Vijaya Emani of Kent State University gets Presidential Citizens Medal

I met Vijaya Emani a few times at Kent State University and talked to her on the phone too. I saw eye to eye with her on a few matters. On the other hand, she was an excessively strong advocate for her personal beliefs and a tad bit pushy in a "leader" kind of manner. She was overall nice and helped out new students by going out of the way. Sorry to note that Kent State University has deleted the article from their website. 

Kori Schulman writes on The White House Blog that in May, President Obama called on the public to help identify outstanding Americans for the 2011 Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor. Nearly 6,000 nominations were submitted and reviewed this year, and the President has selected 13 outstanding Americans to receive the award. "This year’s recipients of the Citizens Medal come from different backgrounds, but they share a commitment to a cause greater than themselves," said President Obama, "They exemplify the best of what it means to be an American, and I am honored to be able to offer them a small token of our appreciation."

Vijaya Emani 
of
Kent State University

Vijaya Emani became a role model for victims of domestic abuse because of her strength and determination in overcoming domestic abuse in her own life, and by speaking out about the issue publicly, she broke a long held taboo in the Indian American community. Vijaya Emani lived and breathed many causes including projects to aid the homeless and promoting diversity. Although she was killed in a tragic vehicle accident, her example and message live on. Emani posthumously receives the Citizens Medal for her courage in overcoming and speaking out against abuse.

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IN REMEMBRANCE OF VIJAYA EMANI

HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

OF OHIO

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Mr. DENNIS J. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Vijaya Emani, a pro-foundly respected and well known leader throughout Northeast Ohio for her work pro-moting peace, her work with Cleveland’s Asian-Indian American community and for working to bring Cleveland’s many inter-national communities together. Vijaya Emani was killed in a tragic accident on the Ohio Turnpike on January 15, 2009, at the age of 51. On that morning Vijaya was on her way to work at Kent State University when she stopped to help crash victims along an icy stretch of the turnpike. She is being honored by the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation on April 14 at its Annual Spring Dinner at

Karlin Hall in Cleveland’s Slavic Village. Vijaya Emani was an active member of the Asian-Indian community of Greater Cleveland and served at the President of the Federation of Indian Community Associations in Cleveland. Due to her leadership, India is now among the many international countries represented in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park. The Cleveland Cultural Gardens is an internationally known site which serves to represent the numerous diverse ethnic groups which continue to make Cleveland and the United States into the diverse, egalitarian, and pluralistic society we enjoy. Prior to Vijaya’s involvement, representation at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens was mainly European; however, following the dedication of the India Cultural Garden, we celebrated the opening of the African-American and Azerbaijani gardens and plans are now underway for Native American, Hispanic, Syrian, Philippine, and Vietnamese gardens. The India Cultural Garden is also significant for the giant statue of Mohandas K. Gandhi for which Vijaya worked to raise money for. She was a tireless advocate for peace, a Hindu, and a follower of the teachings of Gandhi. She was instrumental in bringing in Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Rajmohan Gandhi, to speak at One World Day at Rockefeller Park last year. Another aspect of Vijaya’s quest for world peace was her participation in Toastmasters International. She appreciated Toastmasters founder Ralph Smedley’s belief that if people could communicate better with one another, they could break barriers to peace. Vijaya was an active member of the Crossroads Toastmasters club in Strongsville and Toastmasters District 10 in Northern Ohio. She received the one of the highest honors last year when she received the Advanced Communicator Silver award by the Toastmasters International. Vijaya used her communication skills to advocate peace not only among nations, but among families. She bravely broke her own silence about domestic violence, which even today is not widely discussed among immigrant families. After her own experience, she counseled other immigrant wives and girlfriends trapped in abusive relationships. She brought together fellow community activists in Cleveland’s international community to form a coalition to confront domestic violence in immigrant communities. Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in remembrance of one of Cleveland’s great champions of peace, Vijaya Emani. She developed her skills as a communicator and community organizer to bring peace in the home and peace in the world. The Greater Cleveland community will surely miss the presence of Vijaya at community events, but the passion and commitment she brought to everything she did will never be forgotten. Our condolences go out to her daughters Sujata and Nirmala, and her extended network of family and friends around the world.