Indian-American girl becomes youngest delegate at DNC, meets oldest delegate

Philadelphia: An 18-year-old Indian-American girl has become the youngest delegate at the Democratic National Convention here which has nominated Hillary Clinton as the party’s presidential candidate.

Sruthi Palaniappan from Cedar Rapids and a student of Harvard University is a strong supporter of Clinton, the first woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate by a major political party. It is truly an incredible experience. I have been able to witness the democratic process and this is truly an instrumental part of what I am going to do in the future, Sruthi said, the last day of the four-day Democratic National Convention. Having met Clinton as many as four times during the primary season, Sruthi said she is inspired by her leadership and vision and she would herself like to join electoral politics one day.

“I became involved in politics in service and advocacy related activities and when the time came to be involved in the election process, I jumped right on board,” she said. “I got into the Clinton campaign, and went door to door canvasing in my area. I was able to encourage people to come out and vote. For the primary voting I was entrusted to count the votes on the Hillary side,” Sruthi explained as to how she became a delegate.

Her parents came to the US from Chennai in 1992. Her father Palaniappan Andiappan is also attending the convention as a member of the credentials committee while her mother is a housewife. They became citizens in 2006. In addition to being the youngest delegate, Sruthi made history on Tuesday when she was given an opportunity to represent Iowa state during roll call votes.

She said Iowa is a state of female surge. “I am extremely thankful for the surreal opportunity to have represented the Iowa delegation as a roll call speaker and to have been a part of the historic nomination process of our next president,” she said. “Together, we have made history by electing the first woman presidential nominee of a major political party - Hillary Rodham Clinton,” Sruti said in a Facebook post. Sruti said being elected as the party’s delegate was a long process. “But I’m extremely glad that I have been able to immerse myself at every step along the way and witness the political process first-hand,” she said, hoping to make Iowa proud and show the country that young people can truly make a profound impact if they step up to the plate and get engaged. Highly impressed by the electrifying speech given by President Barack Obama, Sruti said the American Dream is something no wall will ever contain. PTI