Student Employee Highlight

appreciation badgeOIA is so grateful to all our Student Employees!


Thank you to all the amazing students that help OIA make IUPUI a global campus!

National Student Employee Appreciation Week at IUPUI comes every April.

Below are all of our talented student employees with a few words about them from their supervisors.

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Amanat Basra

    Amanat Basra
    International Programs Coordinator

    "Amanat Basra is creative and a great contributor, we're grateful to have her on the programming team. Amanat is studying computer science with a minor in mathematics. She aspires to become a data scientist and her hobbies include exploring the outdoors, cooking, listening to music, and singing."

     

    -Tine Sokun, Coordinator of Student Success Programs 

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Austin Coon

    Austin Coon
    Digital Communications Specialist

    "Austin is a new member and quick powerhouse on our communications team. Always ready to take on a new task, Austin is the go-to person for designing captivating newsletters and skillfully managing our social media platforms. His reliability and infectious positivity make him a joy to collaborate with, making even the most demanding tasks feel like a breeze. Austin's upbeat demeanor truly set the tone for our team's success."

     

    -Taylor Lee-Moore, Director of Marketing & Communications  

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Jayson Deese

    Jayson Deese
    Project Associate for Global Learning

    "Jayson Deese is the OIA Program Associate for Global Learning and a Ph.D. candidate in Higher Education at IU Bloomington. He coordinates the Global Voices Program and supports a variety of curriculum internationalization and global learning initiatives. Jayson is a fantastic colleague, lending his stellar intellect and problem-solving skills to address various OIA efforts. We are so fortunate to have Jayson on our team!"

     

    - Leslie Bozeman, Director of Curriculum Internationalization  

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Shubhankar Deshpande

    Shubhankar Deshpande
    International Ambassador

    "Purdue School of Science Computer Science undergraduate student, Shubhankar Deshpande, is the Marketing Research assistant on the International Student Ambassador (ISA) team. Shubhankar’s natural creativity and trend research has added improved edited videos and a growing YouTube presence, entertaining reels, student interviews, social media filters, and an overall strategic approach to the content we produce for future Jags to follow. Outside of his role as an ISA, Shubhankar is involved on campus with his roles in SAPB and TEDxIUPUI."

     

    -Erika Alexander, Assistant Director of International Admissions

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Olivia Ellenwood

    Olivia Ellenwood
    Study Abroad Ambassador

    "Olivia Ellenwood is a Senior International Studies and Civic Leadership major who studied abroad in The Gambia and Senegal, through O’Neill. Olivia joined the Study Abroad Office after her return from Africa and she is currently our Lead Outreach Ambassador. Olivia has been a wonderful resource for students considering study abroad. She will be very missed when she graduates this May as she has been a joy to work with! We wish her the best of luck after graduation and have no doubt she will be successful. Thank you for your thoughtful work, dedication to global learning, and support of our mission to help more students study abroad."

     

    -Emily Charlton, Assistant Director of Study Abroad

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Litzy Galvan

    Litzy Galvan-Castillo
    Front Desk Assistant

    "Litzy Galvan - Castillo's Star Power is Communicator. She is exceptional at connecting with clients and has superior customer service skills. She excels at handling each situation tactfully while still putting the client first. Litzy is an undergraduate pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Global & International Studies. Litzy is a tenured Front Desk Assistant and first joined OIA in Fall of 2021."

     

    -Tiarra Beaver, Client Services Manager

  • Tejas Helwatkar
    International Ambassador

    "Purdue School of Science Computer Information Science graduate student, Tejas Helwatkar, is the Social Media & Graphic design assistant on the International Student Ambassador (ISA) team. Tejas creates all of the graphics and schedules the content for our social media pages—Instagram @iupui_isa and Facebook IUPUI International Admissions. In addition to his behind-the-scenes magic work, you’ll find Tejas in our campus tour videos, having fun at the International Festival, showing us around his hometown in our “Day in the Life” story, and enjoying walks around campus!"

     

    -Erika Alexander, Assistant Director of International Admissions

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Kyah Henry

    Kyah Henry
    Front Desk Assistant

    "Kyah Henry's Star Power is Community Contributor. Her background in social work enables her to skillfully handle any situation that comes her way efficiently and with the client’s best end-goal in mind. She shines in her leadership skill and ability to educate. Kyah is an undergraduate pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Social Work with a minor intent in Psychology. Kyah recently celebrated her one-year anniversary with OIA and first joined OIA in the Spring of 2022."

     

    -Tiarra Beaver, Client Services Manager

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Baylee Johnson

    Baylee Johnson
    Study Abroad Ambassador

    "Baylee Johnson is a Biomedical Engineering and Medical Humanities major who studied in Copenhagen, Denmark for a semester. The Study Abroad Office was thrilled to welcome Baylee to our team in January. Baylee’s enthusiasm for study abroad is evident when she advises students. We are so grateful that she will be representing our office this summer during new student orientations to get incoming students excited about all the travel possibilities on campus. We feel lucky to have Baylee on our team and are thankful she will be working with us next year too!"

     

    -Emily Charlton, Assistant Director of Study Abroad

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Padmavathy Kandasamy

    Padmavathy Kandasamy
    Front Desk Assistant

    "Padmavathy’s Star Power is Problem Solver. Padmavathy’s attention to detail and ability to perceive nuance give her a consistent track record of accuracy. She skillfully gets to the root of client inquiries to give clients the exact help they need. Padmavathy is a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction. Padmavathy joined OIA in the Summer of 2023."

     

    -Tiarra Beaver, Client Services Manager

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Sachin Kawa

    Sachin Kawa
    Student Success Programs Assistant

    "Sachin Kawa is one of our Student Success Programs Assistants on the International Student Success Programming Team. Sachin helps coordinate the International Peer Mentoring Program, along with other ongoing programming for international students. Sachin is such a thoughtful and hard-working colleague. We are lucky he is on our team! Post-graduation, Sachin aspires to work as a Product Designer at a prominent tech company, such as Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, or Google. He also wants to explore every national park!"

     

    -Haley Russ, Assistant Director of Student Success Programs

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Sanjana Pachipulusu

    Sanjana Pachipulusu
    Student Success Programs Assistant

    "Sanjana is a second-year graduate student pursuing an M.S. Human-Computer Interaction degree at IUPUI. She is active in many on-campus student organizations, such as DesiJags and Women in Tech. Apart from academics, Sanjana is an avid illustrator, card player, and enjoys watching K-Dramas. One of her dreams is to travel the world and try the cuisines of different cultures!"

     

    -Haley Russ, Assistant Director of Student Success Programs

  • Headshot photo of OIA student employee Ria Vavhal

    Ria Vavhal
    Video and Communications Assistant

    "Ria Vavhal is a creative powerhouse on the communications team. She is responsible for all the graphics and social media content that gets posted on the official OIA social handles. Ria has an eye for graphical composition, and consistent delivers engaging, visually stunning graphics to serve marketing purposes. She is a go-getter, and keeps the team assets modern."

     

    -Taylor Lee-Moore, Director of Communications and Marketing