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Scholarship Application Public Information
Paulin Thakore
| Name: | Paulin Thakore |
| Location: | Stone Mountain, GA |
My personal volunteering highlight:
The T-shirt story.
Around August 2008, I noticed that Senator Obama was accused of having terrorist ties & being a foreigner, which was ridiculous. I felt I had to make a strong statement of support for Obama for President. I went to a T-shirt store and designed my own Obama T-shirt. I had the famous red,white,& blue campaign image of Obama on the front of the shirt, but with the word HOPE cut out. I felt that can be misinterpreted as hippie-like in GA and could be framed as a stance against Obama. Then on the back of the shirt typed in bold: "OBAMA IS MY AMERICAN PRESIDENT". I chose this strong statement to affirm that Obama is American & quell the questions of his experience & qualifications. Before I got laid-off, I traveled for my job, flying back from the client site NY to home in Atlanta. So I wore this shirt one Friday afternoon flying to ATL from NY. I noticed that TSA security in the NY airport were following me to my gate until they got up close to read my shirt & smiled in support then walked away. Then I realized being Indian-American often mistaken for an Arab male flying by myself in a NY airport wearing a shirt that has in bold "American President" & the name Obama which from a distance can be mistaken for Osama can cause misunderstandings. When I landed in the Atl,GA; even though I was silent, my shirt was giving a very load energy at baggage claim. Some people complimented with my shirt, while others look at my shirt skeptical, probably thought my shirt was anti-American with the name Osama, but when they got closer they discover my shirt has a Patriotic statement for Senator Obama. And due to self-fulfilling prophecy of my shirt, Obama is now my American President. More statements of strength & confounding the perception of being anti-American like my T-shirt are needed in the Democratic Party. And I can contribute.
What motivates me:
The everyday struggles of people.
How I try to motivate others:
Find commonalities and build upon them while celebrating their differences. Making creative, yet strong statements for hope & change.
My suggested bumper sticker slogan for the Stand with Dr. Dean campaign:
Pro-Health Care is Pro-Life
Blogging
I run/manage these blogs:
My FaceBook page
I contribute posts to these blogs:
(Post#20 under my name) http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=7774036261&topic=6961&ref=mf
Participation in the blogosphere is important because...
You can't change anything without participating.
A Little Bit About Paulin Thakore
I'm a Indian-American form Atlanta, GA. I grew up in a working-class neighborhood and paid for my own college education by working the night shift at UPS.
Why I Deserve a Scholarship to Attend
I can bring a southern voice to NetRoots. Being Asian-Indian-American, I can also add the "other" minority voice. I can add the perspective of the working-class. I have degrees in economics,engineering,sociology, & political science. I worked as a traveling IT consultant before I got laid-off. I can bring a myriad opf experiences to NetRoots.
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