Suman Ganapathy
“ You don ’ t have to be incredibly wealthy and privileged to make a difference , and that is moving and powerful .”
Chair - MH library , Culture & Arts Commission , President-elect - AAUW Morgan Hill , board member - SJ Museum of Art & MH Downtown Assoc . Volunteer - SURJ South County .
Only a volunteer as dedicated as Morgan Hill resident Suman Ganapathy would feel guilty about how much satisfaction volunteering brings her . “ Sometimes I feel selfish because volunteering makes me feel so good ,” she said .
If you ’ ve attended any fundraising event in Morgan Hill , chances are high you ’ ve run into Suman , decked to the nines , and offering her signature cheerful welcome . Currently she holds roles as chair of the Morgan Hill Library ’ s Culture and Arts Commission ( LCAC ), president-elect of the Morgan Hill Chapter of the American Association of University Women ( AAUW ), a board member and officer for the Morgan Hill Downtown Association , a docent and board member for the San Jose Museum of Art ’ s “ Let ’ s Look at Art ” program , and a member of Showing Up For Racial Justice ( SURJ ) South County . With her Leadership Morgan Hill class of 2018 , she also spearheaded local artists painting the utility boxes all over town .
For Suman , volunteering is quite literally a full-time job , one she embraced wholeheartedly when she and her husband Gautam immigrated to the United States from India in 1999 . With two young children at the time , and having left behind her own interior design firm in India , Suman parlayed her talents into volunteering within the schools , particularly in the arts . “ I love the arts — specifically literature , music and dance . Life without the arts is just existence . Besides that , art can be powerful and transformational , and plays a part in healing in the darkest and saddest of times . It can be a great catalyst for change for the better ,” she said .
Suman is passionate about helping others fulfill their own dreams , too , especially assisting underprivileged students to write their college essays and get into the colleges of their dreams . “ I feel like I am contributing in some way to their future , which will help them give back too , and improve themselves ,” she said .
Suman keeps her eyes on the future and the past , she says , focusing her volunteer efforts not only on children , but on our elders . Raised in a culture that reveres its elders , she believes in continuing that tradition by helping to support those who “ have already paid their debt to society but are still doing so much .”
She hopes that her volunteer work helps to build a thriving community , which she defines as “ an equitable one … where there is no place for displays of power and ego … where everyone is respected and treated well .”
26 WINTER 2022 gmhTODAY Magazine gmhtoday . com