The words, in Hindi, are etched on her pendant, a keepsake from her time abroad: Apna sapna swayam bano. Translation: Become your dream. The message reflects Shaina Watrous’s ambition to serve the people of India, where she lived and worked for nine months as part of Princeton’s Bridge Year Program. “It changed everything,” she said of her experience. “India is part of my world now. I can’t abandon it.”
Shaina Watrous ’14 deferred her enrollment to Princeton for a year to engage in public service through the Bridge Year Program. She served with Guria Sansthan, an NGO working to combat human trafficking.