Student Profile: Marisa Parikh

Marisa Parikh is an extraordinary, driven George Mason student. She earned her associate’s degree while still in High School. Now, she is a second-year Honors College student studying Public Administration at The Schar School of Government and Policy with a minor in Conflict Resolution and Analysis at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.  She is also the President of “Be the Change,” a student-led organization dedicated to driving positive change at Mason through the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals. 

Through the Carter School, Marisa interned with Dr. Solon Simmons at the Narrative Transformation Lab, an experience that would prove to be, in a word, transformative. There, she worked on “Little Minds, Strong Values” (LMSV), a collaborative project between Rotary International and the Carter School. Based in Sri Lanka and produced in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the project aimed to teach important values such as respect for others, kindness, honesty, and integrity to children through music and dance. Marisa’s research involved “ripple mapping,” a technique to track and measure the impact of the LMSV project. 

“While I was taking classes at Schar and Carter, doing the Rotary project helped me find my niche. It took me a bit of time to realize the impact of the work I was doing, and I spent some time reflecting on that. The South Asian community is my community and working on ‘Little Minds, Strong Values’ was extremely fulfilling-- “my coursework and the ‘Little Minds, Strong Values’ might have been a pivotal moment for me.” 

After her internship, Marisa became involved with Ashiyanaa, a non-profit organization which provides support to South Asian women and children who experienced gender and domestic violence. “After being involved with Ashiyanaa, I decided to join the Collective Organizations of South Asia (COSA). Which is organization active on the Mason Campus that focuses on South Asian unity and uplifting our culture. Because of this, I was able to connect the two organizations to facilitate a workshop on interpersonal relationship violence in the South Asian community”.  

Marisa’s love for the South Asian community also extends to her hobbies. An active dancer, Marisa is a member of the COSA dance team, where she is not only a performer, but the Co-Social Media Coordinator. The dance team incorporates dance forms from all over South Asia – Using songs from different South Asian languages such as Bangla, Hindi, Tamil, and Telegu. However, her personal favorite is Gujarati Garba Dance, a dance form from Gujarat, India. “It’s where is family is from. I grew up doing it.” 

Currently, she serves as the President of “Be the Change,” an organization dedicated to driving positive change at Mason by upholding the 17 United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), one of which, SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, is chaired by the Carter School. The organization has been active on the George Mason campus, in one form or another, for four years. Marisa stated that “Be the Change” wants to prioritize awareness and advocacy in the Sustainability Development Goals most relevant to Mason students. 

Like many students, Marisa is still working on the direction she wants to go. “I have a goal: To make a difference in my community. But I’m still figuring out the ‘how.”