NEHA SURENDER

We recently sat down with soon to be Mikva Challenge Alumna, Neha Surender, to ask her a few questions about her experiences at Mikva Challenge, and here is what she had to say:

What programs did you do at Mikva Challenge?
I did Mikva’s election program and recently the elections club. Through Mikva, I went to Springfield freshman year as a “thank you for campaigning” trip. I went to New Hampshire for the 2008 presidential primaries—best week ever! Campaigned for Hillary, who won New Hampshire. As the last push to get out the vote I went to South bend, IN to campaign for Obama. It was a short weekend trip but I like to say we made a difference, for the first time in 44 years Indiana was a blue state! Finally, I went to DC for the inauguration of Obama, really lucky to be able to go because it was only one student per school. It was like the icing on the cake, after campaigning on the presidential elections from early January of 2008 to being able to see it was unforgettable.

What do you do now?
I’m a senior at Amundsen High school. I received the Posse Scholarship for full tuition to Trinity College in CT, so east coast here I come!

How did you get involved with Mikva Challenge?
In my freshman year, my social science teacher brought it up in class and on a whim I decided to go to the kick-off. I’ve been in it ever since!

How will your Mikva experience affect you in the future?
Being in Mikva has definitely opened my eyes to the fact that youth have power. Yes it looks good on applications, being able to say I’ve campaigned for our current president all before turning 17 but it’s beyond that. Mikva has allowed me to discover my voice in politics and really has captivated my interest. Mikva is all about the students having hands on experience with the campaigns—we had to work like everyone else and weren’t treated as immature, ignorant, or lazy children but rather politically active young adults. This respect that was given to us will stay with me for a very long time because with the Mikva staff’s support it’s become quite apparent to me that it doesn’t matter how old you are or what part of the city you are from, you can do anything.

What was your best Mikva moment?
Definitely, hands down, it was being able to hear Obama speak in New Hampshire. We waited in the cold to be let in to hear him for quite a while but it was worth it. Hearing his speeches on TV is one thing, in person is completely different.

At Mikva Challenge, our mission is to train life-long civic leaders, and our alumni, like Neha, and students affirm our success in getting young people to become today and tomorrow's leaders.