Stories

Anjali Rangaswami ’21 is a sociology major from San Francisco, the youngest of two daughters of a professional cellist mom, Krisanthy, and her father MR, an angel investor and community organizer.

Her work studying the sociology of online sexual harassment and leading SCU’s Violence Prevention Program for three years has had a profound impact on her life’s trajectory.

“I had some incredible research experiences just doing my sociology major at Santa Clara,” said Rangaswami, who conducted studies on online sexual harassment for her senior capstone project. That research led to her leading SCU’s student-run sexual violence prevention program through the campus Wellness Center. She worked with other students, faculty and staff members to educate the campus community on issues that contribute to sexual assault, harassment, relationship abuse, stalking and hazing.

“I got a lot of experience working directly with my peers to educate students on how we can change society’s culture of violence and support survivors, to ultimately create the culture shift that’s necessary for change,” she said.

Rangaswami hopes to bring that same passion to her Fulbright research, which she plans to conduct in Mumbai, India, focusing on the intersectionality of caste and gender on sexual harassment in Indian higher education.

“People with more marginalized, gender and caste identities face higher rates of violence or different sorts of violence,” she said. “I’m interested in how we can prevent violence and create nuanced interventions, in a way that acknowledges the different facets of people’s identities.”

At SCU, Rangaswami also served as peer educator for the Sociology and Modern Languages and Literatures departments; she studied abroad in Brussels, Belgium; is the vice president of the Alpha Sigma Nu Honors Society, and served as an Intern for Bronco Urban Gardens.

She hopes to get a master’s in public administration to help implement large-scale policy and government interventions to reduce violence against women.

About the Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide. For further information please visit https://us.fulbrightonline.org/.