Meet Tanya Agrawal, co-president of Emory’s She’s the First chapter!
Name: Tanya Agrawal
Major: Marketing and ISOM, Minor in Economics
Hometown: Mumbai, India
Extracurricular Activities: She’s the First, Goizueta Marketing Club, Relay for Life, Teaching Assistant
Relationship Status: Single
Greek Affiliation: None
Tameka: Who is your biggest role model and why?
Tanya: Biggest role model, hmm… I don’t think I have one single person that influences me so much. I do, however, have some very, very inspiring friends and acquaintances.
Tameka: What has been your greatest accomplishment/memory at Emory so far?
Tanya: My biggest accomplishment and memory is when I studied abroad this past summer. I went to London and I think it was one of the best decisions I’ve made.
Tameka: Tell us about She’s the First and how you got involved with it on campus.
Tanya: I joined She’s the First my freshman year when the club was about to be chartered at Emory. I did my research before applying and realized how much of what it does resonates with me. I am from one of the developing countries that StF sponsors girls in, and part of what drew me to the organization was my first-hand experience in seeing the kind of petty things that hold girls back from obtaining the education they rightfully deserve. It’s heartbreaking to know that girls with bucket-loads of potential are unable to showcase their abilities because of their gender.
Tameka: What do you do as president?
Tanya: As co-president of She’s the First I do a lot of planning, organizing and delegating. My co-president Vy Nguyen, does most of the innovative thinking and as a result we have a bunch of new initiatives this year (fundraising, awareness-raising, volunteering, etc.). I communicate with our listserv, organize certain events (contact people for permissions, etc.) and plan in advance for our events every semester.
Submitted by Tanya Agrawal
Tameka: Had you ever done something like this before coming to Emory?
Tanya: I have always been involved with a lot of philanthropy and volunteering for the larger part of my life. In high school, I was a volunteer teacher for underprivileged children. I also directed a silent play for children with hearing and speech impairment. That was an enriching experience for me. This is the first time, however, that I’m working so closely with the cause of women empowerment.
Tameka: Can you tell us a bit about the girls that the organization is sponsoring this year?
Tanya: This is really exciting to talk about – during the first semester after we were chartered, we could only raise enough funds to co-sponsor one girl. Now, about 5 or 6 semesters later, we are able to fully sponsor 7 girls – 2 of whom we have been sponsoring for 2 years. The youngest girl is in the 1st grade and the oldest in 11th, and we’re thrilled to be able to sponsor them till they graduate. Even though I have never met these girls, I feel so close to them. They are highly talented, spirited, goal-oriented and visionary girls, and it’s an honor to be a part of their journey. They recently sent us letters telling us about themselves (these will be published on our Facebook page over the next 2 weeks at facebook.com/StFEMory). We are in the process of writing back to them. It’s all very exciting.
Tameka: I heard that Her Campus is doing a partnership with She’s the First. Can you talk about that?
Tanya: We are collaborating with HerCampus for the second time on this project – Trivia Night. Last year it was a big success with some very exciting prizes for the winning teams. We hold this event with the aim of engaging people on campus with the realities of girls in developing countries. This year it is going to be held on Nov 3, 6 PM at Few MPR.
Tameka: Are there any projects that you would like to complete with She’s the First before you graduate?
Tanya: This semester actually, we just started a bunch of new initiatives and projects. Right now, we are more focused on getting those off the ground. One of them is ‘Dine and Discuss’ where every month we go to a restaurant whose cuisine is that of our partner country’s and our GAP representative facilitates a discussion. At the end of the meal 50% of the bill goes to us. Another initiative is the volunteering one wherein we will send a group of 10 students to Cool Girls every week to support middle school girls through their stages of development. So my aim is to have these up and running as well have them sustain themselves.
Tameka: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Tanya: In 10 years… I would have made an impact in the community I live in, or hope to be in the process of doing so.