More than 9,000 miles separate the cities of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Bengaluru, India. But when Viprav Raju considered enrolling at The University of Alabama, the distance didn’t bother him much. For him, UA was already somewhat familiar; a family member had already attended and graduated from the Capstone. So, Viprav decided to join the legacy and began classes at UA in 2016, working towards his master’s degree in electrical engineering.
While he excelled academically, he noticed some discrepancies between the social lives of undergraduate and graduate students. He felt that graduate students and their work were largely unseen compared to the amount of publicity undergraduate students receive. “They don’t get the recognition they deserve,” he clarified. Compelled to advocate for his fellow graduate students, he voiced his concerns with both the Student Government Association (SGA) and the Graduate School but found that many things needed a “personal touch.” There was only so much he could do without being involved with the University’s governing system. With this knowledge and a newfound passion, Viprav decided to run for election as a graduate school representative in the SGA senate and secured his seat!
As a senator, he quickly began working on ways to provide graduate students with more resources and opportunities to give graduate students more recognition. He feels good about his work to help graduate students, even though it takes a while for the fruits of his labor to be seen. His passion to support graduate students soon expanded to encompass international students as well. As an international student himself, Viprav was acutely aware of ways that SGA and other parts of UA could support international students and elevate them to the same social familiarity as domestic students. “Not a lot of international students even know the SGA exists,” Viprav revealed, “so I was in a unique spot to do good work for both groups at the same time. I want to motivate both graduate and international students to get more involved on campus.”
Not a lot of international students even know the SGA exists… so I was in a unique spot to do good work for both groups at the same time. I want to motivate both graduate and international students to get more involved on campus.
Viprav
Viprav’s decision to join SGA seemed to motivate others to do the same, because now there are even more graduate and international students attempting to join one of the SGA’s branches as well as various other student organizations. “It just shows if one person starts to get into something, then it can cause others to join and the whole operation can grow,” he said. Viprav eventually got to meet and work with many of these new students from various backgrounds, something he’s quite grateful for.
It improved my people skills,” he explained, “The camaraderie of becoming friends with people from different cultures, different races and even different ages expanded my mindset. It made me realize that I want all these great people on my team.
Viprav Raju
Viprav recently completed his Ph.D in electrical engineering at UA. He certainly made the most of his time here but he’s not asking for any personal recognition. Instead, he hopes future UA students will find the same passions he found and continue to work towards progress so the entire student body can be well represented on campus.
