A friend jumps in the picture with Akila(Pictured left).
“I once got stuck in a hurricane during one of my trips to India and was without power for 3 days!” – Akila
Meet Akila Shanmugaraj. A bubbly, kind and outgoing 21 one year old junior at Pennsylvania State University. I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to interview Akila due to the amount of material I learned about her life and how it relates directly to mine. Although we are two completely different people, I was able to make the most out of the ten minutes I spent learning more about her life on campus. Through this interview, I became more educated regarding stereotypes on campus and the differences between the experiences I have already experienced for the summer at State College.
Akila is an Indian from Groton, Massachusetts, and is a psychology major at University Park. Just through the short time spent with her, I could tell how much she has loved her time here on campus. After asked how any specific traditions/customs she practices, she informed me that she is Hindu. However, Akila went on to state that she is not very religious even though her family has traditions that they practice. This 21 year old later explained that she actually does not have any close friend at Penn State that are Indian. The majority of her friends are Caucasian. Her hobbies/interests include listening to all types of music and heavy involvement with THON. For those not familiar with this foundation, it is a year-long effort to raise donations and consciousness for childhood cancer. To wrap up the interview, I asked Anita to name one thing most people most likely do not know about her. After pondering for a few moments, she responded by saying “I once got stuck in a hurricane during one of my trips to India and was without power for 3 days!”
The feel of a large campus and the sense of camaraderie felt at Penn State University was a giant selling point for Akila to choose to come to this college. She fell in love with the campus on a tour and loved the idea of getting involved in THON. Akila has loved her time here and told me that she did not have any personal experiences that made her feel different as a person of color on the Penn State campus. Having a very easy time making friends, getting involved and doing well in her classes as made her feel at home. She could not think of anything that has made her feel prejudiced.
Despite the positive time Akila has had in Happy Valley, she has experienced some stereotypes as a student of color here. “Some people I talk to assume I am an engineer or a science major. Also, some think that I do not drink/party”, Anita noted. Despite this set of stereotypes towards those individuals of the Indian race, she explained that she has never felt prejudiced or have had experiences with extreme, negative serotypes at Penn State. All around, Anita couldn’t be happier with the environment found on campus.
Conducting this interview truly opened my eyes to the differences individuals of color experience on a daily basis. Although Anita has not experienced anything extreme or dramatic, stereotypes based off of her race have occurred during her time at Penn State. It must be quite a different experience for Anita to walk into a classroom with a majority of white students rather than students of her own race. This aspect of her student life is something that I personally do not experience. Other differences between Akila and myself include race, gender, religion and intended major for PSU.
Although some differences lie between Akila and me, we actually share many similarities. To start, both of us chose to come to Penn State for the large campus and community feel. Like Akila Shanmugaraj, I also enjoy listening to all types of music in my spare time. Akila is active with THON and with my similar interest in getting involved with this organization, she encouraged me to most definitely get involved. It was easy to connect with her because we shared certain similarities.
This “Interview of Color” was something very important that I experienced and will for sure stick with me for the remainder of the time I spend here at Penn State University. Akila was a very congenial and kind individual to interview and I am very thankful for the insight that she gave me regarding the life of a student of color on campus. I also thought it was interesting to get this perspective from an upperclassmen as compared to someone my same age. Akila taught me more about myself as a Caucasian student at Penn State and the stereotypes she has gone through as an Indian student. Despite our differences that include race, gender and religion, we have some underlying similarities. Akila Shanmugaraj was a great person to interview because of her openness regarding the topics of prejudices and stereotypes. Many people would feel uncomfortable handling these questions and she answered each one to the best of her ability. Thank you Akila for the time we spent together, as I will not forget it moving forward in my life as a college student!