Tell us about yourself:
Oh god, I hate these questions, it’s just so open! I am a junior, Business Administration major, and I was born in the UAE and I came here when I was five. Ethnically I’m from India. I’ve gotten to experience a few different types of cultures, which has been a lot of fun for me, and it has definitely added to who I am today. I’m super involved on campus. I love, love, love being involved on campus. Joining anything that makes me happy or that I have a passion for is just fun for me. So I’m president of Delta Sigma Pi, I just joined DZ (Delta Zeta), I’m on CAB Street team, and I’m on GO Team, I’m just finishing up my second year in it. So yeah I’m just trying to enjoy college life in SF right now.
Do you think it’s hard to balance everything (that you’re involved in)?
It can definitely get challenging, especially because certain weeks can get crazy busy. I pledged for my fraternity (Delta Sigma Pi) and it was a pretty intense process, so after going through that I kinda feel invincible. Also, everything I’m doing now is stuff I love to do! Go Team, DZ, DSP, they’re all things that I love, so it doesn’t really feel like work.
What was rushing Delta Sigma Pi like?
It was definitely a crazy experience because I was doing it first semester of my freshman year so not only was I new to college and learning how to be a college student, but I was jumping into being professional and joining a brotherhood. That was really fun, and I’m really glad I did that early because it gave me a good foundation to build upon for the rest of the organizations I added on.
That’s a business fraternity right?
Yeah! It is.
Do you have a favorite organization?
The way that I look at it is, I’m apart of different things for different reasons. I love joining organizations that are family oriented. DZ and DSP are a sisterhood and brotherhood, and GO Team is super family oriented, it’s a family when you go through training. Everything I do is like having a small family on campus, so I don’t think I can choose a favorite because it’s like betraying my family.
What would you say is the most important lesson or skill you’ve learned through either a specific org or just in general.
I think because I’ve done so many different things, it’s not something I’ve learned from a specific organization, but because I’ve been a part of so many organizations it’s making sure you love what you do. If I was doing any of these things for my resume or for the title, I would be tortured and it would be really horrible. I’ve learned that I should only do things that make me happy and make me feel like I am serving a purpose for others. That’s the only way that I’ll actually feel content with who I am and with all the work I have to do, it’s because I know I’m serving a purpose.
What inspires you?
I think it’s a combination of different things. I love to be very involved and building roots and feeling at home whenever I start a new chapter in my life. I think it is because I moved at such a young age, I started kindergarten knowing no english and learning it here. Every time I go somewhere I want to make it a home and I want to start a new chapter there. I know it’s because my parents have been so supportive of everything I’ve been doing and my sister has been such a great role model. She’s the ideal child, she’s in med school and she’s super great with her social life. She is on top of it. So it’s definitely set up a good example for me. I pursue things that make me happy and I also make sure that I’m not being selfish either, that I’m trying to do good for others too. Even though I was raised with so many cultures, I’m also Christian. A lot of the foundation of who I am is based on that too.
What do you want to do after college?
Right now this is the answer I’ve been telling people: I would love to work in the entertainment industry, like media or marketing for a movie production company or television show. I love everything about the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and all that jazz. I wanted to be an actor for the longest time but I did not have the talent for it. So I decided to go in the business side of it, because I love business, and if I can be a part of that industry in anyway, I would love it.
It’s cut throat!
It’s crazy, but it looks like so much fun. I also have this idea in my head that I’m going to be friends with all these actors, I don’t know how, I don’t know what kind of job I’m going to have that allows me to do that. Entertainment has been a huge part of my life, I have watched movies and TV forever, and that’s something that my dad and I do a lot together. We watch the same stuff! And it’s just been so cool that I can be apart of so many different lives, like everytime I watch a step up movie I feel like I’m the best dancer ever! When I watch an action movie I run around like a crazy agent! So to be able to step into any kind of character and make people feel that way is an incredible opportunity and I would love to be doing that for other people.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully, married! I think I’d like a child when I’m 30. I want to be kicking ass with a great job, I hope to stay in the entertainment industry but I know it’s a young people’s industry so I don’t know. I don’t want to be the weird old person that sticks around when everyone wants them to go away, but around 30 I would be focusing more on my family. Career will always be important to me, but family is everything to me. I want to make sure my husband and my child feel supported and have everything. My parents and my sister have done everything for me, so I want to have that home atmosphere too.
How do you feel about real-life celebrities?
I love celebrities! When you told me I could be campus celebrity I almost cried. I want nothing more than to be famous, it makes me so excited. I don’t think celebrities should get as much attention as they do, like when the tabloids are following them around about their personal life, I think that’s intrusive. I think celebrities are a cool alternative reality! Like stepping away from your life and imagining what it would be like to be that, where everything is so easy and it looks so glamorous. I’m the kind of person that is overly optimistic, so that’s why I like the celebrity lifestyle because it just looks so fun and happy and positive.
Who are your favorite celebrities?
I really like down to earth celebrities. Like Emma Stone, Anna Kendrick, and Jennifer Lawrence, they’re super chill in their interviews. I just started watching Jane the Virgin, so I love Gina Rodriguez! I’m obsessed with her, I think she’s the best. I like people I can identify with. Just people who are quirky and goofy, like I am!
Do you think celebrities have a responsibility to promote educated opinions on political/social issues?
I think that’s where it gets tricky. Technically celebrities are human beings, and they’re entitled to their own opinion, but I think when you do have that much stature and power, you do have a responsibility to be educated about certain things. There are thousands of people following them and sometimes they act based on what their celebrities like. I know I probably have done that subconsciously! When you are stepping into that kind of stardom it is a lot of work and it is a lot of responsibility than what it looks like, besides the movies and stuff. I think there’s a certain level. I don’t think we can look at them for every huge decision that needs to be made, but there’s still a certain level of responsibility that comes with it.
If you were a celebrity, would you use your fame to promote any social issue campaigns or philanthropies?
100 percent for sure. That’s something I’d love to do now, and I’m not a celebrity. One celebrity I almost forgot is Mindy Kaling. I so identify with her, probably because she’s one of the only Indian actresses there are out in Hollywood. On her birthday, she asked around on twitter for people to recommend charities, because she wanted to donate money. It freaked me out, because a year before she did that I did that too! For my 18th birthday I asked my friends to donate money instead of presents, so I could sponsor a child as a part of a charity that my dad’s a part of. So that’s super important to me, I don’t know who I am if I’m not giving to others. I cannot imagine living my life and making sure I have a great career and I’m on top, if I know there are other people struggling. If I’m not doing something to help that then I feel like I don’t deserve my spot. If I’m able to, I try to make sure I give as much as I can. Even in small things. If I was a celebrity I would use any kind of platform that I had to give back to things that matter to me.
Transcribed and edited by Ali Mancia.