est. 2020
ACTIVISTS
reporters, non-profits, etc.
Alisha Gupta (she/her)
IG: @alisha_g9
Alisha Gupta is a dancer & entrepreneur breaking stereotypes, following her passions, & exploring the beauty of South Asian culture. In the past couple years, Alisha has structured her work around kindness & care, which has inspired her to start a nonprofit, anti-cyberbullying initiatives, & a podcast geared towards, “building a network of changemakers, providing students scholarships to help grow their movements, & bringing on CEOs to give advice as to how to transform a passion into progress.” Her nonprofit, Needed But Forgotten, aims to “leverage excess & closeout manufacturer inventories of suitcases to improve the lives of foster children around California.” Struggling to come to terms with one’s identity is a common experience for many South Asians— & Alisha is no stranger to this. “Coming into a predominantly white Catholic school… I was constantly struggling with my identity & early-on found myself trying to break ties with my culture to assimilate,” states Alisha of her high school experience. She goes on to explain that despite her uniqueness being ridiculed & mocked, she was able to hold on to her culture by finding her intense passion for Bollywood dance. She went on to become the only female Indian member of her cheer team as well as the captain of her high school’s Bollywood dance team. When asked about her favorite part of being South Asian, Alisha asserted, “Being South Asian has no limits… while there are many obstacles left to face, being South Asian in my experience means an ingrained value system that grounds me while I explore any field of interest. And behind all my life’s adventures, I have a community.” In the future, Alisha plans to continue her ventures in mentoring & activism through scholarship giveaways, podcasts, panels, professional advice, volunteering & more.
Vinamar Sidhu (she/her)
IG: @sveenuh
Vinamar Sidhu is an undergraduate student at UC Davis majoring in Neurobiology, Physiology, & Behavior. As the child of two Sikh immigrants, Vinamar cites them & their religious teachings as a major influence on her ideals. She talks about seva, an important part of the Sikh religion (which can be described as the act of service), playing an important part in her life. When she reached high school, she began to become more aware of social issues such as systemic racism & generation traumas faced by her family. “Being self aware about those issues inspired me to do more than just vocal avocation,” said Vinamar, “I started to engage into tangible efforts. Whenever I try to educate myself on certain issues, I also ask myself, ‘how can I engage in tangible service?’” Coming from a family of farmers, Vinamar is also heavily involved in supporting the current Farmer protests which are ongoing in India. She attributes her process of learning, growth, & advocating to her unique heritage & culture. When asked about her favorite thing about being South Asian, Vinamar asserted the beauty of South Asian diversity & tradition. In the future, she has plans to obtain her Master’s degree in public health & pursue the field of Dentistry. Her dream is to, “open a clinic & provide aid to low income communities in terms of oral healthcare.”
MORE COMING SOON
Riya Kataria