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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JUNE 06, 2024 | The Indian Eye 36

the war in Gaza. This speech comes at a time when US universities have been and the first Indian-American to win this position in Georgia.
seeing on-campus protests in favor of Gaza. On the other hand, Susheela Jayapal, the sister of Indian-American Con-
She just went off script and said, “As I stand here today, I must take a gresswoman Pramila Jayapal, lost her Congressional primary bid in the state
moment to recognize my peers – the 13 undergraduates in the class of 2024 of Oregon. “I just called and extended my congratulations to Maxine Dexter
that will not graduate today,” said student Shruthi Kumar, who was chosen on her election to represent Oregon’s Third Congressional District. I am so
to deliver the English commencement remarks for the undergraduate class. proud of the campaign that I and my supporters ran. We were clear, from the
beginning, that we were going to run a campaign based on values, and on our
The Harvard Corporation, the university’s governing body, voted vision for the country and the district,” she said in a statement.
A mother of two, Susheela has been an outspoken champion for re-
on Wednesday to halt the students’ graduation. Kumar’s original productive rights, education, and economic justice. Before entering elected
speech was previously on The Power of Not Knowing, encourag- office, she was a dedicated community advocate and volunteer, serving on
numerous local boards.
ing students to embrace uncertainty as they transition on from
school, according to the Harvard Gazette. JAYA BADIGA
Graduating Shruthi Kumar was one of the three students who won the Attorney appointed judge in the

honor to speak at the graduation through an annual contest hosted by the
university. Sacramento County
She has always been vocal about her experience as a student and as an
Indian-origin person. In her write-up in the Harvard Magazine, she has dis-
cussed the power of not knowing or having a paved path. She discussed how
her parents did not even know how to apply to a US college as they had never
attended one. “I grew up in the Great Plains of Nebraska alongside cattle
ranches and cornfields. As the eldest daughter of South Asian immigrants, I
was the first in my family to go to college here in the US,” Shruthi wrote in
the magazine.
Her life journey has been about figuring it out and embracing the un-
known. She wrote,”From Nebraska to Harvard, I found myself redefining
this feeling of not knowing. I discovered a newfound power in how much IÂ
didn’t know.”

ASHWIN RAMASWAMI
Zoomer wins democratic primary

in Georgia

ndian-American attorney Jaya Badiga, a certified family law specialist, has
been appointed as a Judge in the Sacramento County Superior Court in
Ithe US state of California. She will join the Sacramento County Superior
Court as one of its three newest judges.
Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, made the appointment
of Badiga to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Robert S.
Lapham. She has earlier served as a Commissioner at the Sacramento County
Superior Court since 2022.

Badiga was born in Vijayawada city of Andhra Pradesh. She is

the daughter of Badiga Ramakrishna, an industrialist and former
Machilipatnam Lok Sabha MP. She earned a Bachelor’s degree
in psychology and political science from Osmania University and
later moved to the US to pursue further studies.

Badiga, a member of the Democrat Party, also served as an Attorney at
the California Department of Health Care Services in 2020 and at the Califor-
shwin Ramaswami, the first Gen Z Indian-American candidate run- nia Governor’s Office of Emergency Services in 2018.
ning for a US state legislature, has won the Democratic primary in She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University School
Athe state of Georgia. Ramaswami wrote on X, “ Last night, I won the of Law and a Master of Arts degree in International Relations and Interna-
Democratic primary in Georgia Senate District 48, In November, I’ll face tional Communications from Boston University. Badiga is a certified family
Republican Senator Shaen Still – who was indicted alongside Trump for be- law specialist and has worked in Family Law for more than 10 years, according
ing a fake elector in 2020. It’s the most flappable seat in Georgia. Let’s go to the Sacramento Country Public Law Library.
win this thing. “
The 23- year- old Ramaswami graduated from Georgetown University To read more about Indian diaspora and Global Indians, log on to and follow
His parents immigrated to the US from Tamil Nadu in 1990. If elected, he our website www.TheIndianEYE.com
would be the youngest ever elected representative in the State of Georgia

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