Global Ambassador: Sweta Baniya
Before coming to Purdue, Sweta researched pioneer songs of Nepal and how they served as "rhetoric of eros" and created their space in the realm of knowledge.
Meanwhile, Nepal faced a big disaster during 2015 and during her time at Purdue, Sweta researched the use of digital media during disaster and how narratives float around the world through these media. Sweta is now graduated from Purdue with a PhD in English.
Read more about Sweta's experience in graduate school below. Please note: Sweta provided these answers while she was still a graduate student at Purdue.
Ambassador Q & A (Questions and Answers)
Why did you choose Purdue?
I chose Purdue because it is one of the best schools in the US for Rhetoric and Composition. The faculty at Purdue is great and I am keen to work under their supervision of achieving goals of my life.
What is your favorite fact about Purdue?
Purdue is technologically advanced and the ample amount of resources this university has always amazes me. Moreover, everywhere the people are so good, supportive giving a feeling that it is home.
Career goal?
My long term goal is to write and research more about my country and to create a space for my country's enormous cultural resources in the international knowledge arena.
My personal short term goal after my PhD is to be able to teach more students, to research more.
Three words that best describe your work.
Research, Teaching, Writing
How do you recharge physically and/or mentally?
I enjoy walking a lot and walking around Purdue in the fall has been like a therapy for me. This is what I do to recharge myself. Walking is like a meditation to me.
What are you currently reading?
Currently, there are a lot of course books that I have to read, and I am enjoying them a lot. I have recently read "Drown" and "This is how you lose her" by Junot Diaz. He is my favorite contemporary American author. Also I’ve recently read "The Setting Sun" by Japanese author Osamu Dazai. All three were wonderful reads.
What do you listen to while you work?
While I am working, I enjoy listening to peaceful Disney Piano, some Buddhist mantras, some jazz in Pandora. But when I am writing and reading, I prefer silence.
What’s your best time-saving shortcut or life hack?
I try to plan everything ahead of time and divide time for everything. And, when I am working, I don't use any kind of social media. I plan breaks within my work to do things that distract or relax me. I think this way I save a lot of time.
