In only her second year at Miami, Deepika Hebbalalu has accomplished more than most students would think possible. A recently declared Psychology major, member of the business fraternity AKPsi, president of HSAB, involved in Best Buddies, and a SOUL last summer, Deepika is very involved and full of passion for all that she does. Most notable is her work with the growing student organization HSAB, which will be hosting a 5K the first weekend in May to raise money for the Wounded Warriors Project. Take some advice from the girl who has truly made the most of her college experience so far:
HC: With all your involvements, your studies, and finding time to relax, what advice do you give to Miami students to get involved and to better time-manage?
DH: I think that there’s just so much to get involved with at Miami that it can get overwhelming deciding what to get involved with. I think, instead of just joining a bunch of organizations, really to look into what you’re interests are and to join things that you’re passionate about. I think it’s a lot easier to make time for things when you’re actually interested in doing them rather than feeling forced to. So, just get involved with things that you’re passionate about, and honestly, it’s really easy to make time that way― to sacrifice time from hanging out with your friends to do different club meetings is a lot easier when you like what you’re doing.
HC: What do you think is the most frustrating thing about college?
DH: I think only having 24 hours in the day. There’s just that colleges offer, especially Miami, and it’s really hard. You just want to join all of the organizations that you see at Mega Fair, and you see that your friends are in it, but it’s just not manageable or practical to be in so many organizations because you do have to balance your academics, your family and friends. So some of the most frustrating things are not having enough time and having too much going on. But, like I said earlier, if you find what you’re truly interested and passionate about, then it’s a lot easier to manage.
HC: I heard that HSAB is having a 5K this spring. Could you tell me more about that and why HSAB is doing this?
DH: HSAB has a philanthropy event every semester. So in the fall, we did Make a Difference Day, which is university-wide, but HSAB is the one that plans it for everyone to participate in. Our organization has really been growing, so in the past we would put on small philanthropy events, just invite people to perform, and collect donations and things like that. But we actually grew a lot in the past year and have a lot of new members who are really interested. Dan, Ben, and Garrett (three first-year students and members of HSAB) are very passionate about the Wounded Warriors Project, and HSAB really strived to allow members to put on their own events, and we really want to encourage them to be leaders at an early age in their college career to put on events themselves and to have the autonomy to do that. So we looked over their proposal, and we really liked the idea, so if they are willing to put the time and effort into it, then we will name it as our spring philanthropy, and it is. So it is taking place the first weekend in May, so that’s really exciting. We’re trying to get everything going for that right now. Registration is going to be coming up soon, and we are really trying to get donations going and things to really try to benefit the Wounded Warriors Project. You should run it! It will be fun.
HC: What is Wounded Warriors?
DH: It’s a foundation that raises money for people who have served in the war. And with the money that we raise, it will go toward helping veterans with medical bills, or maybe medication― just different things that we could help them financially with― since, once you come back from the war you have all these bills to pay, like if you’re sick or injured, so we can help them out with that.
HC: You’re very involved and, I imagine, very busy. What do you do to relax?
DH: My idea of relaxation is forgetting about homework for a little while and just being with my friends. I really enjoy hanging out in a friend’s room and watching movies or catching up. A lot of times during the week I get so caught-up in my homework that I don’t have time to see my friends, so just being with them, doing something relaxing or going to the movies or just staying at home and watching a movie is always good. I live only an hour away, so I try to go home about once a month to see my family and to see my dog.
HC: What’s your dog’s name?
DH: Snoopy! He’s a Doxin. He’s adorable, and he’s nine years old. So yeah, I love going to see them. I think, just being with people that distress me is my best way of relaxing, especially after a long week.
HC: So you mentioned movies: what’s your favorite movie that you’ve seen recently?
DH: Frozen! I love that movie. Frozen was adorable. I actually just went and saw it again at Wilk’s. It was packed, and it was so funny watching with a bunch of other people that were my age and were loving it.
HC: Favorite place to go to dinner?
DH: Well uptown, I love going to Fiesta Charra. I just love the environment; it’s so fun and happy. I think I also like it because I associate it with good memories. I’ve gone there with a lot of friends a lot of times, so it’s just a special place to go when my friends are here. I’ve been there with my family and my brother and everyone! It’s a nice place that makes me feel comfortable.
HC: If you could go back to your freshman year here at Miami, is there something you would’ve done differently― either something you wish you could have done or something you wouldn’t have done?
DH: If I could go back to my freshman year at Miami… part of me wishes that I would have already determined my major. I just declared my major and minor last semester, so I started getting involved with things for that a little late. But I don’t mind that because I think it really helped my find myself while I was exploring my new major― find my passion― so I’m not too upset about the fact that I didn’t know that sooner. If I could go back though, I really wish I had branched out with meeting new people. I think I’ve started that a lot this year; I really put myself out there, and I really see the benefits of it. I think, when I came in the first year, I made a couple of friends, and then I just stuck to that, which I love them― I’m still really close with them, which is great― but I really wish I had branched out more, made some more friends, met some more people. I love meeting new people and making new friends, and that’s something that I’ve really worked on this year, but I wish I could’ve started earlier.
HC: What has been the most rewarding experience for you during you time at Miami?
DH: Definitely, definitely being a SOUL this past summer was my favorite experience, ever. Not only did I meet my nineteen other SOULs and my two coordinators, as well as our faculty mentors― I just worked with a phenomenal group of people― so not only did I make some of my best friends who I’m still in-touch with now, but they really helped me grow as a person. I never thought I could grow that much. I didn’t expect it. I was so much more confident; I had so much more zest for being a Miami student, and I was just more excited and wanted to get involved. It really taught me a lot about my strengths and weaknesses and how to become a better person. As well as meeting all the first-years. 200 of the first years were in my group; outside of the actual groups I met a ton of people at dinner, lunch, seating, and just around orientation. Overall, it was the most fun and rewarding summer I’ve had, so I’m really grateful that Miami had that program for me to be in.