The Indian American for Political Education  awarded  six student internship at a start studded ceremony on May 3, 2008 at Hilton Garden Inn, Burlington, MA. Melvyn Menezes, Secretary,  of IAFPE welcomed all introduced the interns. He described the intern as “academically strong, highly motivated and politically inclined”.The internship committee consisted of Melvyn Menezes, Brinda Kamat, Gowri Rajappan, Anil Saigal, Ravi Sakhuja and Swati Sharma awarded the IAFPE internship to the following six students

Sireesha Kalapala, Vienna, WV, sophomore at Boston University, Majoring in Political Science and Philosophy
Ambika Melville, Northborough, MA, Senior at Algonquin Regional High School
Shuchi Mitra, Worcester, MA, freshman at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Majoring in International Studies and Mathematical Sciences
Anshul Parulkar, Northborough, MA, sophomore at Brown University, Majoring in Economics and Political Philosophy
Kabeer Parwani, Milton, MA, freshman at George Washington University, Majoring in International Affairs and Middle-Eastern Studies
Rohan Vahalia, Newton, MA, Junior at Newton North High School

“The internship helped me in choosing a career, focusing on graduate school and utilizing the network,” said Swati Sharma and Olympia Banerjee, past IAFPE interns who was invited to speak about her experience as an IAFPE intern.

The keynote speaker for the afternoon was the  Honorable Timothy Murray, Lt. Governor, MA. Satya Mitra, President of IAFPE introduced Murray. In his keynote address Murray spoke about politcal issues at the state house. “ We at the state house are engaged in many important activities. We are very actively working on the Life Sciences and Biotechnology bill . We are working on improving  roads and bridges, education, parks and beaches, tourism, public libraries, courts, energy and environment - often referred to as the blocking and tackling of the government.  The state is currently in the process of issuing seven bond bills for a total of $10.5B, including funding for four counties in Western Massachusetts which do no have broad band access,” said Murray.

Neelam Wali, Chair, Asian American Commission, talked about the need for all of us to unite. “If we are not seen, we will not be heard. Currently there is a perception that Indians take care of themselves. We need to be actively involved not for our sake but the benefit of the next generation,” said Wali.

Purnima Sangal gave the vote of thanks while Ajay Saini, Treasurer, thanked the community and informed us that as a result of this event we had met the target in order to be able to fully fund the internship program for 2008.

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