West Windsor Arts Honors our Volunteers
National Volunteer Week April 16 – 22, 2023
Volunteers are often the quiet backbone of any nonprofit organization. By providing their time and talents, they fill in the gaps that are needed in order to fulfill the mission and provide robust, well-run, and critical services to the community. At West Windsor Arts, over 200 individuals have honored the organization with their commitment to its mission of cultivating the artist within us all, while inspiring a creative community that is engaged, inclusive and equitable. In 2022, 131 adults and 92 high school students provided service through board committees, board leadership, advisory committees, special event crews, and special projects, among many other roles. From exhibitions to community events as well as camps, classes, and organizational projects, volunteers make it possible for West Windsor Arts to sustain and grow its programs in service of its mission.
As part of National Volunteer Week, West Windsor Arts is honoring five very dedicated individuals who went above and beyond in service this past year, awarding them the Volunteers of the Year Award. Adriana Groza and Rupa Sanbui are recognized for their high-level commitment to both the arts and to the community. High school students Sia Agarwal, Ahana Joshi and Saadhya Patil are recognized for the hours they have given to West Windsor Arts and for their steadfast readiness to help.
Adriana Groza, a visual artist from Hamilton NJ, was born and raised in Transylvania, Romania. Since late 2017, she has been creating abstract paintings using fluid acrylics on canvas. In 2021, she began teaching her unique style and techniques in intimate upscale settings. In early 2022, Groza started volunteering with West Windsor Arts and jumped at the opportunity to organize art shows for fellow members at the Merwick Care and Rehabilitation Center. She states, “One of the most fulfilling parts of coordinating art shows for fellow artists is the sheer joy of helping them out! From answering their questions and guiding them through the logistics of installation to ensuring a successful opening, it’s a pleasure to assist in any way possible. Plus, let’s not forget the excitement of creating beautiful exhibit flyers that showcase everyone’s amazing work. All in all, it’s a truly rewarding experience to work together and bring these exhibitions to life.”
Rupa Sanbui started volunteering in 2020. Although everything was virtual at that time, it was meaningful to have her support with the Exhibition Committee. Her journey at West Windsor Arts started with Zakia Ahmed’s class in 2019. Sanbui states, “Zakia has always encouraged her students to retain their style and feel more confident by developing the correct techniques and sketching skills.” The art center not only developed her artistic sense, it gave her the platform to exhibit and volunteer. During volunteering, she came across so many well established but humble artists. Their stories, struggles, accomplishments always inspire and guide her to a wider scope for growth. Regarding Volunteer of the Year, Snabui states, “Thank you so much for this honor. I am always happy when I am in West Windsor Arts; whether it is for a class, volunteering for an exhibition, attending an event or even meeting up with artists. It brings me immense joy, something like a bird flying high on the horizon. There is so much more we can do and reach out if we all work together. I am looking forward to many, many more years at West Windsor Arts.”
Sia Agarwal is a sophomore at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South and has been volunteering at West Windsor Arts for the past year. She’s helped out at the summer camp, Marketfair Kids Club, and the Special Events Crew in which she worked behind the scenes for numerous events. Through these incredible experiences, she’s not only been able to evolve into a better individual, but build everlasting relationships. She states, “The staff and volunteers have been wonderful, exposing me to a great community.” She rediscovered her passion for painting and realized the joy it brought to people of all ages. She loved to see the happy smiles on kids as they worked on their crafts or the giggles during their theater performances. Sia states, “Their endless laughter and energy never failed to brighten my day. During the summer camps, the children taught me patience, responsibility, and most of all, how to have fun and relax.”
After attending West Windsor Arts camps since a young age, Ahana Joshi realized she wanted her art journey to continue so she decided to volunteer. Whether it is volunteering, at art show openings or at camps, she explains, “I am surrounded by creativity, laughter, and happiness, showing just how impactful art can be in bringing a community together. I look forward to more exciting opportunities to help!”
Saadhya Patil is a sophomore at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North. She started volunteering at West Windsor Arts in July 2022. She’s volunteered for multiple activities including the summer camp as a camp counselor, and various art classes in the studio as an assistant. She’s also helped out at birthday parties, exhibitions, and even in the office. Saadhya enjoys assisting young kids in classes, as well as volunteering in the office, as it allows her to pursue her interests in the arts. Saadhya shares, “It was a great experience organizing the art work for the local artisan market during winter. It was wonderful to see the creativity of the artists. It gave me immense satisfaction to see my effort come to fruition with the beautiful pieces of art that were created, properly organized.”
West Windsor Arts sends a sincere thank you to its award winners, and all volunteers for sharing their talents. Members of the community are always welcome to join this vital team. For more information, visit www.westwindsorarts.org/volunteer.
Dedication Awards for our High School Students:
Gold Award- 80 or more hours:
Sia Agarwal
Sristy Banerjee Sood
Frances Brown
Claire Fisher
Piya Gupta
Anjali Harish
Ahana Joshi
Ishnoor Kaur
Margaret Lockman
Saadhya Patil
Sanjay Potluri
Massimiliano Ravotto
Yunus Raza
Abby Rozentsvayg
Nikolas Yoo
Silver Award – 65 to79 hours:
Kaashi Bansal
Sarah Bridgeman
Nicole Seurin
Sarasa Shinde
Arushi Vankar
Ava Zhang
Bronze Award – 50 to 64 hours:
Zui Chinchalker
Shreya Dadlani
Difan Li
Shravya Muppala
Shraddha Panisetty
Swara Sanghvi
Anna Schwartz
Aditya Shivpuriya
Camille Takyi
Shem Teh
Special Thanks to 2023 GR8 Works Volunteers:
Zakia Ahmed
Parvathy Ajit
Georgina Ramirez Alzaga
Jaime An-Wong
Vandana Arthanari
Anubha Kulshrestha
Christine Kurian
Falguni Patel
Rupa Sanbui
Faith Sauders
Shaheen Shahnaz
Sandy Soriano
Barbara Weinfield
Thank you to all our volunteers during the past year:
Anabis Acevedo, Richard Aerath, Brigitte Aflalo Calderon, Ranya Agarwal, Ashira Agarwal, Siddharth Aggarwal, Pranya Agrawal, Sanchita Agrawal, Snehal Agrawal, Zakia Ahmed, Zohra Ahsan, Aadya Ahuja, Parvathy Ajit, Alisa Algava, Mary Victoria Algeri, Elyse Alter, Georgina Ramirez Alzaga, Kavita Amin, Jaime An-Wong, Ashmita Anand, Ci-Ning Ang, Nomeda Aniukstis, Lillianna Antolino, Vandana Arthanari, Divvya H Atrii, Jyotika Bahree, Joy Bailey Horton, Shantanu Ballal, Barish, Alexa Benedetto, Manya Bhasin, Carolina Blatt, Megan Bommireddy, Peter Braynor, Kristen Breedlove, Vanessa Bryk, Pradeep Byram, Kim Casper, Anthony Catanese, Kristina Chadwick, Gargi Chanda, Satya Chandrasekaran, Lichuhan (Amy) Chen, Nikhil Chinchalkar, Shefali Shah Chong, Mikel Cirkus, Serina Clemente, Tori Coffey, Maureen Connolly-Hersh, Beth Cooper Family, Jaya D, Jasmine Dadlani Family, Rekha Dagalur, Saanvi Damera, Shresta Damera, Yvonne Amalina De Carolis, Sukhmani Dehar, Bumper DeJesus, Dominique Dionne, Mitali Deshmukh, Stuti Deshpande, Delali Doe, Avni Doegar, Madeleine Elizabeth Domantay, Aarna Doshi, Ilene Dube, Latoya Edwards, Richard Engel, Rick Engel, Vishnu Enjapoori, Roxanne Ferns, Sarah Formica, Carina Foushee Family, Elliot Freebourn, Jalissa Galeotti, Kim Gallagher, Padmaja Ganapathy, Doreen Garelick, Aaron Gilchrist, Varsha Gireesh, Irena Gobernik, Gunjan Gogia, Trisha Goli, Tanav Gowda, Sharon Graham Family, Lawrence Graves, Elane Gutterman, Mary Hamill, Megan Healey, Cheri Heyse, Aarohi Anant Honap, Abigail Hwang, Jennifer Jacobs, Meeti Jain Family, Yash Kampoowale, Ganga Karra,Sanjay Kaushik, Aparna Kaushik Family, Becky Kestenbaum, Arjun Khanna, Heidi Kleinman, Jamie Klenetsky Fay, Nelly Kouzmina, Avnee Kulkarni, Anubha Kulshrestha, Christine Kurian, Jaabili Kuruvella, Lori Lansger, Jacquelyn LeBlanc, Trevor Leprevost, Marsha Levin-Rojer, Jaimie Liao, Paul Ligeti, Greer Luce, Poojit Majeti, Kamha Mamidyala, Alina Marin-Bliach, Veronica Mehno Family, Ann Marie Miller, Chris Mittendorf, Andrew Morris, Keya Motiani, Ashika Nadendla, Alya Naik, Aarti Nathan, Novo Nordisk, Kristen Oberlin, Maya Olcsvary, Haylen Pando, Lauren Passannante, Falguni Patel, Meghna Patel, Aarav Patel, Angie Peer, Olivia Popovic, Amanda Popovic, Nidhi Pramanik, Anirudh Prodduturu, Colleen Puglia, Prachi Purohit, Anjali Pyeddu, Muskan Raghuwanshi, Shreya Reddy, Jameelah Reese-Bentley Family, Nicole Roberson, Amaya Sachdeva, Elaeni Caprice Bustos Santiago, Vidhi Sapru, Anusha Saran, Faith Sauders, Christa Schneider, Karen Schoenitz, Leslie Schott, Rooma Sehar, SEWA Internation, Connie Shaffer, Shaheen Shahnaz, Hema Shankar, Luke Shao, Alok Sharma, Anusha Sharma, Rohan Sharma, Madelaine Shellaby, Adria Sherman, Anokhi Shukla, Rylie Simon, Dixie-Ann Sinnette, Alexia Sirimis, Merle Slyhoff, Krisha Soneji, Sandy Soriano, The Sparks String Quartet, Sashi Sreekanth, Samhitha Sreenivasan, Matt Stemler, Ally Stump, Leslie Sullivan, Lynn Teng, Seema Vashisht, Vishwath Venkatesan, Shantanu Wad, Alice Wang, Ankita Wunnava, Barbara Weinfield, Haoran Xu, Kaitlyn Yang, Jane Yuan, Jennifer Yuan, Ann Zawartkay, and ZS Associates.
