By Elaine Smith<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coming from a country where most international exchange students study technical subjects such as engineering, the sciences or computer science, Saanvi Bhattacharya, a psychology major, might be considered an anomaly. But it is this determination to pursue her interest that led Bhattacharya, winner of one of two annual Global Leaders of Tomorrow scholarships, to become a leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on a group project in high school, Bhattacharya and her friends brought arts and communications opportunities to underprivileged children so they could develop those interests. Their Initiative, called \u201cSAAYA,\u201d works to uplift underprivileged students by teaching them arts and commerce as gateways to prospective future careers. The students are taught skills and how to pursue them gainfully. These children were empowered by participation in workshops and donation drives and by event stalls they held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their program was so popular, the students turned it into a non-governmental organization that works with schools and orphanages to deliver workshops on the arts and public speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn India, there is far more emphasis on science and peer pressure to focus on technical topics, but I\u2019m into communications and the arts,\u201d said Bhattacharya, who also loves dance. \u201cI wanted to help underprivileged children follow those interests. We held fairs and donation drives to raise funds, but we never expected it to become so big. Now, we\u2019ve had to choose successors to keep the programs going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bhattacharya has always been interested in helping people, so her interest in studying psychology is natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou should do something you love to do,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m inclined to pursue clinical or counselling psychology, but if I find an aspect that I like better, I\u2019ll explore that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She planned to study abroad after high school and researched universities in Canada and the United States looking for good psychology programs. She found that York fit the profile, and, since she had an uncle living in Toronto, decided it might work well. She accepted her admissions offer before she found out that she\u2019d won the Global Leaders of Tomorrow scholarship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t expected at all, especially given the scale of the [four-years, $20,000 annually] scholarship and realizing only two people in the whole university get one,\u201d Bhattacharya said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely an added bonus and my parents were very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bhattacharya is living on campus as a member of Bethune Residence and \u201cI\u2019m loving it, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very friendly campus. There\u2019s never a time I\u2019m walking around without people saying, \u2018Hi.\u2019 They\u2019re very interactive and open and all the first-years want to find their own tribes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She has met a lot of people, has applied for jobs with the psychology department and is researching clubs to join. She\u2019s a trained dancer as well, has learned Kathak for a few months, took classes to learn Bollywood and hip-hop dance and continues her four-year study of Latin dance. She also does bachata, salsa and kizomba, and attend socials occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bhattacharya is also getting to know the York campus and the larger City of Toronto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been to the Glendon campus and have gone downtown with friends,\u201d Bhattacharya said. \u201cI\u2019m finding my way around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s very different from India, she says, but, apparently, York is on its way to becoming a home-away-from-home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
York offers a number of scholarships to incoming international students. Visit the future students page for more information<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Elaine Smith Coming from a country where most international exchange students study technical subjects such as engineering, the sciences or computer science, Saanvi Bhattacharya, a psychology major, might be considered an anomaly. But it is this determination to pursue her interest that led Bhattacharya, winner of one of two annual Global Leaders of Tomorrow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1053,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n