Member Profile: Alex Idichandy ’90

Posted on Tuesday, November 17, 2015

When Alex Idichandy first came to Northwestern, he thought he might study science, but an introductory class with Robert Gordon, Stanley G. Harris Professor of Economics, altered not only his major but the trajectory of his life. “Once I was introduced to economics, it just clicked with me,” says Idichandy, a native of Glendale Heights, Illinois who now lives in Atlanta and works as a corporate banker for Wells Fargo.

Born in India, Idichandy migrated to the United States with his family when he was two years old. Today he feels a sense of gratitude for the chance to attend Northwestern. Idichandy’s father was a social worker and with an older sibling also in college, his family would have been unable to afford full tuition, he says, but “the University gave me a very generous financial package,” including grants and work study opportunities. “Northwestern gave me the foundation to have a successful career,” says Idichandy, a gold member of NU Loyal. “That’s why I give.”

While taking classes in economics and pursuing a broad liberal arts education, Idichandy worked campus jobs in the economics department and Norris University Center. A dedicated ’Cats fan, he also did some sports reporting for WNUR. “When I was there our teams were pretty bad, but I loved Big Ten sports and the chance to be able to go to the games was a privilege.”

For more than 12 consecutive years, Idichandy has made annual gifts to support the Northwestern and Weinberg College Annual Funds as well as athletics. “I had a personal goal to repay every dollar of financial aid I received from Northwestern.” While Idichandy believes he’s achieved that goal, he says, “I continue to give because I want to support other students who were like me who wouldn’t otherwise have had that opportunity.”

Idichandy makes a point to visit the Evanston campus at least once a year to attend a football game and feast on a deep-dish pizza from Giordano’s. He keeps in touch with his niece, a current NU junior who is also taking an economics class with Professor Gordon. He and his friends enjoy walking around the Lakefill and checking out their old classroom buildings and the new structures on campus. He finds the bonds he made in college helped to prepare him for his job today, where he manages teams of corporate bankers across the country.

“Dealing with different types of clients and teammates is rewarding,” he says. “I have such fond memories of NU because of what it gave me for the rest of my life that I can use. But I also have such fond memories because I made lifelong friends there. Between those two things, it’s hard for me to think of a more enjoyable four-year period of my life.”