Written by Madeleine Jenness, Assistant Editor

Aanya Kath is stepping into the role of Director of Campus Partnerships previously held by Marco Lizarraga. Aanya is a junior in Law, Economics and Public Policy with a minor in Health Studies. Aanya is a first-generation Indian immigrant and an aspiring law student.

Q: What’s been your favorite pastime during the pandemic? 

“During the pandemic, my favorite pastime has been catching up with watching a bunch of movies, Netflix shows, and reading novels. I am currently working on watching Marvel movies and reading fiction novels for a change.”

Q: What in your life and college experience led you to run for Director of Campus Partnerships? 

“Ever since my admission to UWB, I was interested in declaring my major in regards to law. Previously, I was a pre-med student. I decided to transition into law and public policy studies because I am more inclined in understanding and producing laws and regulations that assist in making our resources more accessible for all. Specifically, I am studying Health Law policies. I am finding out more information about the background works of healthcare: Insurance policies, health care reforms, medical ethics, etc. My college experience of transitioning from courses pertaining to ethics and society to health, medicine and society, politics of science, and then public policy and law have led me to run for an active student body government position. The Director of Campus Partnerships position entails interdisciplinary disciplines that would allow me to practice collaborating with other members within our community to become more progressive and enact change. These motivating active actions were what inspired me to run for the position.” 

Q: What is something you want the community to know about you personally?

“Something I would like the community to know about me personally is that I have never given up on any project/ issue of mine that I have really been passionate about. For example, when I first enrolled in the university, I was told that I would have to pay out-of-state tuition as a student even though I lived in Washington state. It was too late for my tuition statement to change within my first quarter here. However, throughout the quarter, I emailed and petitioned for this to be appealed as I had multiple documents of proof that I had been (and still am) living in Washington state for over 6 years now. Within the time frame of my second quarter at UWB, I was finally proven eligible to pay in-state tuition.”

Q: Your slogan is “Open your mind, become progressive, enact change.” How have you lived this in the past year? How do you plan to implement this in your position?

“My slogan is “Open your mind, become progressive, enact change.” I have lived this in the past year especially by understanding that life is full of success and failure. As we go on, we will receive a good mix of both one way or another in our lives. From every failure, it is essential to keep an open mind in order to learn from where we may have gone wrong. I have received a fair amount of rejection letters for opportunities I had really attempted to pursue. From every rejection, I have had to become progressive and realize that there must either be something I can do to try again or to attempt a more comfortable position that would be helpful/fitting at the time… and then move up to where I would really like to be. The ways I have enacted change would include that I have either received an alternative similar opportunity and/or one that I truly believe would work better than what I was going for. I plan to implement these values in my position by allowing students to understand that your failures—just as much as your successes—do not necessarily mean that you should stop pursuing what you believe you are meant to pursue in your life. Become more progressive and start enacting change in your life to validate your talents and utilize yourself for the better in our society.”

Q: As UW Bothell is a satellite campus of the greater UW entity, how do you plan to communicate our community’s overall priorities within our university, and why is it important to communicate specific needs for UW Bothell within the greater tri-campus community?

“UW Bothell is a satellite campus of the greater UW entity. I plan to communicate our community’s overall priorities at campus-held events and through social media promotion. As well as grabbing the attention of policymakers who are able to pass bills that declare change within our community because it is important to communicate our specific needs within the greater tri-campus community. Although our campuses all want to specify their own purposes, it is important that ours are also distinctly laid out and pursued with clear communication because that is how UWB will also become more incorporated/ involved and respected.”

Q: What do you think society, especially the community on college campuses, will look like going into next year as we come out of the pandemic?

“Society especially on college campuses going into the next year as we come out of the pandemic will look like everyone getting screened and assessed for getting vaccinated. After proof of vaccination, there will be freedoms given if individuals would like to take their masks off or not. And it will take a little bit of adjustment for people to get used to seeing so many people in space again and becoming comfortable enough to interact with one another.”