
(24:18):
I realized that I'm very goodwith whatever stuff I learned
during my PhD, but there are alot of unknowns, like how the
education system in Americaworks.
I realized I didn't have a verygood understanding of it.
And looking at the Pharm Bprogram, the way we learn
pharmacy back home versus howstudents learn here was also
(24:41):
different.
So we will meet at AECP, and inthe past 15, 16 years, we
realized that the number ofIndian professors are growing.
So we realize that, you know,like we struggled with those
challenges and all, but welearned somehow.
But I think if we create aplatform where we can actually
help younger professors comingin and kind of provide a
(25:05):
platform where they can getmentorship, where they can talk
to people who have been in thefield for someone.
And the idea was to celebratethe contribution of Indian
professors here in America.
Even though we call it AAIPT,but I philosophically actually
meant Indian subcontinent.
(25:25):
So we were involving people fromBangladesh, from Pakistan, from
Burma, from nearby countries.
So where the number ofprofessors are very limited,
they may not be able to form anassociation or whatever, but at
least we can serve as a platformfor them to connect.
And philosophically, I actuallyrepresents inclusion.
(25:47):
We wanted to start small in thatwe want to test what is that,
what kind of response we'll get.
We got wonderful, amazingresponse.
And I is definitely uhphilosophically stands for
inclusion.
We have people that participatefrom you know all parts of the
world.
(26:07):
And another thing that wethought that this can also serve
as a platform for people aroundthe world.
To give you an example, US wasthe first country to have a
pharma D program.
Two decades ago, it was just BSNpharmacy.
In past two decades, you willsee that pharmacy has completely
(26:30):
changed a lot, and now it's allmost of it, what our students
learn is clinical skills.
And I realized that those skillsare very important for
pharmacists that are beingtrained in other parts of the
world.
So we partnered with uh teachingassociation in India, and we
realized that we can help themalso to see how things function
(26:53):
here, how pharmacy is changing,provide a platform for
collaboration and be a voice offaculties.
And as I said, we just want tomake sure that a lot of like
Indian uh professors from Indianorigin that have been deans and
(27:14):
all that, they have cometogether and said that well, if
you people want to go inleadership or young professors
that might be facing challengesand understanding things,
navigating, understanding theculture, um, they're willing to
mentor us.
And whatever little bit we know,we are trying to help others.
(27:34):
So the idea behind starting thiswas to provide a platform to
connect people.
And in past three years, we havereceived wonderful response.
People are thanking us thatsomebody took an initiative.
Multiple people even shared thatthey all thought about starting
something like this, buteverybody was apprehensive who
will take initiative, who willtake initiative.
(27:56):
So I'm glad myself and some ofmy friends who got together and
we took a chance.
And I'm proud that we all took achance.
We are rather than thinking weexecuted it, and that actually
is helping um people connect andhelping bring people together.
SPEAKER_01 (28:20):
How many how many people are in the association?
SPEAKER_00 (28:26):
So since we are only three years old, actually,
technically two years old, thefirst one that we did was just
to test water.
So whenever we do our banquets,we almost have 60 to 70 people
attend, depending on the year.
Membership wise, right now Ithink we are anywhere between 70
and 100.
Oh wow.
(28:46):
Um, but you know, every time,yeah.
So we have a decent number ofpeople that are connected with
us.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (28:57):
That's really cool.
Yeah, I'll have to uh check outthe website.
It's um let's see, I'm just kindof looking it up for reference.
SPEAKER_00 (29:05):
The website is www.aitc.us.
SPEAKER_01 (29:11):
Okay.
A I P P dot US.
Gotcha.
So it it sounds like you'vementored a lot of uh a lot of
(29:32):
students and uh young faculty.
What's a one piece of advicethat you would give to anyone
starting out their careers in inpharmacy or academia?
SPEAKER_00 (29:51):
One piece of advice that I'll give all of them that
just keep your mind open, keepyour eyes and mind open.
You never know.
What's gonna be coming in thefuture?
So whenever you start your owncareer, you think that this is
what I will be doing.
But as time changes, you realizeyou will land up doing something
(30:12):
completely different that younever thought of.
So having an open mind andalways this uh desire to learn,
I think that will that will bemy one advice.
Another thing that I think Iwill I always share to my
students and everyone be a goodobserver, observe what's going
(30:33):
on around you.
All our students they arescientifically very strong, but
to be successful in the field,they must have very strong
emotional intelligence.
And one thing I think, and I'mtrying myself to be better at
it, uh having this understandingof self-awareness and
(30:59):
recognizing the power oflistening.
I think they they are veryimportant skills that if you
learn those skills and practicethat, I think they will be very
successful in whatever they aredoing.
SPEAKER_01 (31:20):
Listening is uh it doesn't come naturally for
everyone.
SPEAKER_00 (31:29):
I personally think these are all acquired skills.
So if you have trouble or if yourealize that there are skills
that you want to learn and youhave difficulty doing it on your
own, somebody has already doneit.
So reaching out and seeking helpwill definitely, you know, my
(31:52):
advice to people you don't haveto reinvent the wheel.
You realize that you might befacing challenges.
It's not just you, other peoplehave faced as well.
Learning from their experienceshas been very beneficial.
So I'm never hesitant in goingout and asking for help.
Um, I may have a mind block thatif I go, he may answer or she
(32:16):
may or may not answer.
But experience has taught methat if I try, I may fail.
