Deepti Agarwal is a second year student at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Her major is based on health and societies and the biological basis of behavior. Last summer, she was a research assistant at North Dakota State University (NDSU), working with a professor of Psychology. Agarwal was also a part-time marketing intern for a biotech company, specializing in plasmid DNA purification and an Emergency Room volunteer for Meritcare Hospital in Fargo, ND.

Agarwal is an active member of the South Asian Society on campus and is an executive board member of the Civic House Activities Coalition. Agarwal is from Fargo, North Dakota and will work for the House of Representatives Commerce Committee.

Keya Banerjee is a second year student at the University of Pennsylvania. She majors in philosophy, politics and economics while minoring in English. At the University, she is a member of the South Asian Society, a participant of the speech and debate team, a general assignments reporter for the student newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian, as well as a writing advisor and a tour guide. This past year Banerjee played a key role as a co-organizer of a political conference held by the University’s South Asian Political Awareness Committee.

Previously, in 1998 and 1999 she was a volunteer for a state representative’s campaign in Acton, Massachusetts, which is where she is from. She will work for Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL).

Sumana Chatterjee is a third year student at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She is an English major with a minor in teacher education. This past year Chatterjee was the Director of On Campus Affairs (DOOCA), planning all large-scale student events and serving as the liaison between the Student Senate and 160 campus organizations. Chatterjee has also been a resident advisor, acting as a peer counselor and a resource person for students living in the residence halls and a tutor for kindergarten children known as “at-risk” readers.

Chatterjee is from Fort Wright, Kentucky and will intern for the House of Representatives’ Democratic Minority Leader, Richard Gephardt (D-MO).

Aarti Dalal is a third year student at Boston University in Massachusetts. She is majoring in political science with a concentration in public policy and a minor in biology. Dalal is a Dean’s Host at the University, working closely with the College of Arts and Sciences Dean as a liaison between the administration and the student body. In this position she advises on policy issues affecting the student body. In this department she is also a peer advisor for first year students. Dalal also finds time to work with University alumni association members to help foster relationships between alumni and students.

Dalal is from Reading, Pennsylvania and will work for Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA).

Shivani S. Dewoolkar is a second year student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She is pursuing a major in economics and political science with a minor in business. Last summer Dewoolkar interned for Paine Webber, where she reported to the Executive Management in conferences and meetings. Last year she also campaigned for former presidential candidate Bill Bradley. Previously, she was selected as a representative in the New Jersey Governor’s School of Public Issues and the Future of New Jersey. Dewoolkar has also completed an eight-year course of classical Indian dance, receiving her Arangetram.

She is from New Milford, New Jersey and will be the policy intern at IACPA this summer.

Mumal Hemrajani is a second year student at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She is majoring in mathematics and computer science and is an active member of the South Asian community on campus. Hemrajani was the communications chair of the South Asian Students Association this past year and helped organize a Political Action weekend at the University in April. She has been a math and Spanish tutor, and is a minority peer counselor for first year students. Last summer she was a research assistant for Bristol Myers Squibb, designing and performing experiments on clinical samples to analyze the metabolites of a stroke drug.

Hemrajani is from Millington, New Jersey and will work for Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ).

Anitha Ibrahim is a third year student at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is majoring in Business Information Systems with a minor in International Business. This past year she was an intern for the British Telecom in Madrid, Spain, performing marketing research and information systems maintenance work. Ibrahim has been an executive member of the Minority Business Student Association, organizing events such as a Minority Business Fair. Last year she was the South Asian Student Association (SASA) president, planning events and arranging for guest speakers. She has also been a volunteer for the American Red Cross in Palo Alto, California.

Ibrahim is from Mountain View, California and will work for Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), who is one of the India Caucus Co-chairs

Simone Jhingoor is a second year at Hunter College in New York City, New York. She majors in political science with a minor in education. This past year she worked on a public policy project to empower and foster civic participation among high school students across NYC through the creation of an Urban Youth Agenda.

Jhingoor has also been a camp counselor for students between the ages of 6 and 12 and has spent time volunteering at a nursing home. Jhingoor is from the Bronx, in New York and will intern for Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY).

