What is your hometown?
It’s complicated. I was born in Chennai, but my family is originally from Bihar and I left India when I was five years old and grew up in the GCC countries. My dad’s job made it so that I moved around a lot so I haven’t really stayed in a place for longer than 3 years. But home for me right now is Dubai, U.A.E.
What is your role on the Her Campus team?
I’ve been a part of Her Campus for three semesters now and I’m a part of the PR team. I collaborate with another member of HC to manage the Her Campus Instagram account.
Why did you decide to join Her Campus?
Her Campus was a very spur of the moment decision for me. I think the main reason I decided to join it was because I needed a change. A change in terms of the kind of work I was doing on campus. I had never been part of any sort of editorial or national writing chapter and this was something I really wanted to try. I was also not too familiar with the idea of PR and promoting an organization via social media. Joining Her Campus has been a really great learning experience for me!
What do you like best about Her Campus?
My favorite thing about Her Campus might be that my favorite people on campus (Lucy and Gauri) are also on the team and it creates an opportunity for us to meet. All three of have had really busy schedules recently and it’s been really hard to meet up but Her Campus has created a little pocket in time for us to catch up in and spend time together. Just to go on from that, the atmosphere and team work in Her Campus is also one of the best things about it. All of us are friends or connected in some way and so it’s just exciting to be able to work so efficiently and collaboratively with your friends.
What other orgs/extracurricular activities have you joined?
I am a Ways and Means representative and a Committee on Student Organizations representative. Those are both committees that are a part of the Student Government Association. I also work at the SAW Center and am the treasurer of Asian Students Association and Consulting Club.
What are your hobbies?
I wish I could name drop something exciting for you but I’m practically a homebody. My hobbies mainly revolve around watching TV and reading. I know that may seem boring but I haven’t had enough time to do either recently so it does feel like a hobby rather than a normal occurrence because I need to make time for it so that I can stay sane with all the academic stress and what not. I also have a really bad obsession with Korean Dramas and anime. Basically, I love TV and reading.
What are you really passionate about and why?
I am really passionate about my work that I do on campus. I really enjoy being able to do something besides just the academics and being able to work in a managerial position with SGA really helps me hone my skills. I personally think that joining orgs on campus is a great way to learn about yourself and be a part of the MoHo community.
What was your all-time favorite Mount Holyoke class?
My all-time favorite Mount Holyoke class was Ancient History of Philosophy with Prof. James Harold. It’s the class that decidedly started me on the path to becoming a philosophy major. I never thought I would be so enamored and frustrated with the knowledge generating methods of the past. I just remember going into every class so excited to discuss the texts or philosophers. It also helped that Prof. Harold is so engaging.
How did you choose your major?
Honestly, I fell into philosophy really randomly. I took one logic class in the fall semester of my first year and then fast forward a year and I’m a philosophy major. The philosophy classes started to pile on top of each other and I just declared. The idea of declaring a strict major freaked me out a little because I’m so unsure of so many things. I didn’t want to feel restricted to only take a certain group of classes and so I left my my declaration till the last minute, but I’m proud to be a philosophy major. And the beauty of being part of a major that loves knowledge is that knowledge connects everything and so I can learn about things ranging from the arts to business ethics.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you want to go and why?
I’ve moved around as a kid so travelling has always been the joy of my life and so it’s really hard for me to think of simply one place I want to go to because I want to travel all the time! But recently, I’ve been wanting to go to New Zealand because it’s beautiful and has some of the most diverse environments on earth. It also doesn’t hurt to be able to check out the Shire and where Frodo destroyed the One Ring.
Who inspires you?
My parents inspire me. They always have and always will. They have made an incredible amount of sacrifices for me to be where I am. Their perseverance and belief in me is what inspires me achieve my goals.
What makes you laugh?
My friends, definitely. They’re so weird and I love it. My little sister is also a unique source of joy (there are times I laugh at her and times I laugh with her). I also just enjoy watching comedians (a new activity my friend Gauri has gotten me into recently) and my current favorite is Hari Kondabolu.
Do you have any book/movie/tv recommendations?
I have so many! I literally watch anything and everything(or at least I try to). Since I have so many recommendations I think I’ll just stick to one category: TV. My top five TV recommendations as of now are: The Good Place, Fresh Off the Boat, Sense8, The Fosters, and Thirteen Reasons Why. I really like to watch shows that have something to give back to the audience, the kind of shows that have strong messages for the people of the world and force us to take a hard look at our society and just question. All of these shows are also proof of successful minority representation and that good television is not restricted to a single stereotype.
If you would like to write for Her Campus Mount Holyoke, or if you have any questions or comments for us, please email mt-holyoke@hercampus.com.