Hirsh Sandesara, left, interns with Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who has hosted WLP interns since the inception of the program.

HIRSH SANDESARA

Hirsh Sandesara, from Glenview, Illinois, is a junior at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where he is an Angier B. Duke merit scholar. Sandesara will be an intern with Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who has hosted an intern of IACPA’s Washington Leadership Program ever since it was launched in 1994.

He is pursuing a double major in Chemistry and Public Policy Studies, with a concentration in Health Policy. He has also studied Shakespearean Literature at New College at Oxford University in Britain.

Sandesara graduated as salutatorian from Glenbrook South High School, where he was a member of the Glenbrook Academy of International Studies, editor-in-chief of the student literary magazine, and an Eagle Scout.

At Duke University, he is the president and past political chair of Diya, the South Asian students association, and works to bring cultural, social, political and service work to the South Asian collegiate community.

He is also active in directing Duke’s health policy agenda, from serving as the student representative to the Board of Trustees Medical Center Affairs Committee, to advising the Global Health Initiative Steering Committee, to working with the Red Cross to aid the local community.

In past summers, Sandesara has interned with Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless as a case worker and advocate. He assisted homeless clients in accessing health and social services.

Last summer, he worked in Gujarat, India, at the Muni Seva Ashram rural health clinic, researching client needs and satisfaction.

Prem Trivedi, left, interns with Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who is the co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

PREM TRIVEDI

Prem Trivedi, of Marlboro, N.J., is a rising senior at Columbia University majoring in Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures (MEALAC) and concentrating on Political Science. Trivedi will be interning with Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ).

A peer adviser in the MEALAC department, his chief interest is United States foreign policy, principally towards South Asia and the Middle East. Trivedi has also served as a research assistant to professors studying coalition politics in Indian Assembly elections and prominent Indian nationalist leaders, respectively. In addition, he has worked at Columbia’s Southern Asian Institute, where he assisted in the coordination of conferences on recent scholarship in numerous disciplines related to South Asian studies. Trivedi’s extra-curricular interests lie mainly with volunteer programs that promote education. Since 1997, he has volunteered with the North South Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises scholarship funds for students attending college in India and conducts educational programs for Indian American youth. He has served as a regional and national contest coordinator and is currently developing public speaking workshops for young teenagers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Trivedi also teaches conflict resolution courses with the Columbia chapter of Peace by P.E.A.C.E International, an organization that focuses on violence prevention among youth. Trivedi had previously interned with Assemblyman Joseph Egan (D-NJ). He hopes that his summer internship on Capitol Hill will enable him develop an in-depth perspective into the key issues that animate political decision-making, particularly with respect to environmental, educational, and foreign policy issues.

Neil Gokal, left, interns with Rep. Edward Royce (R-CA).

NEIL GOKAL

Neil Gokal was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, he spent his high school years in Boonton Township, New Jersey. Gokal will be an intern with Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-CA), a prominent member and former co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Indians and Indian Americans. He graduated from the University of Southern California (USC), where he earned a B.S. in Biomedical (Biochemical) Engineering. Gokal is currently a medical student at St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada.

Fueled by diversity, he is eager to explore various cultures and communities. He has been fortunate to travel and learn in many places, including Australia, Haiti, Italy, Greece, and South Africa, the country of his family’s origin. He feels that while traveling abroad offers unique opportunities for intellectual and personal growth, the most enriching events transpired in his journeys throughout the U.S.

Experience in teaching and directing educational community programs has led Gokal to develop a focus in community medicine and public policy, though, with a background in biomedical sciences, he is also interested in orthopedics and, specifically, research in spinal surgery. Although medical school consumes most of his time, Gokal has an avid interest in landscape photography and music.

He also enjoys surfing and running as well as staying in touch with friends he is fortunate to have met through his exciting journeys.

Vasudha Kaushish, left, interns with Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN).

VASUDHA KAUSHISH

Vasudha Kaushish, of Alpharetta, Georgia, will enter her third year at the University of Georgia, where she is majoring in Psychology. She will be doing internship with Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN).

An active participant in the University of Georgia’s Indian Cultural Exchange, Kaushish has served as the organization’s political chair. Through this position, she was able to mobilize Indian American youth voters and promote a decrease in apathy by raising awareness in the university and in the community of issues relevant to Indian American youth.

Kaushish is the Communications Director of STOP (Sexual Violence Targeted Outreach and Prevention) a new campus group she assisted in establishing. The new organization implements education initiatives to the University of Georgia community and provides resources to survivors sexual violence.

Kaushish served as secretary for University of Georgia’s Student Government Minority Affairs Committee where she worked to promote a greater understanding of minority issues on campus.

Kaushish also volunteers with the Athens Tutorial Program where she spends time mentoring children of underprivileged homes in the Athens, Georgia, community.

She is a member of the South Asian Women’s Collective, a discussion group that facilitates the exchange of ideas related to the role of South Asian women in society.

Faris Ali Mohiuddin, left, interns with Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA).

FARIS ALI MOHIUDDIN

Faris Ali Mohiuddin is a second-year undergraduate at Stanford University majoring in Political Science. Faris will be an intern with Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA). Born and raised in San Jose, Mohiuddin graduated at the top of his class at Leland High School. While there, he was the California State and U.S. National Champion in speech & debate, the Leland Charger Account newspaper opinions editor and columnist as well as the Leland Associated Student Body Treasurer. He remembers little else about high school except that he had to wake up very, very early. At Stanford, Mohiuddin served as the manager of a 40-person division within Stanford Student Enterprises-Stanford’s student-run corporation and won awards nationally and internationally representing the Stanford Debate Society and the Stanford Intercollegiate Model United Nations Team.

Mohiuddin even attempts to be funny as a movie critic for Intermission-the entertainment section of the Stanford Daily. In order to retrieve some brain cells, Mohiuddin serves as an editor on the Stanford Journal of International Relations, an Executive Board member of the Society for International Affairs at Stanford and sits on various other university boards throughout the year.

Next year will mark Mohiuddin’s somewhat reluctant return to student government when he begins his term as a Stanford Undergraduate Senator. He spent his last two summers at the IBM Research Center in San Jose. He hopes to one day curl up into a ball and sleep for a week or two.