Nikhil Joglekar is a fourth year student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He is a chemical engineering major and has experience working on two political campaigns—John Sharpless (R-WI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN). Joglekar was the chair of the UW-Madison Student Services Finance Committee (SSFC) this past year, and helped negotiate a $1.38 million, 3-year bus contract with Madison Metro. Joglekar’s interests also led him to study the Hepatitis C virus as an intern at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA during the summer of 1997.

Joglekar is from Plymouth, Minnesota and will work for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Shaunik Panse is a first year student at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. He majors in international relations and economics. Last year he volunteered on the campaign for Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) and interned for the district office of Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ). As an intern, he organized a forum gathering for Indian Americans to meet Congressman Holt in Central New Jersey. At the University, Panse is an active member of the Tufts Association of South Asians and has been treasurer of the Tufts University Journal of International Affairs.

Panse is from Freehold, New Jersey and will work for Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ).

Mathan Parasuram is a second year student at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He is majoring in political science. He has spent several summers as a marketing manager for H and M Enterprises, Inc. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, working with potential customers and vendors. Last summer he was a screening intern for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), working with individuals involved in ACLU cases being litigated. He has also been a chairman of a national philanthropy organization titled Youth as Resources, raising money to distribute to youth-led projects.

Parasuram is from Oklahoma City and will work for Representative Ed Royce (R-CA), who is the other co-chair for the India Caucus.

Vasu Pathak is a second year student at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He majors in economics and minors in psychology. He is a member of the Rutgers Model Congress, and as a member he researches and debates current social problems. Since September of 1999, he has been the Public Relations Director of the Rutgers Indian American Organization and is also a counselor for the “56 Place Peer Counseling Center,” where he provides support and guidance to individuals suffering from stress and depression. In 2000, he volunteered for the Jon Corzine (D-NJ) for Senate Campaign, handing out literature and discussing Democratic platform issues with interested citizens.

Pathak is from Edison, NJ and will work for Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ).

Sandeep Rao is a third year student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He is majoring in government with concentrations in Asian American studies, law and society. He has been the city politics research and writer for the Cornell Daily Sun, the nation’s oldest independent daily college newspaper, since the fall of 1998, President of the Society for India at Cornell, and the Public Relations (PR) Coordinator for the campaign “Students for Hillary” to help elect Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) last fall.

As PR coordinator, he was the liaison between local and university press and the campaign in general. Rao is from Orangeburg, NY and will work for Senator Hillary Clinton this summer.

Kavita Shah is a third year student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, majoring in pre-law and finance. Shah has been a mentor for American Reads, helping children in middle school with their reading skills. She has also been a Vogelei Teen Center volunteer, assisting with the supervision of less fortunate children. Shah is on a committee of the Illinois Student Government, a member of the Indian Students Association (ISA), as well as a member of both the pre-law and finance clubs. This past year Shah was secretary of the Project Discovery Accounting Society.

She is from Hanover Park, Illinois and will work for Representative Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

Nupur Sidhu is a third year student at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. She is majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology. Her interests and activities on campus are numerous, ranging from being an Executive Board member of the Indian Cultural Exchange to being a participant of intramural sports-- basketball and football. Sidhu is also a member of the South Asian Women’s Political Forum, titled “Saheliya,” at Emory. Her volunteer experiences have enabled her to tutor younger children, build homes for under-privileged families, and fundraise for the Gujarat Earthquake Relief efforts.

Sidhu is from Memphis, Tennessee and will intern for Representative Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN).

Sheela Subramanian is a second year student at Stanford University. She is a political science and American studies major. Last year she was the head intern at the United Democratic Campaign in Los Altos, California. Subramanian oversaw and organized political events and volunteer activities for local, state, and national candidates. She has also been an SAT Site director and preparation instructor, tutoring students individually, as well as in groups. She was a campaign worker to help re-elect Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), and has been a Stanford University Senate Associate.

Subramanian is from San Ramon, CA and will work for Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).

Rekha Tadoori is a second year student at Indiana University in Bloomington. She is an accounting major and has a keen interest in education issues. She has been a tutor for students in introductory accounting classes. As a welcome group representative of the Indian Student Association on campus, Tadoori assists incoming international students with feasible housing options and financial aid opportunities. As a Habitat for Humanity member, she has also helped construct homes for families in need of financial assistance.

Tadoori is from Baldwin, New York and will work for Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY).