Amiya Bansal ‘21 started her high school career planning to focus on STEM classes, but she soon found her calling working with public policy and local government. By the end of her freshman year in June 2022 she was serving as both the District 6 Youth Commissioner for the City of San Jose and was working as an intern for Matt Mahan’s campaign for Mayor of San Jose, where she worked on his communication team. After the election, she then worked as a summer intern in the Office of the Mayor where her work focused on homelessness, transportation and public safety.
By October 2022, Amiya had joined the Executive Board of the San Jose Youth Commission, where she currently serves as the Social Media Manager/ Communications Director. In her role on the San Jose Youth Commission, Amiya works to create policy recommendations presented to the mayor and the city council to support San Jose youth.
Amiya had several new opportunities in 2024, including an internship at the Hoover Institution where she worked in marketing and development. Amiya was also chosen as a fellow at The Los Altos Institution, where she was selected as only one of 48 fellows out of 847 applicants. Amiya writes public policy and moderates political panels, including one featuring Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.
Amiya’s most recent venture included a return to political campaigns as an intern for former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s successful campaign to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mr. Mike Fishback recently invited Amiya to meet with a group of ACDS middle school students to talk with them about her work in local government and public policy. Mr. Fishback reported that Amiya shared that one of the lessons she learned while working on Sam Liccardo’s campaign against Evan Low was that, “It’s not necessary to hate your political opponent; you can work against their campaign because you believe that your candidate is uniquely suited to the office while still wishing your opponent well and hoping they get to lead in some other way.”
Amiya told the group that she had originally intended to focus on STEM subjects when she was in high school, but later realized that her true passion was politics and public policy. Amiya encouraged the students to continue to try different things in their own lives, explaining that even after making the jump from STEM to government she was able to refine her interests further when she learned that writing and implementing public policy was something she particularly enjoyed.
Amiya will graduate from Notre Dame High School in June 2025.
- Mr. Mike Fishback, ACDS Middle School Social Studies Teacher and Curriculum Coach
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amiya-bansal-113239278/
- Los Altos Institution: https://www.losaltosinstitution.org/fellows , https://www.losaltosinstitution.org/about
- San Jose Youth Commission: https://www.sjpl.org/youth-commission/, https://www.sjpl.org/youth-commission/#membership