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