Leadership / Service

Serving as a Wellness Ambassador and GLASS Recruiter showed me that leadership does not always have to be loud to be meaningful. A lot of the role was about creating spaces where people felt comfortable enough to open up, ask questions, or simply feel seen. Whether I was supporting student well-being or helping others understand what GLASS could offer, I learned how much impact can come from being present, approachable, and intentional in how I connect with people.

Being a Resident Assistant taught me how much leadership lives in consistency. The role asked me to support students through both everyday challenges and more serious moments, which meant learning how to be dependable, calm, and responsive. It made me more aware of the kind of community I want to help build, one where people feel supported not just in moments of crisis, but in the smaller parts of daily life too.

As a student speaker at NYU’s World of Thanks Scholarship Luncheon, I addressed an audience of 300+ alumni, families, donors, and university leadership, including President Linda G. Mills, sharing my journey across Tandon and NYU Abu Dhabi and how scholarship support has enabled my global leadership and research work. I highlighted concrete outcomes from my projects and the broader impact of donor generosity on student access and innovation, then connected with supporters to discuss how continued investment accelerates high-impact, real-world initiatives. This experience strengthened my ability to communicate purpose to diverse stakeholders and reinforced my commitment to building accessible, scalable solutions that advance student success and community wellbeing.

Thailand changed my perspective the most. Teaching young students English and basic engineering concepts reminded me that the value of learning is not just in what you gain from it, but in what you are able to give back through it. Those moments made the work feel simple in the best way. It became less about achievement and more about connection, patience, and finding ways to meet people where they are.

Volunteering at the Women’s Wildflower Home made that feeling even more personal. It asked me to step outside my comfort zone, not in a dramatic way, but in the quieter way that comes from showing up consistently, putting in real effort, and being fully present in a space that is not your own. That experience grounded me. It reminded me that service is not about arriving with answers or trying to make yourself central to the story. It is about humility, care, and the willingness to offer your time and energy in a way that is genuinely useful.

What stayed with me most was how human the experience felt. Thailand made service feel less abstract and much more.  immediate. It showed me that some of the most meaningful work happens through small interactions, shared time, and the relationships built in those spaces. More than anything, it reinforced for me that the kind of impact I want to have in the future has to stay rooted in people.