Padma coordinates marketing and is working to build a curriculum on bullying at Color me SAFE. Padma graduated from the J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Arkansas in 2015 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and minors in Gender Studies, Classical Studies, and Medieval & Renaissance Studies. She was named a 2015 Razorback Classic by the Arkansas Alumni Association, one of the ten female students on campus to be awarded the honor. The Honors College was a large part of her undergraduate life. As a Bodenhamer Fellow, Padma was able to participate in undergraduate research, study abroad, and graduate with honors. She also served as an Honors College Ambassador and was the sole student representative on the Honors Dean Search Committee when the college was looking to hire a new dean. Along with active participation in the Honors College, Padma was an active leader in several registered student organization. She served as secretary of Eta Sigma Phi, the Classical society, and as historian for Alpha Chi Sigma, the Chemistry fraternity on campus for two years. She also served as president of the Hindu Students Organization on campus and started a campus branch of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra. Alongside campus events, she taught at Chinmaya Mission Bentonville for two years and volunteered with the Mission, leading and coordinating several events and retreats. Serving on leadership positions in various student and non-profit organizations has taught her more about herself as a person, as well as administrative and organizational skills. Studying abroad in Tanzania, Ghana and Belize has enhanced her outlook on the world as she manually labored to help lay the foundation of a water tower for a village in the countryside in Belize; and in Ghana, she traveled along the historical route of part of the West African Slave Trade. In Tanzania, she found the part of herself that loves the natural splendors of the world. Padma is currently getting her Masters of Arts degree in Humanities from the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Texas at Dallas. Through challenging and thought-provoking coursework, Padma Mana says she has learned the value of hard work and discipline. Her undergraduate studies taught her to be systematic and methodical in any undertaking, while her studies in the social sciences have added a humanistic and analytically holistic perspective to that science background. Her dedicated professors have shown her that building a satisfying and happy career comes from cultivating a vocation out of a passion. In addition, she has learned as a student that service is a key to happiness. Padma currently serves as a teacher at Chinmaya Mission Dallas-Fort Worth and is an active member of the Chinmaya Yuva Kendra group at the Mission. She went through Chinmaya Yuva Kendra Wests’s Youth Empowerment Program, a 2 month residential course, in 2013. These experiences continue to impart her with knowledge on Foundational Vedanta and Basic Sanskrit, organizational skills, principles of basic management, public speaking, and interpersonal communication. Padma is a voracious reader, like to run and play Frisbee or volleyball, and enjoys listening to South Indian music. She appreciates her sister and parents, without whom she would not be where she is today. Contact Padma at intern@colormesafe.net.
Padma Mana
