Making her voice heard

The University of Manchester Students’ Union is the largest students’ union in the UK and becoming one of its board members is not child’s play. But this smart, young, vivacious 20-year-old  who won the position, knows her responsibilities and duties. In a chat with DC, Riddi opens up about her vision and how she plans to bridge the cultural differences among the students.

Though born in Puducherry, this young girl likes to refer herself as a Chennaiite. “I was born in Puducherry, however, most of my family lives in Chennai. So I like to refer myself as a Chennaiite. I completed my preliminary schooling at St. Joseph of Cluny and then went on to study International Baccalaureate (IB) at Chinmaya International Residential School (CIRS), one of India’s top five schools. After completing my IB, I came to the University of Manchester in 2014,” Riddi starts the conversation.

On being selected as the diversity officer representing 40,000 plus students, Riddi explains, “When you remind me about the election process, it takes me back to one of the hardest weeks of my life. Our election for the executive team took place in March and elections last normally for a week. I ran under the slogan ‘Represent with Riddi’. Talking about the nominations, my position was the most contested for — with nine candidates running. The winning experience was quite different for me.”

A graduate in Business Studies and Economics, Riddi’s role in the students’ union is to represent students and their concerns. “Under my remit, I have to represent the concerns of all students including international, postgraduate and different liberation groups on campus. This year, my plans are mainly to work for the international students. I have already ticked off two of my manifestos by passing a motion to restructure funding for small and cultural societies and also introducing a badge to make our welcome week multilingual,” shares Riddi with pride.

To bridge the cultural gap between students in the university, Riddi co-ran a network called ‘International Student Network’ where international students from different countries come to discuss not just their problems but things about their culture, over hot lunch. “I’ve just realised that we have students from 192 countries at our university. All of them might have been exposed to different cultures and a different upbringing. I’m planning to take the network forward to encourage multi-cultural conversations and learnings.”

The youngster says that her parents are very motivating — “In fact, if I stand here today, it is only because they raised me to be unconventional. We are very ambitious in our own ways and are currently working on our own little ways of contributing to the society while leaving a legacy behind. No matter where I go, I am always an Indian and Tamilian at heart.”

Does she miss anything back in her homeland? “I miss my extended family. I miss dosa and south Indian food! I cook occasionally... but, nothing beats my home food served on the banana leaf back home,” she concludes.