Hello —
My name is Sonya Kalara and I am excited to be working at the Institute of Cultural Inquiry as the office gears up for the 25-th anniversary of the AIDS Chronicles. I remember the first time I came across the Chronicles; the red pages caught my eye, and the solemn word “obituaries” kept my stare. It is an honor to contribute to a project that not only honors the victims of the AIDS crisis, but indicts the media for its silence and apathy regarding the casualties.
I am a rising freshman at Harvard University. As of this moment, my major is unclear, but I hope to someday attend law school in order to become a civil rights lobbyist or a politician; I am also looking forward to volunteering with legal groups in the Los Angeles Area during the summer. I am also hoping to catch up on my fiction reading, specifically The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.
Although I don’t consider myself to be much of an artist, I do love to take photographs, write short stories, program in Python / C++ and make poetry. The ICI is one of the most inspiring spaces I have ever been in, so this summer is going to be filled with artistically invigorating experiences. Stay tuned for more commentary!
— Sonya