As the 2017-2018 school year draws to an end, we begin to reflect on the seniors who will soon walk the stage and begin their lives outside of Agnes Scott College. One Riveter that I have had the pleasure of knowing during my Agnes career is Shriya Bhattacharya. A class of 2018 International Relations major and dance minor, Shriya has been my colleague at the Center for Writing and Speaking for the last two years. More than that, Shriya has been a close friend and reliable joy-bringer since our first encounter in 2016. I sat down with Shriya in her immaculate Avery apartment, decorated with pictures from her adventures during study abroad, to reflect on her time at Agnes and talk a bit about her hopes for the future.
HC: Alrighty, let’s start with the basics: What’s your full name and your nickname?
SB: My name is Shriya Bhattacharya, and people call me Shriya!
HC: No nicknames, huh? So, Shriya, where’s your hometown?
SB: That’s a really hard question! Simply because I have moved around a lot. I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; so I like to think of that as my hometown. But I moved to New Jersey when I was three. When I was twelve, we moved to India, and that is where my parents currently live. So, I’m not sure if I should call that home or Philadelphia home? Or Atlanta home!
HC: Where to next? Where is your next destination?
SB: Washington, D.C.
HC: And what are you doing in D.C.?
SB: I am starting a full-time position at the United Nations Foundation as the Coordinator for their Universal Access Project.
HC: YAY!!!! Let the people know you are big ballin’. Do you know where you are living yet?
SB: The living situation is a bit up in the air because I just learned that I was offered the position last week! But, I get to ring the bell before I leave. I feel like everything fell into place at the right time.
HC: What is your advice for landing a job?
SB: I think, for D.C. especially, it’s all about who you know.
HC: So building your network?
SB: Definitely, building your network. If I hadn’t interned for a lobbying firm this summer, I think I would have never had the opportunity to interview with the UN Foundation. It’s the people you know that can help you along the way. That I can say for certain, someone has helped me, in some shape or form, along the way for everything I have ever done. Especially in my field (International Relations), it’s all about who you know. Once you get your foot in the door, you can move on from there.
HC: What the one thing you are going to miss at Agnes.
SB: This may sound very cliche, and this is an answer I give when I give tours of Agnes, but the supportive community. The community is why people choose Agnes Scott. People see that is it less about the competition and more about lifting each other up. Regardless if you are on campus, or in the dining hall, someone you may not even know will shout, “You’ve got this!” “Get an A in that class!” I think this is partially because of the size of the community. Hopefully, people realize that you will not get a community like this anywhere else in the world.