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Regis University Student From India Travels To Campus For 1st Time On Graduation Day

By Karen Morfitt

DENVER (CBS4)- College students from across Colorado are preparing for graduation, one student at Regis University making a nearly 30-hour trip from Mumbai to walk accept his diploma.

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Sarvesh Karkhanis says for his 27th birthday he is getting his computer science degree and his first look at the University it came from.

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"Totally the best gift I could get… really excited," Karkhanis said. "My parents were really happy with my graduation and insisted that I have to be there getting your diploma."

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After six years of education from Regis University, his graduation will not only be his first trip to Colorado but also his first tour of campus.

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Sarvesh Karkhanis (credit: CBS)

"In Mumbai we never have that kind of cold so we are enjoying it here," he laughed, "my campus was on the internet, and I was not the kind of guy who sits in college all the day."

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Instead, Karkhanis wanted to be working on projects.

Regis gave him the opportunity and the education to do that and be successful, something he is seeing through his final project as a student.

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"The thing is I wanted to make a project that could really help people," he said.

He did, building a device that will help train premature babies to develop their mouth muscles.

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"It has the potential to save lives of premature infants have really bad control of their mouth muscles which can lead to severe problems with malnourishment, and sometimes death," he said.

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The device has already captured the attention of researchers back home and Karkhanis said it landed him an "A" in the class.

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"I'm really excited and really excited because to think I'm graduating after completing a project that has the potential to save lives of people."

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Karen Morfitt joined the CBS4 team as a reporter in 2013. She covers a variety of stories in and around the Denver metro area. Connect with her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @karenmorfitt or email her tips.

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