If not, I already know that isthat keep trying.
SPEAKER_01 (32:29):
That's a really good point.
It reminds me of uh just thenatural tendency to absorb
qualities of other individualsthat you spend time with.
Uh and you know, for me, as Ispend time around people that
are really good activelisteners, uh gradually, you
(32:52):
know, I'm continually remindedof people that are better at
listening than myself, uh kindof seeps in a little bit over
time.
If you have one message to pushout to existing or prospective
rhetorians, what would that be?
SPEAKER_00 (33:14):
So one message that I will have in one word if I
summarize it, I will say getinvolved.
Involvement will be I think akey here.
And to get younger peopleinvolved, I think seasoned
rotarians should help them getinvolved because whenever they
(33:37):
are engaged, and as seasonedrotarians, if you have been a
rotarian for some time, welcomethe young people.
Multiple times people don't knowwhat they don't know.
So there comes our job to makethem comfortable, show them what
(33:58):
rotary is all about, and thesooner they get involved, sooner
they get connected with rotary,connected with community, build
friendship, and then theyrealize that they become part of
a rotary family and they don'twant to leave it.
Studies have very clearlysuggested that people that
(34:22):
become rotarian and they stayRotarian for some time, they
want to be Rotarian forever.
They don't want to leave.
So, to give you an example,whenever I became a rotarian to
network, to meet people, andmeet community, I was not very
heavily involved in doingthings.
(34:43):
But slowly, slowly, as I starteddoing things and I started
getting more involved inprojects and giving back to
rotary, giving back tocommunity, it started bringing
so much joy and satisfactionthat I'm contributing something
to the community.
So for young people, wheneverthey come in, again observe,
(35:03):
don't hesitate to ask.
If you want to see any changesin the club, speak up.
If you want to come in theboard, go and ask, how can I be
in the board?
If you want to be in a certaincommittee, get up and say, Okay,
I would like to be in thatcommittee.
And one more thing that Idefinitely want to share,
(35:26):
especially with young Rutarians,initially you might think, well,
there might be a lot of workinvolved, and I have to do
everything.
No, somebody has already doneit.
I didn't realize that districthas so many resources.
You know, when I became apresident, I got more involved
(35:46):
in it, and when I startedattending district meetings,
getting more involved, Irealized there are things that I
thought, well, I have to do onmy own if I take up on this
responsibility.
Actually, no, there's a lot ofhelp available.
We want to start a rotat clubhere in Weatherford.
And when I reached out topeople, I said this is what we
can do.
But I also connected them withthe district and said that,
(36:10):
well, we have a chairpersonwho's oversees a road rat club.
Let's reach out to them and theywill provide you all the
information that you need tomake your life easy.
We all are busy, especiallyyoung rotarians, when they come
in, they already have aprofession, they have a family,
they have work to do.
We understand that.
So we want to get them involved,we don't want to overburden
(36:34):
them.
So it's important that theyunderstand that there are
resources available that theycan take advantage of.
So, again, in one word, if Ihave to share that what young
Rotarians and even seasonedrotarians should do is get
involved.
SPEAKER_01 (36:55):
That's really good advice.
Yeah, I I don't have a lot ofexperience in rotary, but based
on what I've been exposed to,that's that that's very solid
advice.
Uh thank you.
Uh Dr.
Saluja, uh, where can listenerslearn more about your work or
(37:15):
connect with you online?
SPEAKER_00 (37:19):
Well, I can provide you my university information if
you type my name on Swasusearch, or even if you type my
name, Hardet Saluja, and spaceSWSU, you will see my contact
information.
I'm also active on LinkedIn.
So you can see or connect me onLinkedIn.
(37:43):
You'll be able to, I hope you'llbe able to find me on LinkedIn
as well.
Okay.
Um reach out to me via email ormy office phone number or
through the road free email.
Um, whatever works for you.
Would love to connect.
SPEAKER_01 (37:59):
Perfect.
And that uh information willalso be available on District
5750's website atrotary5750.org.
Also Yes, it should.
SPEAKER_00 (38:09):
Oh, go ahead.
Yes, absolutely.
You're right on the road freewebsite, Rotary5750 or Rotary
International.
So if you go to 5750 and you seeWeatherford Rotary Club, you
should be able to access myinformation.
SPEAKER_01 (38:24):
And uh and if anyone gets lost, also on uh the Rotary
Spark Podcast uh um website, uhthe information will be
available there.
There'll be a back link that uhdirectly ties to you um and this
episode.
So uh there are a lot ofoptions.
(38:47):
Um and thank you for sharing theadditional communication avenues
because you know sometimespeople want to reach out or
learn a bit a little bit more,and it's good to be able to find
that information online.
Well, um thank thank you forjoining us and uh uh look
forward to chatting with youagain on and offline.
(39:08):
Um that's that's the RotarySpark podcast.
Uh thank you for joining us,everyone.
Happy World Polio Day.
Um, you know, the it might berunning close to the actual
event itself, but if anyone'scatching this right before six,
we're gonna be at the truckyardin Oklahoma City, uh, downtown.
(39:28):
You can Google that, you'll beable to access that information.
And we're gonna be out there fora few hours, rain or shine.
Uh there are already plans topush us inside if uh the rain
pops up.
So again, uh thank you everyonefor listening, and uh I look
forward to connecting uh witheveryone.
(39:49):
Goodbye.
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