Listening has defined the early years of President Valerie Sheares Ashby’s tenure at UMBC, starting with her series of Bold Conversations to hear the many diverse Retriever voices. She continues to offer office hours for students, setting an example for other campus leaders to create similar opportunities in their own spaces. Meghna Chandrasekaran, Student Government Association (SGA) president, has extended the practice in her role as a programming intern at The Mosaic via “Chai Chats,” an opportunity for South Asian Retrievers to connect over their shared heritage. The biological sciences and political science senior and Sheares Ashby talk about the discomfort that leadership can bring along with the ultimate flourishing that results in finding what you were meant to do.
Meghna Chandrasekaran: As a young SGA officer, I always thought that I would have to talk a lot to make my presence known. But over time, I realized I needed to take a step back and listen. And it wasn’t listening just to listen—but listening to understand, especially lived experiences. After STRiVE [an intensive and engaging leadership for public purpose program at UMBC] and my work with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, I’m able to assess spaces in a way that I know when I can keep engaging and when I should just take a step back and sit with possible discomfort. I’ve learned a lot about listening with intentionality.
President Sheares Ashby: I am more and more comfortable with discomfort because I have developed a practice for myself. I have decided with intent that whenever I feel anxious, I will just sit up and lean slightly forward, because I do not want to pull back from the conversation. And that is my way of saying, “Just lean in. Everybody is okay.”
Chandrasekaran: I’ve been in this SGA space since middle school. I was always told certain steps and guidelines to follow in order to be a leader. And when I came to UMBC, I thought, again: I’ll follow the guidelines. But then I went to STRiVE, and that shook up my entire worldview, to be totally honest. I learned I needed to be myself, my unapologetic self. Previously in SGA spaces, I would never bring up cultural heritage because I saw that as unprofessional.
At the same time, I was a Leadership Peer Facilitator, and I started to understand my own personal values. Now it’s become second nature to show up in spaces as myself. That’s where the Chai Chats started—I really wanted to do something to keep me in touch with my cultural heritage, which is extremely important to me as a Tamil American student.
There have been some times when my friends have complained that I’m being “SGA president” with them and not “Meghna,” but that’s not the case anymore. It is now a part of who I am, and I just show up this way everywhere I go.
Sheares Ashby: Leaders continue to grow every day. You have a conversation like, “Ooh, I did not realize I was thinking about it that way,” or “I did not realize I had that bias,” or “I did not realize that I was not communicating clearly.” You learn something about yourself every single day, and you are growing. You show up as yourself every day and try to be the best version you could be. That is actually all anyone is asking you to do.
It is a beautifully calming thing [to know you] do not have to have all the answers. I do not have to know anything magical. I do not have to be right—and I am probably not going to be right. All I have to do is be me.
What is next for you, Meghna?
Chandrasekaran: I’m applying for a master’s in public policy, with a concentration in higher ed, in part because I’ve experienced something that feels unique to UMBC, especially with regards to shared governance. I talk to my peers at different institutions, and when I tell them what our SGA does, they’re like, “Whoa, what? You have a seat at the table? You’re managing a $1.1 million budget?” And I’m like, “That’s just the norm here.” I can see how the structures of our institution are set in place to allow for student involvement, and I think the end goal is agency among the entire campus.
Sheares Ashby: You do not know how much all of that gives me joy. It is so fun to watch you. This is why I have the best job in the world. I get to watch you all become who you were intended to be. In spite of how hard it is to be a leader, I watch you do it with joy. Everyone here is trying to figure out who they actually are and how that aligns with the life that they want. You did it.
Tags: Biology, Fall 2024, Office Hours, PoliSci, president, SGA
