Why did you choose your major?
Going into the second semester of my first year, I was still not entirely sure of what career field I wanted to enter upon graduation. So I then decided I wanted to work on developing a way of thinking, a mindset really, of how I would view and interpret the world. I took an array of classes offered here at Hofstra, from an Improv Drama class to a Biology course that provided full perspectives of the different ways the world turns for the many different people that contribute to it.  After having taken a few political science courses, I realized the course work was complementary to how I was beginning to see the world. The study of politics and government, through the lens of history and dialogue of current and relevant affairs was providing insight into the most basic agent of change: the idea of public service. The combination of the work and thought in political science courses left me humbly “aspirational.” Harkening on my desire to contribute in some form to the world, I chose political science as my major because it would allow me to see the wavelengths of change, from inspiration to reality. 

Why did you choose Hofstra? 
One of the main factors in my decision to attend Hofstra was how close it was to home. I knew college was going to be an experience of maddening hours of work, and I wanted to complement that challenge with maintaining and improving my life at home and with my family. I wanted to take away from college the experience in balancing two of the main components in my life for years to come, my family and my work.

Internships?
CBS – Dr. Phil (Media and Production)

Favorite campus activity:
On busy days, when I have to run to class while eating my lunch and trying to review the material I had learned in the previous class. There’s a distinct form of gratitude in that run … of how fortunate I am to have a college experience like this.  

Favorite class/professor:
Out of the many to choose from, I would have to say my Intro to Sikhism taught by Professor Bhogal has been my favorite class thus far.

Why?
It was a class that helped me see my religion and the culture I grew up with from an academic perspective. I will always remember that class for how challenging and thought-provoking it was, and how Professor Bhogal stayed true to the promise he made on the first day of classes: that his philosophy was to inspire us to learn.   

Favorite thing about NY/Long Island:
My favorite thing about New York is how much of a cultural epicenter it is. Looking around the world, I am fully aware of the privilege of growing up in a place where you constantly face so many ideas, beliefs, and ways of life that are different from your own. New York really does prove wrong all those who believe that oppression is the way to solidify the consciousnesses of the many. New York tells us our beliefs, our views, our perspectives only become stronger, they only rise higher when we agree to allow them to be submerged in a sea of others that are also looking for their way of looking at the world.     

Favorite campus eatery:
Bits ‘n’ Bytes. The lady behind the counter is so nice! Maybe the extra conversation when ordering food makes all the difference.   

Favorite campus spot: 
The hill in front of the Stuyvesant Hall parking lot, adjacent to the Student Center south entrance, and underneath the bridge.

What surprised you about Hofstra?
I was probably most surprised by the amount of opportunity that is available for anyone who has greater intentions than just a bullet point on a resume.  There is satisfaction in the works of the students here at Hofstra, whether that is academic or co-curricular. We discover arcs of process, of journey, that we hope we will return to one day soon after graduating. 

What is your idea of success in five years?  Or in 20 years?
I really don’t know. As much as I have my checklist future all planned out, I’m beginning to understand that all I have planned, one job after the other, can only serve me by shruggingly reassuring me through the unknown in the years to come. Every time someone asks this question, I believe generally two kinds of thoughts sprout. The first emblems everything you ever wanted, the life you visually try to merge into your dreams in trying to finally get to sleep, this thought the wise before us say to stay away from. The second budding of thoughts are of your backup plan, where “realism” invades and your potential can be summarized to touching right underneath the bar set by someone else. Success for me in five or 20 years is that I am still thinking like, aspiring to, the first stream of thoughts.     

Best Hofstra memory:
It probably has to be when the Hofstra student body sang the national anthem to the nation on the day of our hosting of the 2012 presidential debate.  Every day, for 10 days before the debate, we had student groups from Makin’ Treble to HOLA to InterVarsity sing the national anthem in the Student Center as a way of signaling that the debate was soon coming to Hofstra. On the day of the debate, with everything and everybody just taking part in the excitement that came with it, we thought it would be impossible to assemble a group to sing the national anthem. But we tried anyway, and to our most pleasurable surprise of the day, the students, faculty and administration slowly started coming together as a group in the middle of the Student Center. We asked Geraldo (yes, Geraldo Rivera), if he’d be OK with us singing the national anthem during one of his breaks, and he replied that he wanted to air it on his show as a way of welcoming back his audience from the commercial break. We noticed the crews of ABC News and Fox position themselves to capture a unique moment in the day. Then the group, reaching upwards of 100, sang in unison our nation’s anthem. What an honor and a privilege to come together to celebrate and witness history in the making.

What do you take the most “pride” in?
I take the most pride in how our school can come together, whether to raise awareness and funds for a cause or in times of tragedy (for example, following Hurricane Sandy), where a part of our community is hurting. To be honest, I probably take the most pride in how we can come together every day, because that is when we are remembering one of our most basic, overlooked identities – being a Hofstra student.

What have you found as your “purpose”?
I would say I should come back to this one, but I’ll give it my best attempt. I have found purpose in expanding compassion to more than just an act of transference; I think it has another shadow, of how it can really bring together a group of people no matter the size, to make a difference, no matter the odds.