My name is Neal Gupta, and I am currently a freshman at Pitt. I am majoring in Biological Sciences on the pre-med track. I am part of the First Year Council, Disability Resources Committee, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee within SGB. I am also a member of FIMRC on campus.
As a freshman during the fall semester, I wanted to become immersed within my new community, and I strived to make an impact at Pitt. As a result, I applied for the opportunity to join the First Year Council (FYC) and become a part of the SGB (Student Government Board). FYC gave me the opportunity to work with like-minded first year and transfer students as we gained a role in the Pitt community. By working with FYC, I have learned many of the vital skills of an SGB member, such as creating and working initiatives and how to contact administration and other relevant persons in order to gather support for such initiatives. Being part of FYC, I have seen the extent to which SGB as a whole works and all of the hard work and dedication that SGB members had towards creating a more beneficial environment for all of the students at Pitt.
In my initial year as an FYC member, I also became a member of both the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEI) and the Disability Resources Committee (DRC). By working with both of these committees, I saw firsthand the work that SGB members put into creating a more inclusive and supportive environment for all at Pitt. No matter the challenge, both DEI and DRC looked for solutions and ways to improve the overall experience for all students. From this initial experience, I sought to gain a higher responsibility and influence in the work that SGB takes on. So, I decided to run as a board member, hoping to serve the students at Pitt in a higher capacity.
Two initiatives that I hope to work on are:
- Increasing disability awareness and support. Working with the Disability Resources Committee, I have initially begun to work on initiatives that would work towards increasing disability awareness and support. As a board member, I aim to continue to promote a conversation between administration and student government to foster more initiatives
- Creating a forum for upperclassmen to mentor and assist underclassmen on Pitt affiliated questions. College is a large adjustment, with thousands of undergraduates working towards their new careers and paths. However, there are countless questions that underclassmen have on their path, and they search for answers in many directions. By having a forum for underclassmen to ask upperclassmen, upperclassmen would be able to provide knowledge and mentorship while upperclassmen can take the advice of people who have completed and work through the same obstacles that they may face.
I am also running on the ENVISION slate with Mercy Akanmu and Evan Levasseur, and as a slate, we hope to work on an initiative to improve transportation and safety at Pitt. As a slate, we are motivated and dedicated to implement this initiative in order to directly benefit Pitt students. We are all so excited to potentially be your 2024-2025 Board Members!