Senior cyber security student Jasmeet Kukreja was one of 16 students to be selected by the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) to go to Washington D.C., for internships as part of the SikhLEAD program.

SikhLEAD helps members of the Sikh religious community find opportunities, including Kukreja’s summer internship with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

EEOC defends those who have had issues in the workforce if the problems were related to one of their seven statutes: race, religion, retaliation, sex, age, disability and genetic information.

The organization is very selective of which cases it chooses to pursue, and it often looks for cases that would help cause changes in other organizations.

Kukreja’s job primarily was as an interviewer, meaning he had to help determine if the person who felt discriminated against should have their case heard.

While in Washington, D.C., Kukreja had the opportunity to be part of an outreach program, as well as work with SikhLEAD to put on an event called Langar on the Hill.

Langar means free kitchen, so they provided a meal to anyone who wanted to take part in Sikh tradition. There were 11 congressmen among those who attended.

“[We had] free food for everyone,” Kukreja said. “If you belong to the human race, we have free food for you. We went to everyone we knew, used all of our connections, even wrote to the president of the United States.”

Kukreja attended several networking events while in Washington, D.C., and has now begun to consider changing the way he is approaching his major.

“I’m now looking into the managerial side of cyber security,” Kukreja said. “I was more into the technical side; now I’m kind of between the two. I’m good with people, good with addressing people, good at public speaking.”

Kukreja, who is originally from Delhi, India, is thankful for the chance to make those connections and have the opportunity to take part in a summer internship.

“One thing students can learn from this is being in the U.S. is an opportunity,” Kukreja said. “You can do things that you yourself do not know. You never know what is going to happen, and if you are serious about your future, just work hard. You’ll get there. Every person you meet is a connection.”