After graduating from the University of Iowa, Sauvik Goswami said he wants to use his experience as the UI Student Government diversity liaison to help others in his future career.
Goswami, a UI senior, was one individual awarded with the Diversity Catalyst award on Thursday by the Chief Diversity Office.
He functioned as the diversity liaison for UISG this year, and in his time has been behind three initiatives including the multicultural formal, the Get To Know Me campaign, and the multicultural student leaders meeting.
“I think the most impactful was the multicultural student leaders meeting,” Goswami said. “We collected all the leaders together in one room in hopes to inspire collaboration and we also talked about different ways to find funding, and events to make everyone aware of what’s going on on campus.”
He was also behind the Get to Know Me Campaign, which was introduced to all 4,470 incoming students this year, and is set to continue into the following years.
Goswami said his experience as the diversity liaison this year has tilted his post-graduation aspirations from corporate dreams to higher education.
He’s applied to the UI and colleges around the state of Iowa to work in admissions.
“Working with all the administrators on campus, it seems they generally enjoy their jobs and working with students,” he said. “I just really want to be motivated by my work, I think I would be motivated by helping students.”
Five staff members also received awards for work on issues from LGBTQ inclusion to increasing inclusion in the UI College of Engineering.
“The whole catalyst award is about celebrating individuals who have gone above and beyond in helping diversity. That is the seed of the award,” said Georgina Dodge, UI Chief Diversity Officer.
This year, many were rewarded for their work on LGBTQ issues, but Dodge said the recipients are unique every year and there is no pattern to the award.
“I want to applaud everyone’s accomplishments,” Dodge said.
Having worked closely with Goswami on UISG, outgoing President Nic Pottebaum commended his quick assimilation to the group.
“Sauvik was a great diversity liaison,” he said. “He came in with basically no experience and he was able to take that on, particularly with the Get to Know Me campaign. He developed a video and the whole initiative by August. Doing that with basically no experience, I have to give him a lot of credit.”