Mirbagheri '04 brings energy to USG vice presidency

Dressed in a white, V-neck short-sleeve shirt with a beige skirt, open-toed white sandals and long black hair, USG vice president Sonya Mirbagheri '04 looks like any other college student.

But when Mirbagheri went to Iran — she is the younger of two daughters of Iranian expatriates who fled the country following the 1979 Iranian revolution — she wore a long sleeve shirt and long pants and covered her hair with a head scarf, hiding all except her face in conformance with the dress code required of women.

Calling her experiences "eye-opening," Mirbagheri said it was like encountering a "different world" where people live under a fundamentalist government that imposes strict ways of life but where people "love to hear anything you have to say and share."

Given her background, Mirbagheri, just accepted to the Wilson School, said she plans to focus on foreign policy in the Middle East and "somehow emphasize culture" in policy making.

She is interested in international law and foreign policy and plans to "eventually" go to law school, she said.

Mirbagheri was born and raised in Dallas, Tex. in what she called a "multicultural household."

She attended an all-girls private high school where she was president of her class in ninth and tenth grade and student body president in her senior year.

Always interested in student government, she said it "was kind of natural for me to look to the USG" when she came to Princeton.

"I knew I wanted to continue my interest in student government," she said.

Mirbagheri joined the Organization of Women Leaders as a freshman, calling it "something to get involved in right away." She held her first leadership position as an OWL officer and said her experience helped her to run successfully for the USG Senate, a position that in turn helped prepare her for her current position.

As vice president, Mirbagheri is responsible for helping oversee weekly USG meetings, in addition to supervising and assisting USG senators with their projects.

USG president Nina Langsam '03 said she and Mirbagheri "work well together because we're both eager to get things done efficiently."

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"She has a great working relationship with everyone in USG and I think that we will continue to have a very productive year," Langsam added.

USG treasurer Michael Kimberly '03 agreed.

"She's very energetic and often lightens the mood in meetings," he said. "She's very ambitious and persistent in achieving her goals. Sonya balances the need to have assertive leadership and relaxed casualness."

Mirbagheri also participates on the USG's women's task force, which is working to act upon a report on women's issues that was released last fall. They plan to do so by addressing topics such as safety, women's health and athletics.

In addition to OWL, Mirbagheri also attends the bi-weekly group, Sustained Dialogue, a gathering of students who talk about diversity issues on campus.

She said that her participation in these groups impacts her USG role in that it affects the people she meets and consequently those who give her ideas for USG projects.

Calling it "an honor to be able to represent Princetonians," Mirbag-heri said she receives several e-mails every day with suggestions from students about campus issues. While many proposed projects may not be feasible, she said, those that she hears about from many students are the ones that are more likely to become a reality.

For example, she said, students were e-mailing her with concerns about landscaping on campus and this gave her the idea for Campus Beautification Day, which will take place on April 26. Then, students will get together to plant flowers and improve the campus appearance.

Mirbagheri said she focuses on small-scale projects, such as extending pool hours at Dillon Gym, because "all of these little projects come together to make a big impact."