Letter of Intent for Cultural Chair – Rishi Popat

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

I am writing to officially announce my intent in running for the Network of South Asian Professionals (NetSAP) Boston - Cultural/Theatrics Chair.

To tell you about myself, I was born in London, England, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, when I was four-years old and where my parents currently live.  I turned 29 this past Halloween and graduated from the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health as a dentist/DMD in June 2008. I also received my Certificate in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  I am currently doing my hospital dentistry residency at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and their hospitals. I graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2002, and majored in Economics with a minor in Public Health.  Afterwords, I spent two years at Harvard School of Dental Medicine researching and publishing papers on oral cancer before starting dental school. Last summer I was living in Washington, DC, for my Clinical Research Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Previously, I helped initiate the NetIP-Phoenix chapter with my friend Sriram Narasimhan, where we won the "Most Improved Chapter" at the NetSAP Annual Meeting in Boston earlier this year. Currently, I serve on the Board of Directors for the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) representing over 11,000 dental and hygiene students across the United States.

I am running for this position because of my interest and appreciation in the arts and pride in our Indian culture.  My family and I are strongly involved with the Gujarati Cultural Association of Arizona and have organized musical and theatrical events in the past. Such events include hosting formal galas, hosting musical gatherings featuring Pankaj Udhas and various groups from India. It would be great to organize such events in Boston which would further exposure the Network of South Asian Professions and showcase the talent of members of our community; locally, nationally, and internationally.

After attending the successful NetIP/NetSAP Annual Conference in August here in Boston, I realized that I want to be an active member of a young and professional organization. This is an excellent, innovative, and forward thinking organization that has helped many people build professional and social friendships. In addition, my affiliation with Harvard University is a great source of additional cultural and social events that we could potentially collaborate with NetSAP-Boston.  By hosting such cultural events, celebrating various Indian holidays and events, I believe that I can create such venues where people can continue to make new connections which fulfills the overall organizations mission.

I look forward to working with the previous and newly elected NetSAP-Boston Executive Board and my potential co-chair and classy, Ms. Sonia Rai on hosting and promoting various cultural, theatrical, and informal gatherings to promote the mission of our organization.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for considering my nomination.

Regards,
Rishi