“My dad was the embodiment of service. If he went on a trip, he’d be the last person off of the airplane because he would help an elderly passenger with their bags. Even in the final months of his battle with cancer, he served meals to the homeless in Philadelphia nearly every weekend. Thanks to him, the importance of service, of all types, was instilled in me since childhood. Also, both of my parents are immigrants from #India. As a first-generation American, part of me has always been drawn to giving back to the country where my parents made their life. As such, coming to @Princeton, I was interested in @PrincetonSPIA because I want to eventually work in public service, which will allow me to both honor my father’s legacy of service and give back to this country. Princeton is special in that it gives you the opportunity to work with and get to know amazing practitioners in your area of study. One of my junior policy task force papers was advised by Amb. Rick Barton, who previously served as the assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. My research was on civil society-led peace-building in the region of Jammu and Kashmir. I focused on the domestic insurgency within the Indian-administered portion of the area, located in the northernmost region of India. Amb. Barton taught us about the importance of working with local, on-the-ground organizations when engaging in peace-building. So, I contacted civil society activists and actors in Kashmir and conducted a series of interviews with them about how they could contribute and have contributed to bringing peace to the region. Through academic experiences like this, SPIA helped me become more interested in my heritage and connect it with my professional interests. I’ve been studying more about South Asia, and I’ve learned I want to work in foreign policy related to the region, potentially at the @statedept. Hopefully, my pursuit of certificates in South Asian Studies and History and the Practice of Diplomacy will help me achieve that goal.” – Ashwin Mahadevan ’22.