Meet Megha Sanjay

Tell us a bit about yourself

From St.Louis, Missouri
Undergraduate: UCSD -- Eleanor Roosevelt College, Double major in International Business & Speculative Design
Why Grad School: I wanted to find a way to merge my undergraduate degrees in a high-impact field. This program is giving me the tools to work across fields and creatively tackle projects that make ground up changes to the way we approach business and development across the world.
Interesting Professional Experiences: I've been working as a Business Development Associate in a TeleMedicine company since undergrad, which has given me an interesting lens on the way we approach healthcare policy and innovation. Through classes at GPS and from talking to peers and professors, I've been able to further my understanding of policy making as well as perspectives from different backgrounds -- giving me new ideas to bring to the table at my workplace.

Tell us about your campus involvement at UC San Diego

I was involved in several organizations as an undergrad, from Associated Students' Judicial Board and Student Advocate positions to the Editor in Chief of the Prospect Journal of International Affairs. I was also a Teaching Assistant for MGT 164 at the Rady School of Business for 2 years, which was an especially rewarding professional experience.

As a Graduate student, I am part of GO GPS (akin to a student government body) as the VP of Events, the President of Women Going Global, and the VP of Internal Communications in the Security Studies Group.
I'm also an English in Action volunteer mentor (3 years in undergrad, and continuing on as a graduate student), and will be a Teaching Assistant for the Making of the Modern World Program at Eleanor Roosevelt College this upcoming year!

Apart from UCSD, I am also the Logistics Chair for a nonprofit called Virtual Arts for Humanity in Houston, and manage marketing and some event planning for another nonprofit called Abhinay Fine Arts in Seattle.

I live in graduate family housing, which is wonderful because I get to spend lots of time with friends! My favorite on-campus activities include strolling around campus and chatting with friends, as well as practicing Bharatanatyam in the RIMAC studios. Since I've been here for several years, I've found my favorite areas to work or read around campus, which is always a nice change of scenery.

As for San Diego, I love wandering into the various museums and the science center at Balboa Park! I'm also a huge foodie, and have been creating a list of spots to try out with friends. Unfortunately, COVID took away several years of my undergraduate experience, so I've been using the past year and will use the upcoming one to explore San Diego more!

Why UC San Diego?

I remember being amazed by the campus when I did my undergraduate college tour -- I love architecture, so the fact that the older parts of campus had variety really stuck out to me. I also loved the college system because it felt like I was in a small school in a big university. I knew I wanted to stay here for a few more years, especially after the pandemic, so the GPS graduate program felt like the right option to not only get the campus experience but also to create the network of peers and professionals that I missed out on. I jokingly get called an unofficial tour guide by my friends because every fall, I always end up walking around with new students and giving directions or insights into the campus -- no university is perfect, but there are so many elements of this campus that make me feel right at home and excited to show up every day!

What has been your favorite part about your graduate student experience at UC San Diego?

I love how small the GPS community is, and everyone has been supportive of each other's careers and goals. I also appreciate how the faculty and staff are genuinely willing to help you and are open to students just swinging into their office for a chat -- I feel at ease to bring up questions or concerns, and as one of the youngest students in the program (who may not have as much professional experience), it has been extremely helpful to have people motivated to help me succeed. It's not always been rosy, but someone has always been there to help.