Sneha Pandya
We caught up with Sneha, twenty-something English major at Northeastern University, on a chilly spring day in Boston.
Good St. is about making giving a part of our daily routines… What is a quirky daily routine of yours?
I go to the coffee shop “Pavement Coffee House” every morning. Same order: Evergreen Tea Latte, large, low-fat milk.
What’s one GOOD change you’d like to see in the world?
I would like to see
1) access to clean water being more uniform across nations and
2) access to education — we need more schools, and I’d like it for schools to be of the highest caliber possible.
As my high school AP Psych teacher said, “Schools should be palaces and teachers should be like kings.”
What is a cause or organization you’re particularly passionate about? And why?
I really like America Scores New England’s framework — Boston inner city students don’t have after school programs, so this organization provides a program for improving students’ writing skills, and they have a recreational soccer league.
If Brandon from Humans of New York (HONY) came up to you right now and asked you “What’s the biggest thing you’ve had to overcome?”, what would you say?
The idea of identity, because dealing with so many different identities at once can be difficult, and understanding that was hard until I went to college. My high school was so homogenous, but in college I was surrounded by people who wanted to talk about who they were and all the different things that make them who they are. It made me question what I think of as identity. I hadn’t really thought about myself that critically.
On Good St. we believe that small change (like our daily quarters) can lead to big change… can you think of a particular experience in your life that you believe changed you, whether in a big or small way?
Moving to Boston for college — I had to do everything on my own once I got out of the bubble that was Florida. I saw a lot of the world at once, because being in the middle of the city is so different from what I grew up in–small town suburbia. I had to learn more about myself in order to do it.
Rapid Fire Good:
Good quote?
“Life is the bubbles.”
— “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid
Good band/musician?
The Avett Brothers a.k.a. best band
Good gift?
Something they would have wanted but wouldn’t have told you about or something that could fit into their lifestyle.
Good place to visit?
Sarasota, Florida!
Good word?
Portmanteau
Good food?
Indian food! Especially anything my mom makes.
