By: Casey Rosner
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you the glorious entity that is Ailisha Macharia: a second year McGill student with a big smile and even bigger dreams? An aspirational Austinite (Editors’ Note: she’s from Austin, TX), Ailisha is acclimating to Montreal with no problems.
“It’s a really humbling experience, being here in Montreal, “Ailisha says, “this environment has me reaching for my fullest potential.” What’s that, you ask? Ailisha plans on becoming a lawyer, hopefully defending women everywhere as an NGO attorney. The International Development Studies major (Elle etudie le français aussi!) is already doing big things in this city.
She volunteers with the McGill African Student Society, which is definitely as cool as it sounds. Ailisha is obviously passionate about this group, speaking about the debates and conferences with an inspired amount of jois-de-vivre. “I love that they talk about real issues,” she explains, “and the people are really cool”. In addition, this Campus Celebrity is a contributor to our very own McGill Tribune.
Ailisha writes on the opinions section of the Tribune, and being the nosy journalist I am, I asked what her hardest story was. Her answer was as politically correct as it was interesting: “My first cover article was a story on Justin Trudeau. It was when he came to McGill, and, as an American by birth, I wasn’t too acquainted with Canadian politics”.
Instead of letting her lack of experience hinder her journalism skills, Ailisha instead used it as an opportunity to get creative and immerse herself, echoing her sentiment that this city pulls the potential right out of you. She caught the writing bug, and is currently working for Alternatives International Journal (can you say impressive?) .
A foodie at heart, Ailisha can be seen inviting a range of “McGillionaires” into her home for an evening of friends, intimate discussions, and of course, an Ailisha meal; forever a blend of Montreal’s finest.
If you happen to run into this character on campus (probably in the garden between the Islamic Studies library and Redpath, her favorite spot), be sure to stop and say hello.
If not, be sure to visit her other home, “Kalmunity – it’s a jazz club at Les Boboards that has incredible Tuesday nights”, Ailisha raves. Regardless of whether we see you there next week, go on Tuesday when Ailisha will be sitting under the dark lights, drinking a deep glass of red, unwinding from the hassle of the week, and contemplating the next moves of Justin Trudeau.