What the hell is happening?: The Graduates of 2020 Akshay Ravi

This episode was originally recorded on June 7, 2020.

In this week’s episode, I interviewed my good friend Shrey Bhargava, an international student from Singapore. Shrey double majored in the USC School of Dramatic Arts and the USC School of Cinematic Arts and is pursuing acting as a career. We talked about a wide variety of subjects, but we ultimately centered on art’s role as a tool for advocacy. After taking us through some of the struggles he faced as an international student leaving the US at a last-second notice and his struggles with obtaining an OPT visa, Shrey and I also spend some time reflecting on the impact of the coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter movement around the world, especially as racial issues have made a resurgence in conversation in Singapore. Given the recently tumultuous string of decisions made by the Trump administration with regards to international student visas, Shrey’s perspective brought a lot of insight into how US politics and events, while incredibly impactful to people in the US, also massively impact the entire world.


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