Connect Me has grown into a phenomenal nationwide student-led organization in three years. Now, Season 5 of Connect Me is underway! Many things have changed in this organization, but one consistent change that happens every season is the board members. Every season, members are chosen for new roles on the board. Last season’s board consisted of Nivedita Ravi (President), Ritvik Ellendula (Vice President), Hasini Anand (Secretary), Brooke Quintana (Director of Operations), Aarav Shah (Director of Media), and Joshveer Grewal (Director of Admissions). This season, we have Ritvik Ellendula as President, Aarav Shah as Internal Vice President, Hasini Anand as External Vice President, Yulianna Kowalczyk as Secretary, Silvana Solsoloy as Director of Operations, and Celine Samaan as Director of Partnerships.
Nivedita Ravi, currently a high school senior and the president of Connect Me during Season 4, left the board with some gratifying remarks.
When Ravi first joined Connect Me, it was still in its early stages. While in the works, the main communication line for the board was a messy group chat on WhatsApp but was later resorted to Discord. She was there when the Discord was first created and witnessed the creation of the Admissions Department. During her interview, she highlights some of the stages of growth she has seen Connect Me undergo during her time. “The organization has definitely grown since then through increased news appearances, events, and most importantly, a more established foundation for the organization. There are set interview processes, question directories, [department] roles, etc., and these, while present at the beginning, have definitely grown and been solidified.” She stresses that the growth is something she is most proud of within Connect Me.
During her time as President of Season 4, Ravi learned more about the deep roots of the organization. She was already a board member before her time as president and primarily worked with the Admissions and Operations Departments. After knowing the logistics of Connect Me, being president shaped her understanding of all of Connect Me’s departments.
Her favorite part about Connect Me is the cause it supports. “I joined the organization primarily because education is such a tricky area to navigate, even now years after the pandemic, and throughout my time in the organization, tutoring has always been a constant. Connect Me has never lost its purpose throughout its development, and the passion for education definitely shows in whatever the organization does!”
In the future, Ravi is especially excited to hear about Connect Me on the news more. After seeing a surge in news appearances near the end of Season 4, she looks forward to the growth of Connect Me in the future. She is also excited to see extreme progress being made in tutor engagement, community involvement, and AI’s role in achieving these goals.
She mentions that she is incredibly proud and lucky to have been a part of the journey and is grateful for all her Season 4 board members who helped her run the organization. Ravi’s time as the President of Season 4 is a memorable one and will be missed, but like Ravi, the upcoming season is a new exciting segment of Connect Me that we all look forward to.
