Recent Graduate Sikander Nielsen Making A Difference on the Front Lines of COVID-19

On March 4th, 2020, senior Sikander Nielsen's college basketball playing career came to an end as the sixth-seeded Wolves fell to third-seeded Catawba 89-87 in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Championship.  Forty-three days later, the COVID-19 pandemic would cut his final semester at Newberry short and force Sikander to return home to Copenhagen, Denmark. 

He would finish out the semester from home and end up graduating with Honors in Pre-Professional Biology.  However, just five days after returning to Denmark, Sikander would begin working at the largest hospital in the country, testing people who are displaying symptoms of the same virus that cut his senior year short.  He got this position because one of the doctors at the hospital recommended Sikander because of his experience from Newberry College and the Newberry Pathology Group, where he worked his senior year.

Sikander and his teammates also test individuals who are being admitted for other conditions such as cancer and heart failure.  He finds interacting with all kinds of individuals very rewarding, but it can also be very challenging.  One of the most challenging patients for Sikander was a young girl with autism, who was afraid of the surroundings and did not want to get tested.  After 45 minutes of talking and working with the girl, she finally agreed to be swabbed when Sikander promised to let her swab him.  

"While it was a difficult task for sure, it was so rewarding once I finally completed it," said Nielsen.  "It is a privilege for me to help out any way I can, so I don't feel too uncomfortable in these settings."