This week’s Campus Celebrity is Tejal Ghadiali, a Human Biology and Society Major at UCLA! Continue reading to see how incredibly involved she is on campus, hear her advice to undergraduates, and learn some fun facts about her (you won’t believe who she’s met…twice)!
Year: 3rd
Major/Minor: Human Biology and Society B.S
Hometown: La Palma, CA
What extracurricular activities are you involved in on campus?
On campus, I am involved with Indian Student Union in which we plan a plethora of school wide cultural events, as well as host smaller scale mentorship and community service programs. I am also involved with MESH (Medical Experience through Service in Healthcare). In MESH, I serve as a Clinical Assistant at the Venice Family Clinic for low income individuals and help the doctors there with vitals so they can spend as much time with patients as possible. In addition, we also work on various public health projects such as providing diabetes education to the community and hosting health fairs. I am also involved with EMRA (Emergency Medicine Research Associates) in which we work in the emergency departments of the Santa Monica and Ronald Reagan hospitals to assist with research projects aimed at optimizing the healthcare system and curbing unnecessary risks to patients such as radiation and surgery. I also conduct social science research with a graduate student concerning bone marrow donation conditions and the registration infrastructure. I also conduct wet lab research in the Jules Stein Eye Institute. I work as an RA in Rieber Hall as well (a job I love)!
What is your position in the Indian Student Union and what events have you helped to put on?
In the Indian Student Union, I am currently the Internal Vice President. In my years on ISU staff, I have helped put on a number of events such as Navratri Raas Garba, Diwali dinner, South Asian Heritage Week and Banquet, Holi, Culture Show, and much more! In addition, I initiated the Paarivar (family) mentorship program last year to provide a social and professional mentorship opportunity for South Asians, something that had not existed before!
Where is your favorite place to study on campus?
My favorite place to study on campus is the music library! I love the natural lighting in the front room and how laidback the library is compared to traditional libraries. On the hill, I love Sproul Landing Living room for essentially the same reasons.
What has been your favorite UCLA memory so far?
Among all of the amazing memories here, my absolute favorite has been the USC versus UCLA game last year! I love football and this game was completely packed and all the students had so much school spirit. It also helps that we won against USC for the third time in a row!
What is one piece of advice you could give to an undergraduate student about getting involved on campus?
I think that there is a lot of pressure for undergraduates to feel that they have to join anything and everything as soon as possible. I think students looking to become involved should take some time to check out different organizations and try to see what they are really passionate about or interested in! It is worth joining them a little later if you know you are genuinely interested in what you are doing. Also, since there are so many organizations at UCLA, there really is no reason to stick with something you feel is not giving you a good experience.
Lastly, any fun facts we should know about you?
I have met Dave Franco twice during finals week! I love playing sports and can get competitive from time to time. I did academic decathlon for a year in high school and legitimately enjoyed it, even though my friends still think it was funny. I love pretty much all food and one time I accidentally ate a friend’s entire churro even though he just asked me to hold it for a second.