Shyam K. Sriram, 30, an American-Muslim newlywed, who has tattoos that cover over 30 percent of his body, is an instructor, currently teaching political science at Georgia Perimeter College. He is an alumnus of Purdue University and Georgia State University. Sriram has been teaching since January 2005, and finds that working at such a large community college has increased his passion--for the profession and the opportunity it presents to influence more students to get involved in the community.
In 1980, Sriram was the first in his family to be born in the United States. Yet, after nine years of living in Chicago’s suburban, his parents packed up the life; he had become accustomed to and moved back to their homeland, Chennai (Madras), India. Sriram recalls this time in his life as being “traumatic,” however, in a few months he had began to appreciate his new surroundings. As years went on, he started to see himself as more of an Indian and embraced the culture. Sriram lived in there until he was 18, when his family decided it was time to return back the states.
He acknowledges that spending his adolescent years in India caused him to be a more open-minded person, being that one of the Hindu customs is to embrace all things without judgments. And though Sriram converted to Islam in 2006, he states, “I still look at things from an Indian perspective,” which is one of the reasons why he is so vocal about helping others and community service.
Being adamant about making a change and getting involved in the community is not just a speech Sriram gives his students on the first day of class; yet, it is what he practices. In 2004, after receiving a scholarship for having 300+ community-service hours, Sriram states, “This is when I realized how rewarding community service can be.” He is one that feels instead of hearing about an issue, students should see it first-hand and try to be a part of the solution. Over the years, Sriram has been involved in several organizations; however, he invests a lot of time on the prevention of domestic violence.
Sriram is a Coordinator for Muslim Men Against Domestic Violence (MMADV), an organization with the mission is to end domestic violence in the Muslim community through Islamic education based on the Qur’an, and “our pious predecessors.” He became working with MMADV in 2008. And according to J. Samir Mair’s interview with Sriram in August of 2009, he mentions that he wants to start a movement.
Overall, Sriram is “an incredible teacher that opened my eyes to the difference I can make in the community,” states former student, Glendon Riddick. He feels strongly that community service is “experienceable learning” that makes everything that ever discuss fall in prospective. Sriram is a person that realizes that it takes volunteers to make things progress, so that what he tries to make the people he comes in contract with notice too.
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