Meet Anushka Kalyan

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anushka Kalyan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anushka , thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

Generosity ties in with the entire narrative of VR’ing Democracy, an initiative I started with two other Civics Unplugged fellows. This stems from my upbringing, which taught me a lot about being there for each other, especially for your family members. As someone who grew up in the U.S. with values like this, I ensured that this value was also translated in our work for VR’ing Democracy. We aim to give back to the community and individuals who are not able to connect with civic policies, engagement, etc.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am Anushka, a senior at Granite Bay High School. I am interested in climate policy as well as intergenerational civic engagement. I am the co-founder of VR’ing Democracy.

VRing Democracy is a civic engagement initiative that uses virtual reality technology to educate and empower U.S. residents about voting procedures, aiming to overcome language barriers and polling place unfamiliarity. The project offers multilingual virtual polling experiences and voter education resources to increase confidence and turnout among underrepresented communities.

An exciting update about our organization is that we have recently hired our new group of interns. We are very excited to be able to grow our team. As of right now, we are wrapping up our school work. But once summer comes around, we will be able to ensure that our hubs are running to their full capacity. We’re changing how civic education is delivered and building lasting confidence in the democratic process.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

When it comes to managing volunteers, from my experience in management, learning how to delegate is helpful. To understand how to break down roles and make sure everyone is contributing something meaningful, yet also not burning themselves out with duties, is very important.

With delegating, you also learn time management. Alongside VR’ing Democracy, I am also a part of different organizations and initiatives while also being a student. So knowing how to balance things is beneficial because it allows me to work and engage fully. I am a big fan of to-do lists. As a visual learner, knowing what to do eases my work. But time management is still something I struggle with, and this is something that I need to take advice from myself.

I would also say to just love what you do. If our team didn’t love civic engagement or interaction on one on one, it would be really hard for us to keep going. All of this requires a lot of work. So if we hated what we are doing, or got tired easily, it would get old for us, making it difficult to work.

For everyone wanting to develop these skills, I would strongly recommend having a vision map. Knowing what you’re supposed to do while also ensuring the work of your volunteers makes everything run smoother. Plus, it also aids in understanding your purpose for the journey.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Back in September, Valerie Kaur- a speaker, author, and activist- came to our school and spoke. She has done incredible things not only in the law space but in activism as well. Her book, See No Stranger, was so inspiring for me. It’s how I see myself making change, as I am currently working towards it.

She is so many things- an activist, an author, but at the same time, Valeire also had the message of breathing and pushing. Learning how to balance your time while also working hard is highlighted in that book. Sometimes, there are arguments that you shouldn’t push yourself too hard and preserve yourself. While I agree with that, I also think you must work hard for your goal, like meeting with people and taking the steps to make sure that you meet your aspirations. Breathing and pushing through is something that I have learnt from her book, and I just love the message she put across in her book.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vringdemocracy.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vring.democracy/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vr%E2%80%99ing-democracy/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VRingDemocracy

Image Credits

VR’ing Democracy Instagram