What is your major and what do you plan to do with it in the future?
I am double majoring in Biology and Psychology and I hope to be a physician one day. I have always been invested in making healthcare better because I believe that one of the greatest injustices we face as a country is the disparity in healthcare afforded to the poor. Most likely I will try to get my Masters in Public Health and focus on healthcare policy before going to medical school. Eventually I think I will want to run for public office as well.
Are you in any organizations at UIC? Do you hold any leader positions in these organizations?
I have been fortunate enough to be a part of many organizations while on campus, however being President of Undergraduate Student Government means forgoing leadership positions in any other student organization. I have been a writer for Journal of Pre-Health Affiliated Students since I was a freshman, and I am also a student senator in the UIC Senate. I have also been a research assistant since freshman year at the School of Public Health, specifically Environmental Health.
What are some of the things that you have accomplished as president of USG?
I am happy to say that as President, most of the goals I set for myself and for USG in the beginning of the year have been accomplished or are on their way to being finished. However one of my proudest accomplishments was even before I became President – when I was able to get the $4 Green Fee referendum passed and implemented as a voluntary student fee that brought in $200,000 per year for student-led sustainability initiatives on campus.
As President, I have been able to tackle student concerns in various fields from financial aid, to textbook costs, to healthcare and even campus spirit. I was proud to be a part of the first student-led Lobby Day effort for Pell Grant in Washington D.C. – and helped secure the funds for four student government assembly members to accompany the student trustee. This year I also served on a Student Health Task Force to re-vamp Campus Care. I am proud to say that Transgender Reassignment Surgery will now be a part of Campus Care, making UIC one of 20 universities nationwide to offer that service. I also fought to include free contraception in Campus Care and to lower the Student Health Service Fee by doing so.
I have also been working on making student-teacher evaluations more transparent. Remember those course evaluations that we fill out at the end of every semester? Well I decided to start doing something with them! Along with the USG Vice President and Appropriations Chair, I am working with Professor Jakob Erriksson to put the data from the course evaluations on the USG website by April! The student evaluations will be like an in depth ‘rate my professor’ website, but catering specifically to UIC courses. Now students will have more transparency in evaluation process.
Finally, one of the biggest things I am working on and hope to accomplish by May, is textbook legislation. Sarah Rens, the Executive Vice President of DePaul Student Government, asked for my help in the beginning of the year to push Illinois General Assembly to pass two textbook legislation acts that can lower the price of textbooks in Illinois and make open source textbooks available for introductory classes. No more buying $100 books for intro classes we don’t even major in!
USG elections are next week. What made you want to run for the trustee position?
I have been able to do many great things as President. But all the initiatives I work on, from textbook legislation, to lobbying for MAP and PELL, to increasing transparency in student teacher evaluations are limited to undergraduate students since that is who I represent as Undergraduate Student Body President. As student trustee I can represent the graduate students and health professional students, and participate in initiatives that will benefit them as well. I have always been the type of person who believes that serving and advocating for students is a privilege that I have been given, and I would like to continue to serve at a greater capacity as student trustee.
What qualities/skills do you believe you possess that qualify you to be successful at this position?
First off I believe the qualities necessary to be a great trustee are passion, drive, and experience. I believe that a candidate’s experience and previous record of accomplishments are important factors to consider, as is their passion for student advocacy. The position of Student Member of Board of Trustees is undoubtedly one of the toughest student positions on campus. You need to be passionate about the work you are doing, and about representing the students, otherwise you won’t be doing your best work. And last but certainly not least, you need drive. Drive to pursue the initiatives that might not seem the easiest at first, like increasing campus safety. You need drive to not back down from administrators when they aren’t too pleased with your ideas – like the administration initially was when the Green Fee was proposed. You need the drive to go to 8-10 meetings per week, meet with students to listen to their opinion on your initiatives, keep up you academics and do the work your constituents need you to be doing – something I have done as president every single week. I think you need passion, drive and experience to be a good Student Trustee – and I have all of them.
What are somethings that you hope to accomplish as student trustee if you win the elections?
I hope to be able to finish up the work I am doing with other universities on getting the textbook legislation to lower textbook costs passed through the Illinois General Assembly. If the vote isn’t in our favor – I hope to still pursue legislation to lower textbook costs because that is something all students would benefit from. I also hope to continue working on the Undergraduate Student Success Task force to increase UIC’s 6-year graduation rate from 58% to at least 65%. And as always, I will be a champion for MAP grants, Pell Grants and lowering interest rates on student loans. Along with all of this, if the current student trustee isn’t able to get the Metra Pass implemented, I will be happy to take that over and work on that initiative because I believe that our 85% commuter campus will greatly benefit from having the Metra Pass. Along with these – any initiatives that students need me to work on as well. As President right now, and hopefully as Student Trustee next year –I work on behalf of the students.
How do you manage to keep your grades up and still be really involved in USG?
A lot of coffee – and time management. The time management part I didn’t learn till sophomore year, and even then it was through trial and error. But nowadays when I make my schedule for classes, I try to leave 2-3 days pretty open so that I can either set meetings, or go around talking to students, or work on initiatives. It’s a good system, and it has helped me successfully juggle academics, USG, research, work and a social life. Also as my friends will tell you – I run on coffee.
What do you enjoy doing on your downtime? Any Hobbies?
I used to be on the swim team in high school, so that is something that I still love to do to unwind. When I feel too tensed up or overwhelmed, swimming or dancing usually helps me relax. Also in the summer time I love going kayaking and sailing.
In the winter, there is nothing better that reading a (non-assigned) book or watching my favorite TV shows – which include the West Wing, Doctor Who, Suits and Game of Thrones.
Describe yourself in three words.
Passionate. Driven. Goal-oriented
Who is your role model and why?
Hilary Clinton. It’s probably painfully obvious but she’s a woman who had never given up on her dreams and dedicated her entire life to public service. She’s a great role model for girls and has always been a great advocate for women’s rights globally.
What quote or saying do you live by?
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service to others” – Ghandi
Finally, why should we vote for you?
Your vote is an investment, its your say on who you want representing you and all of UIC at the Board of Trustees level. And like every good investor, you should choose your investment based on past record and future vision. I am the only student trustee candidate with a track record of getting things accomplished. From the monumental Green Fee – one of the only student referendums in recent years to actually be enacted, to including transgender benefits in Campus Care, to fighting for lowering textbook costs and maintaining the MAP and PELL grants. You want someone with a past record of successes and a vision for the future. So vote for the candidate that is fighting for lowering your textbook costs. Vote for the candidate that wants to make this campus a safer place to walk through at night. Vote for the candidate that promises transparency for all tuition increases at the Board of Trustees level. Vote for the candidate who always puts students first. Always.
Ponnu with Senator Dick Durbin