Student Experience

Need a fresh haircut? Look to the Lawn

It was the Friday before Final Exercises weekend, and all over the Lawn, University of Virginia students picnicked, tossed Frisbees and took graduation photos.

Squarely in front of the Rotunda, Ishan Bhikha was cutting hair. It’s not every day someone gets a fresh ’do in front of a UNESCO World Heritage site designed by Thomas Jefferson.

“I started giving haircuts in the fall of 2024,” Bhikha, a mechanical and aerospace engineering student, said. “And then when I moved onto the Lawn, I started doing them here, and people would come up and ask me for haircuts, so I would do them on the spot or get their number and schedule them in.”

With final exams behind them, many graduating students are getting fresh chops, painting their nails and meticulously planning outfits as faculty and staff around the University prepare Grounds for graduation. Bhikha is one small part of that picture.

On Friday, Bhikha was cutting Mark Piatko’s hair. The two have been friends for years since working on UVA’s solar car team. Piatko has gotten three haircuts from Bhikha, and needed a fresh cut before he walks the Lawn this Sunday during Final Exercises.

“Ishan is the only barber my mom likes,” Piatko said. “I got my hair cut by him, and I think that’s the only time she said, ‘That was a good one.’”

Bhikha cutting the hair of another student on the Lawn.

Bhikha says his love for his “favorite hobby” comes from wanting to help his friends look good. (Photo by Erin Edgerton, University Communications)

In 2020, Bhikha worked as his father’s barber, because many barbershops and hair salons were closed due to the pandemic. That was easy enough, since his dad keeps his hair short and only likes it one way. After giving a couple of his friends haircuts, he decided to invest in proper tools. He has since taught himself to cut different hair types and different styles through YouTube tutorials. Mostly, he cuts men’s hair, but he said his girlfriend has allowed him to take a hand at styling her hair.

He’s even cut a handful of his fellow Lawnies’ hair.

“I’m hoping it can become a tradition. Maybe my room can become the barbershop room,” Bhikha said.

Students who come to Bhikha for a cut get rid of shaggy locks or dead ends without leaving Grounds.

“I take longer than it would if you went to a barbershop, because I like to stop and chat with people, get to know them,” he said.

After graduation, he plans to work as a software engineer and earn his master’s in mechanical and aerospace engineering from UVA through an online program. He also plans to continue cutting hair – just not on the Lawn.

Connection is what it’s about.

“It starts with just wanting to help my friends look good,” Bhikha explained. “I like helping them try out a different style. The most fulfilling thing is when my friends come back to me and say, ‘Hey, I got a lot of compliments on my cut.’”