Episode 10: Parag Mehta Discusses Politics Now & Then
It's time to get political! In this episode of South Asian trailblazers, we talk to Communications Specialist and my college friend Parag V. Mehta. We start off our interview discussing our University of Texas at Austin days as dandia/raas champions (of course) to how the story of Matthew Shepard changed his life.
We then get into Parag's impressive and expansive experience in the D.C. political scene. He addresses many important issues such as South Asians in government and their evolution as activists, questions regarding Proposition 8, his reflections on Hillary Clinton's devastating loss, what happened when Vivek Murthy (our first Indian Surgeon General) was "relieved" of his duty and how to find hope in our crazy political atmosphere today.
He also highlights the story of falling asleep while taking the MCAT's, attending the first White House Diwali party organized by his friend Kal Penn, his upcoming big fat Indian wedding, Texas style of course, with his partner Vaibhav and how lotion became a subject matter when he first met with President Obama.