Vishakha Desai

        One day in a Global Scholars Seminar class, Ms. Diederich began introducing our next speaker. President of the Asia Society. President of SIPA at Columbia University. Chair of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University. AFS Board Director. Indian-American immigrant. 

    I was sitting there listening to this woman's resume in shock. I mean, who has time to be on so many boards and direct so many programs? Probably a superhuman.

    But, after hearing Dr. Desai speak, I completely forgot about her resume. What became important was her experiences - her time in California as an AFS student, her family stories, the lessons she learned at SIPA or while working with President Obama.

    Her talk focused on creating a family with global roots, or simply put, a world as family. She talked intimately about her Indian roots, but really focused on her time discovering who she was in America.  Fittingly, she worked our theme "Empathy into Action" into her talk. And, she discussed her impact with AFS, but again tied her experiences into the idea that we can have multiple identities. 

   I mention all of this because while she talked, I forgot about her resume. But, I think that reflects her point. We are all citizens of the world, with our backgrounds, and we have to see what we portray ourselves. 

    I think that's fascinating.