SARSA | South Asian Rural Student Aid

Chintan was born in India and raised in Dallas, Texas. After graduating from USC with a degree in Business Administration, Chintan returned to Texas as a consultant for Deloitte Consulting. Chintan feels strongly about SARSA's mission because he is a strong believer in education as an equalizing force in the world.

Ashwin Appiah is a senior from Seattle, and a double major in Computer Science and Business. After graduation he will start working at Hitachi Consulting in Irvine, California. He’s done a little bit of everything at USC, from starting his own nonprofit organization to four years experience in the student government, where he currently serves as Treasurer. But by far one of the highlights of his experience at USC was helping build the first South Asian non-profit at USC with five of his closest friends. Ashwin is a true believer of harnessing the financial powers of the western world to aid places of need. He currently serves on the Board of Directors and is a Senior Adviser for the organization at USC. Ashwin was born in India and grew up in America for most of his life. From 8th to 11th grade he moved back to India and had a wonderful experience learning about and experiencing his roots. Ashwin is a diehard sports fan and enjoys the television show Lost.

Filisha is a recent graduate of the Annenberg School of Communication at USC and is looking to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Currently, she is a staff member at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, the Warner Brothers Campus Outreach Coordinator at Terry Hines and Associates as well as a Social Media Contributor for Movie Review Intelligence. A Los Angeles local, she has always been an advocate for giving back to the community and is proud to serve on SARSA's Board of Directors as it grows to make a global impact. 

Ashy Sidhu graduated from USC in 2009 and is currently working as an SAP Consultant. She serves on SARSA's board of directors and has been with the organization since fall of 2007. She is originally from Toronto, Canada and moved to California when she was 18 years old. Ashy is passionate about SARSA's mission because she believes that education maximizes our opportunities in life.

Tulsi will begin the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at New York University during the upcoming summer of 2010. She received a bachelor's degree in Neuroscience from the University of Southern California, and has done research at Washington University in St. Louis in the Department of Physical Therapy. She currently works at an outpatient clinic in Las Vegas, hoping to gain hands on experience before starting graduate school.


Although she was born in Hollywood, Tulsi lived in San Jose, CA for eight years before moving to her hometown of Las Vegas, NV. In high school, she was an active member of the National Honor Society and team captain of her varsity basketball team. Tulsi is enthusiastic about being involved in her community, which is partly why SARSA means so much to her. She believes that those who are eager to learn deserve a quality education. With the hard work and dedication SARSA pledges towards its mission, she hopes that her efforts will make a difference in the childrens' lives. 

Roshan was born in Anaheim, California. He moved to Claremont, California when he was 3 years old and still resides there. He was part of the 2005 graduating class at the Webb School of California located in Claremont. After being accepted as a Spring Semester admit to the University of Southern California, Roshan went to Pasadena City College for the Fall semester. Right now he is majoring in Biology and a Minor in Business Entrepreneurship and is looking to become a dentist and open up his own Dental Clinic in Southern California. 

Trisha Saini was born in Mountain View, California and lived in Northern California until she was 11 years old and moved to Mumbai, India. Trisha has a bachelors degree in Business Administration from USC. She served as the co-president of SARSA, co-founder of Anukrithi Theatre Company, writer for the Daily Trojan and intern at MGM Studios. Trisha strongly believes in pursuing her passions for writing and theatre and above all, giving back to the community and those less fortunate. She has been involved with SARSA for nearly 3 years now and is proud to see how all the small steps we have taken so far have led to aiding deserving children and their families in need. 

Aadhar was born in Vadodara, Gujarat, India in 1988, but quickly immigrated to Los Angeles, CA with his parents when he was six months old. He began life at USC in 2006, majoring in Biological Sciences and Economics, hoping to eventually attend medical school after college. He desired to take advantage of all the resources available at the university to do something that affected other people's lives in a positive and constructive manner. Knowing he only had four years to accomplish such a goal, he and a few friends decided that SARSA would be a great idea to achieve something that lasted beyond the four college years allotted to each of them. Aadhar believes that SARSA is an organization with a noble cause and is only one small step in the efforts to help those in the world who are impoverished.