“Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risks” ~The Dalai Lama

Mani Banwait exemplifies the ultimate KDChi spirit, her dedication to KDChi is an undying devotion that is quite contagious. At the Rho Chapter at Washington State Univeristy she was very active as an undergraduate student serving as Historian, Council Delegate, New Member Educator and President. As an alumnae her dedication has not ceased, she served as Western US Regional Chair from 2004-2006, Director of Membership for the NAA from 2005-2006, and External Recruitment Officer from 2007-present. Her time on the National Cabinet is not over as she plans on running for a Vice President position this next term.
 
Mani received her Bachelors of Arts in Comparative Ethnic studies with a minor in Women Studies in 2004 from Washington State University. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Science in Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration with a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation at California State University-Sacramento.

Mani has a passion for helping people. In her career, she has worked with both mental and geriatric patients in helping them cope through recreational therapy. Working with this population is not easy but she is one of the few who has the patience and dedication to do it. She currently sits on the board of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association as a team leader for student development team. Due to her diligent hard work, she was recently awarded with the California Park and Recreation Society- Therapeutic Recreation Research Grant and the California Park and Recreation Society District II- Edwin L Z’berg Award. “Achieving professional grants and scholarships mean a lot to me. It means that all the hard work I put into school and my projects was recognized and I am proud of that,” she says. Mani was also the recipient of the 2007 Irene Montoya Graduate Scholarship and the 2008 Marissa Merino Graduate Scholarship from Kappa Delta Chi.
Mani plans to finish her thesis and work for the Department of Veterans Affairs. She also plans on enrolling in a PhD program.
 
Mani is a very family oriented person so she loves spending time with her family. She hopes that she has inspired one of her little cousins who is only 10 years old to attend Washington State University and become a KDChi one day.

A little known fact about Mani is that she loves to write poetry in Hindi (Indian). Mani is proud of her Indian heritage and she recently shared part of her culture in our “Culture Corner” which will appear in the Spring 2009 issue of the Emerald.

She loves to travel and her favorite destination is the Himalayan Region in India; she says it has the most breath taking views in the world
 
Mani feels truly blessed and she is proud of everything that she has accomplished in life (school, work). Kappa Delta Chi is certainly proud of our Sister Mani for all her achievements and her willingness to take on challenges and risks.