Influential 2009: Uma Krishnan

IRHC had Stern senior Uma Krishnan at hello.

During her freshman year at NYU, Krishnan lived on the Power and Politics floor of Weinstein residence hall, where many of her floormates were interested in hall council positions. Krishnan was no different — but she wanted to meet other people too. So she ran for Inter-Residence Hall Council representative, a position through which she thought she could accomplish that. She won rep chair.

Ever since, Krishnan and the IRHC's relationship has sort of been like fate.

Krishnan's a senior now, and she's president of the IRHC (the organization that governs all residence hall councils), a job she's had since junior year.

Krishnan knew there were three things she wanted to accomplish as IRHC president: to make the IRHC feel like a family, to make it a viable presence in both the NYU and New York City communities, and to make it a well-known entity to outsiders.

"The entire year we worked toward getting ourselves out, making our programs bigger and better, doing more community service, and making IRHC a family and not just a council," she said.

As part of Krishnan's goal to foster a familial community within IRHC, she decided to send her General Assembly members on a retreat to bond and work together.

"People know one another and are willing to work with each other," Krishnan said. "That's the best. It feels more like a family than it did years past."

What Krishan loves most about the IRHC is its ability to spark change in various areas — mixed-sex housing policies, bus routes, swipe systems, Explorations Communities, etc.

"The administration really values our opinions, and that's what's nice — we can actually make NYU a better place, as corny as that sounds," Krishnan said.

Krishnan had difficulty picking a favorite IRHC memory. But she loved her first NACURH conference. The National Association of College and University Residence Halls is an organization of college residence halls that holds annual conferences in the summer. That first one was in Oshkosh, Wis. She said the conference was like NYU's Torch Day celebration — "times a gazillion."

That particular year, the IRHC was bidding for national Program of the Year award for UltraViolet Live. The process: Each region has a competition, the region puts forth their winners, and then the National Board of Directors is responsible for narrowing it down to two choices. The two candidates then present and answer questions at the national conference for the board, where one winner is selected.

"NYU, being NYU — well, we wrote a script for our presentation, kind of like a mini UVL," Krishnan said. "I played my violin to a slideshow of pictures from the show. We ended up winning Program of the Year as well as School of the Year, and it felt so incredible to be a part of something that others looked up to."

Krishnan life can be a balancing act of sorts. A typical week for her involves council meetings, assembly meetings and a one-on-one meeting with her advisor and office hours, as well as smaller group meetings. And, of course, she's a student: In addition to her IRHC duties, she's working on a joint bachelor's/master's degree in CPA accounting. The time commitment may be strenuous at times, but Krishnan is still thankful for the IRHC.

"IRHC for me has shaped who I am in the sense that it's helped me look at the bigger picture of things. I've honed my leadership skills, my team skills, and learned how to resolve conflicts better. Not to mention, IRHC is where I've made some of my best friends," Krishnan said. "I don't think I'd be who I've become without the experiences IRHC has provided me."

Lana Lee is a deputy news editor.