{"id":25903,"date":"2020-07-01T16:28:15","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T21:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/?p=25903"},"modified":"2020-07-01T19:03:55","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T00:03:55","slug":"indian-origin-wlp-scholars-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/indian-origin-wlp-scholars-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Leadership Program 2020: 8 Indian America Students Selected for Internship in US Gov Offices"},"content":{"rendered":"
Eight meritorious India-origin students are all set for summer internship in Congressional offices and various departments of the US government in Washington DC<\/a>.<\/strong> These talented undergraduate students from South Asian communities in the United States have recently been inducted into the Washington Leadership Program 2020 for a first-hand exposure to the dynamics of various federal government agencies and their public service operations. They are Vignesh Iyer, Ananya Kachru, Rucha Modi, Tarun Ramesh, Krithika Shamanna, Hillary Shah, Vishwa Padigepati, and Shreya Pabbaraju.<\/p>\n The Washington Leadership Program is a national non-profit initiative that is exclusively aimed at developing and nurturing the next-gen American leadership from South Asian communities. Instituted in 1995, the Washington Leadership Program (WLP) handpicks interns from among the most promising South Asian undergraduate students, who are US citizens or legal permanent residents.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Picture Credit: TheWLP.com (Vignesh Iyer, Ananya Kachru, Rucha Modi, Tarun Ramesh from left to right)<\/p><\/div>\n Among the WLP scholars in 2020, Vignesh Iyer from California will be interning in Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi\u2019s office. An undergraduate at the University of California, he is equally passionate about politics and public service. While serving on the Student Association\u2019s Board of Directors at the university, Vignesh Iyer happened to work with Governor Gavin Newsom and the Mayor of San Francisco<\/a> on such critical campaigns as racial justice, homelessness, and students\u2019 financial aid<\/strong>. He has worked as a legislative intern in the office of Mayor London Breed. Since he came to the United States in 2014, he has been an active community member.<\/p>\n Placed as an intern in Pramila Jayapal\u2019s office, Ananya Kachru is one of the Indian-origin scholars of the Washington Leadership Program 2020. A pride of the Indian community in Connecticut, Ananya is majoring in global affairs at Yale University. She has proved to be a leader on several occasions, including the 2020 South Asian Youth Initiative<\/strong>, a platform for South Asian students in America to have multifaceted discussions on sensitive issues like mental health and gender violence. Apart from being co-President of the Yale Women\u2019s Leadership Initiative and South Asian Society, she is a Yale Campus tour guide.<\/p>\n One of the most versatile WLP scholars 2020, Rucha Modi<\/strong> is minoring in public affairs and majoring in global studies at the University of California. Born to an immigrant couple from Gujarat, Rucha is currently busy making a documentary on California\u2019s public higher education system, alongside working on other projects including media rhetoric and LGBTQ nondiscrimination.<\/strong> She aspires to mobilize young Americans of South Asian origin against exclusionary politics and systematic iniquities in India and the United States. On the Los Angeles campus, she has donned the hat of a Lobbying Director for the university\u2019s undergraduate student government. She will be interning with the US Agency for International Development.<\/p>\n All set to intern in the Department of Health & Human Services, Indian American Tarun Ramesh is majoring in economics and genetics at the University of Georgia. His in-depth work on opioid use disorder, sudden closure of rural hospitals, and impact of addiction-induced epidemics on vulnerable sections of society have been published by the Center for American Progress<\/strong>, the Undergraduate Economic Review, the Roosevelt Institute, and the Georgia Political Review. Socio-political campaigns, correctional facilities, and legislators have benefited from the implementation of his policy recommendations. Tarun Ramesh\u2019s investigative research on socioeconomic determinants of addiction makes him a deserving intern for the Washington Leadership Program 2020. He aspires to study masters in health economics.<\/p>\nWLP Scholars 2020: Eight Young Indian Americans<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Vignesh Iyer in Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi\u2019s Office<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Ananya Kachru in Pramila Jayapal\u2019s Office<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Rucha Modi in US Agency for International Development<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Tarun Ramesh in Department of Health and Human Services<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Krithika Shamanna in Department of Commerce\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n