Asians Around Appalachia: Supriya Rathinam
- aaajournal25
- Sep 1
- 2 min read
Supriya Rathinam is South Asian-American from Morgantown, West Virginia. She currently attends West Virginia University, where she’s involved in Engineers Without Borders, Society of Women Engineers, Pre-Med Club, Intramural Sports, and the Biomedical Engineering Society. Her list of accomplishments also include being the WVU Spring Symposium Winner and the 2025 WVU Statler Symposium Undergraduate Winner.
Interview
Have you ever felt out of place due to your identity? If so, where did you find a sense of community?
I barely felt out of place in high school, but this feeling really overwhelmed me in college. I am a student at West Virginia University, which is a predominantly white college. There is less than 2% of the undergraduate student population is made up of Asians. There is no diversity and I often feel like the "odd one out." I found a sense of community at WVU's engineering college. It has a very welcoming environment and its organizations are very interesting.
Can you tell us about one of your stories related to being an AppalAsian? (e.g. household traditions, bullying/harassment, family business, etc.)
In elementary and middle school, I was always embarrassed to take my ethnic food to school for lunch. Kids commented on the look and smell of the foods. When I was early in elementary school, kids compared my food to unpleasant things. I refused to take Indian food for lunch a few years following. When I started taking it to school again, I would often cover it and eat it quickly before it had the chance to catch anyone's attention.
My household traditions did not really change, but my dad did tell us to slightly contain our expression in certain areas to avoid trouble.
What is one Appalachian / Asian American related policy issue that’s important to you and why? (e.g. lack of representation, barriers to education/healthcare, economic inequality, etc.)
Barriers to education is very important to me. The Appalachian region does not have the same extracurriculars and educational opportunities that a larger district may have. It would be great exposure to everyone for students if they had the opportunity to have the same experience as students in other states. I believe education is the most important thing any person can ever get.
What is one piece of advice you would give to AppalAsians struggling to fit in?
Be very positive and open-minded. If the people you want to be friends with do not reciprocate your friendly actions, maybe they're not the type of people you want to be around anyways. You'll find your people somewhere else!
