Since graduating from MPA, Rishi has:
- Received a Bachelor’s Degree from California State University, East Bay with a triple major in Economics, Spanish and International Studies. He also studied abroad in Spain during that time.
- Joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Costa Rica working with the Ministry of Public Education and the Peace Corps TEFL Program (Teaching English as a Foreign Language).
- Received a Masters in Development Practice from the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in May of 2017.
- Did exploratory research in the Punjab for Global Press, an organization which trains and employs women in developing media markets to be ethical, investigative journalists.
- Spent two summers studying Punjabi in the Punjab. First through the Critical Language Scholarship Program and this past summer through a FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) Award.
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Rishi Khalsa, Anandpur Sahib 2017
Reflecting on his time at MPA
I think being in India had an impact in shaping my interest in development. I realized that I enjoyed having a broader understanding of the rest of the world. Growing up in India, I saw that there wasn’t much difference between myself and some of the kids on the street begging for money. Being confronted with that was an eye-opening experience; you couldn’t hide from it and pretend that it didn’t exist. Seeing that kind of thing made me aware but so did other things; my dad’s an activist and there are the Sikh ideas around seva and serving others.

Rishi with his classmates at MPA
As far as what I learned at MPA, a big part is discipline. I also developed my own connection with Sikhi and the Punjab that would not have been possible if I hadn’t gone to MPA. There are other little things too that I do now that were developed from my time at MPA; things like the way I stretch or how I calm and center myself. A lot of those things have foundation in my time at MPA and have shaped who I am.