Over the past few years, Common Ground has been working closely with the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) to design its state-of-the-art SikhLEAD programs. Beginning with its signature Leadership Development Program (applications for LDP III are now available here) and expanding into a Congressional Internship Program, the success of this initiative has been incredibly exciting. The various programs bring together Sikh American college students and young professionals for leadership training, personal development, and networking.
Earlier this summer, we conducted a weekend-long training for the students you'll read about below. Their passion, enthusiasm, intellect and creativity made our first gathering quite an experience. In a couple of weeks, we'll get together again to review personal mission statements, discuss ideas for a group service project, and head out into a local DC park for an afternoon of Street Speaking!
Continuing the success of the 2012 SikhLEAD intern class, SALDEF has doubled the participants of this year’s internship program. Through this program, students are afforded first-hand perspective of the legislative process and the functioning of the federal government, federal agencies, and non-profit organizations. Since 2000, over 40 students have participated in SALDEF's internship programs. We are pleased to welcome this summer’s intern class.
Henna Trewn - House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce
Henna is a rising senior at the University of California, Berkeley studying Political Economy with a focus on Energy and Resource Studies. She is interested in domestic resource issues as well as rural energy development, particularly in India. Over the past two years, she has managed an undergraduate-graduate mentorship program and student-run course on graduate school preparation. She has also interned with the local government in Berkeley, and participated in discussions on international affairs with her professional Foreign Service fraternity. Most recently, Henna interned at the California Energy Commission. She took what she learned at the Commission to her current internship with the Democratic Staff of the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce in Washington, D.C. Her passions outside of energy policy include creative writing, Joss Whedon (especially the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series), and Paper Mario video games.
Sumeet Kaur - Senator Chris Coons
Sumeet is entering her senior year at the George Washington University as an International Relations major. Her academic and personal life has been heavily focused on human rights and development issues. As a member and current president of the GW Sikh Student Association, Sumeet strives to promote Sikhism in the GW community and in the DC area. She will be interning for Senator Chris Coons this summer, where she hopes to learn more about policymaking and African affairs through his experience as the Chairman of the African Affairs Subcommittee. Sumeet is originally from Centerville, MA. In her spare time, Sumeet enjoys writing poetry, cooking, and going on adventures.
Ravneet Kaur - Representative Ami Bera
Ravneet is a rising junior at the University of California, Davis double majoring 
in Economics and International Relations. She is a member of the Dean’s Honor List and has previously interned for Alameda County Supervisor Nadia Lockyer. In addition to being a Liberal Arts and Business Peer Advisor, she is a Public Policy research intern for the UC Davis Center for Poverty Research. Ravneet values public service and as Vice President of Project Planning for Global Human Rights Brigade, last summer she participated in a week long brigade in rural Panama to help underserved communities. She also attends local Sikh camps and serves as a mentor for young Sikhs. This summer, Ravneet will be interning for Representative Ami Bera in Washington, DC. She hopes to pursue a career in international development after graduation.
Mandeep Singh - Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Mandeep is a rising junior at Columbia University. He is majoring in Urban Studies (with a specialization in Political Science) and Business Management. During this summer, he will be interning for the Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's office. Mandeep is the president of Columbia University Sewa, an organization based on the universal values of community service, social justice and equality. Originally from New York, Mandeep is a community organizer with SEVA NY and a youth member of the Richmond Hill Democratic Club. In addition, he is a graduate of SALDEF's Leadership Development Program and is an alumnus of the Young People For Fellowship. In his spare time, Mandeep enjoys singing, dancing whenever he is given the chance, and exploring various styles in fashion.
Guneet Kaur - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Guneet is a rising junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is majoring in Health Policy and Management. She has was born and raised in the Raleigh, North Carolina area and has been actively involved in the local Sikh community for many years. She has participated in various community outreach initiatives and has been involved in organizing an annual blood drive at the gurdwara for the past 4 years. At school, she is involved with volunteering at UNC Hospitals and at a student-run health clinic. This summer through her internship at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Guneet hopes to gain experience in examining ways to prevent workplace discrimination, an issue that not only affects the Sikh community, but many others as well. During her spare time, she enjoys reading, making greeting cards, talking walks, and practicing keertan.
Manjot Singh - Department of Justice, Community Relations Service
Manjot is a rising junior at the University of California, Los Angeles and is majoring in Global Studies. Manjot is the External Affairs director of the Sikh Student Association at UCLA and is involved in a number of organizations around campus. He writes for the Daily Bruin and participates in a weekly spoken word event called “The Word on Wednesdays” as part of the Cultural Affairs Commission. He is in the process of starting his own magazine on campus. This summer, while interning with the Department of Justice, Community Relations Service, he hopes to garner a deeper and more realistic look of what it means to be a social activist in one’s own community and at large, and learn how to approach minority marginalization. From Valencia, California, Manjot Singh likes wearing highlighter colored turbans and kurtas around UCLA’s campus. He is a strong advocate for vegetarianism and enjoys collecting coffee beans from around the world.
Gagan Singh - SALDEF, Communications and Media Intern
Gagan is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County majoring in English Literature and minoring in Communications and Technology and Medieval and Early Modern Studies. She is the humanities editor of UMBC’s undergraduate research journal, The UMBC Review and is also a Humanities Scholar and part of the Honors College. She is actively involved with the Sikh community in Maryland through youth discussion classes, events at her gurdwara and helping organize a youth camp. This summer, Gagan is the Communications and Media intern for SALDEF. She is hoping to apply the skills she learned in SikhLEAD’s Leadership Development Program to advocate for the Sikh American community and provide social justice among all communities. She enjoys creative outlets such as painting, writing and cooking and is always ready for the next cup of coffee.
Nimita Uberoi - Smithsonian, Asian Pacific American Center
Nimita is a rising junior at Brown University concentrating in Environmental Studies and Political Science. Nimita is involved in various activities on campus, such as the Women’s Varsity Tennis team and co-anchor of “Bearly News” (Brown’s satirical news show). She is also president of the Sikh Students Association, Public Relations Officer for her Class Board, and Secretary of the South Asian Students Association. Nimita also volunteers at a local Hindi Sunday School in Providence. In her spare time Nimita enjoys watching the TV show “Bones,” part of her motivation to intern at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center this summer. Additionally, she enjoys making her own ice cream, attempting to cook, and travelling.
Harjit Singh - Representative Judy Chu
Harjit is a fourth year Astrophysics and Geophysics major at the University of California, Berkeley. This past year, he was the Executive Director of UC Berkeley’s Sikh Students Association and organized many Sikh related events on campus, such as Sikh Turban Day, Kaur Voices, and a youth mentorship program called Big Khalsa Little Khalsa. He grew up in Yuba City, CA where he has seen and experienced the struggles faced by Sikh Americans in this large Sikh community. Harjit will be interning for Congresswoman Judy Chu. He is hoping to integrate his passion for science education with his experience on Capitol Hill to become an advocate for science. In his spare time, Harjit enjoys hiking, running, and performing arts.
Keep up with the interns' summer experience by reading their blog posts here!
