Meet Her Campus Windsor writer Gursimran Virk. She has some big dreams, and even bigger plans for her next couple of months!
What can you tell me about yourself?
I’m a third year student at the University of Windsor majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Psychology. I’m very passionate about politics and creating a positive systemic change here in Canada and frankly, around the world for women and marginalized minority groups. So, I spend a lot of my time either studying or staying engaged. But, I do love travel, fashion, and beauty! In fact, I actually have my own personal blog!
Why did you choose UWindsor?
Well, actually I didn’t choose UWindsor right away. I attended Wayne State University my freshman year and was living on campus in Detroit. But, in all honesty, I really missed my Canadians. Leaving Canada, especially Windsor itself, made me realize how much the city had to offer and how our quality of life was quite different. It made me really appreciate Windsor and the multicultural society we live in, so I came back. I decided to enrol at UWindsor since this is the city I grew up in and because I really liked how the school tries to foster student-faculty relationships and promote leadership opportunities.
What groups are you involved in on/off campus?
In terms of on-campus clubs, I’m apart of a few. I am the Vice President of Campus Cursive UWindsor as well as the Indian Student Association. I am also the Events Executive for We Charity and a writer for Her Campus. Right now, I’m also in the works of bringing Young Liberals back to campus. Other than that, I like to stay involved on campus through various events that take place throughout the year. In terms of off-campus activities, I am apart of the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Team, as well as am the co-founder of the Windsor chapter of UNITED SIKHS, which is a UN-affiliated humanitarian organization, to promote volunteerism. I also like to stay involved in the city through various annual events like the Colour Run, Art in the Park, etc.
Why did you choose to be a part of Her Campus?
I decided to join Her Campus because I really love the platform. I spent one summer binge-watching Gilmore Girls and was inspired by Rory writing for her school paper and wanted to do something similar. I came across Her Campus and enjoyed reading the content. I wanted to be a part of this team because Her Campus focuses on empowering college women and has content that caters to all readers from posts on fashion, school, love, health, career, entertainment, news and so much more! I wanted to share my creativity and social/political-based opinions on a platform other than my blog. Her Campus is a team that I’m so happy to be apart of!
Tell me a bit about your blog.
I started my blog back in July 2015. I started it because I love sharing stories and I wanted a creative outlet for myself to express my thoughts and my travel adventures. But before long, my travel blog, ended up becoming just a personal blog that has content from fashion, travel, lifestyle, food and everything in between. You can check it out, it’s called Sincerely Simran!
What are your aspirations?
I aspire to go into the field of law and then, enter the world of Canadian federal politics. I’m very passionate about humanitarian law and women and minority rights, so I hope to create change as a lawyer by fighting for justice. But at the same time, ever since I was little, I grew up watching Honourable Navdeep Bains pursue his own political journey, which really inspired me to get involved. His journey got me aware of civic life and it literally created a fire in me that I never knew existed. With that, when I met our now current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the first time at my house, I was so motivated to step up as a young driver of change and be active. He encouraged positive politics and youth civic engagement which is something I’m very enthusiastic about. Meeting him and having a great conversation pushed me to pursue a career in politics as well.
What are you up to right now?
As if this moment, I’m just really focusing on school and my career goals. But, I have had the honour of being selected for the Daughters of the Vote initiative by Equal Voice to represent Windsor West. Daughters of the Vote is a national initiative created to mark a century of women’s suffrage, as well as celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday! So one women from each federal riding across Canada got selected to represent her constituency in the House of Commons on International Women’s Day. This initiative promotes women to take leadership roles and get engaged in politics. I personally believe there needs to be an equal representation of men and women in the political landscape of Canada and frankly, around the world. So this opportunity is giving me a taste of the future career I want as well as allowing me to be apart of a historic moment of empowering women to be bold and powerful.