Meet fourth year Psychology major and President of the UBC UTSAV-Indian Student’s Association, Shahbano Bhatti.
1. How long have you been involved with UTSAV?
I have been involved with UTSAV for the past three years. I started as a volunteer in my first year, became a treasurer in the second and am the President now. For me the club was a second home, being able to celebrate all of the festivals I did with my family here in Canada. The exec team is like a big family, with a passion for planning cultural events.
2. What prompted you to join it and run for President? How do you successfully juggle your schoolwork with your responsibilities?
My passion for the club, for the events we organize and for the community we serve. Having grown up in an Indian community in Dubai, I loved the festivities around me. Here I got a chance to plan, organize and execute them. I work part-time as well on campus, so it’s always a battle with time. For me, being efficient is the only way to be on top of everything, whether that involves reading on the bus, or emailing between lectures. It’s also important to love what you do, then there’s always the passion to keep doing it, no matter how much stuff you have going on.
3. How many members do you have now?
Our paid memberships are about 50. But the UTSAV community has about 300 active members involved with our events and on the group page helping incoming South Asian students.
4. What has been a memorable moment for you being President?
I have always wanted UTSAV to represent the South Asian community in a public parade. Last summer we took part in the Canada Day Parade, and were the only Indian group. It gave me immense pride that day having performed and been part of the parade since this was the first time UTSAV ever participated in such an event.
5. What has been the most successful event for the club and why do you think that was the case?
“Deepmala” has been the most successful so far. The event is celebrated for the Indian festival known as Diwali (Festival of Lights). Students being away from home miss the festivities, the social gathering and of course the homemade Indian food. We try our best to recreate that atmosphere at our events and that is why I had said before we are more like a family away from home.
6. We’ve noticed that a large majority of the presidents of clubs at UBC are female. Does that surprise you?
I wouldn’t be surprised, because all of our executive team is comprised of women except for our secretary who is male. I think men and women are equally involved on campus.
7. Where are you from, and has any of your high school experiences led to you wanting to pursue leadership roles?
I was born and raised in Dubai, but my parents are from Pakistan. In my last two years of school, I was motivated by my teachers to take part in competitions. After winning a couple of them, I realized I had the skills needed to lead and motivate people to work in a team. Experience does play a big role in determining your abilities, since you learn through mistakes.
8. What’s in the works for the club in the future?
I wish I had a year more at UBC to be able to be part of the club. For now, we are planning to collaborate with other cultural and academic clubs in UBC to broaden the events we organize. We recently signed up with the UBC Intercultural Alliance, with hopes to bring about more culturally diverse events in the future. Having won the “Best Cultural Club” award this year, I hope we continue to strive in the same direction in the future as well.
9. What are you aspiring to accomplish during the rest of your time at UBC and after you graduate?
If only I had more time! With graduation in a couple of months, I’m enjoying school as much as I can right now. With regards to the club, we have events lined up in March, during each week. Once I graduate, I would love to get involved with another cultural club outside, or even perhaps a non-profit event company. The passion I have for organizing cultural events will surely find its outlet. Might even end up starting my own event company!
10. Any exciting events our readers can hope to attend this term?
Add Bollywood music to any event, and there will be excitement! Jokes apart, we do have our two biggest events for the second semester coming up: Mehfil (a dinner and dance formal) is just around the corner on March 1st, and Holi on March 29th is our Festival of Colors!
Learn more about UTSAV and their future events by checking out their Facebook page!