Rachita Rawal

Rachita Rawal is a Campaign Organizer at Evolve California and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.

Why is education important to you?

I see respect for each other and equality as fundamental to happiness within a society. However, such a society is unattainable unless we are all well educated. Obviously, there are a lot of systematic inequities–but a better education would allow us to become more aware of these injustices, and have more courage to fight them. By addressing systemic issues through additional funding to poorer areas, I do strongly believe that education is the one thing that can begin to end poverty and make our society fairer. This way, we can be a society that looks to find real solutions for our causes of unhappiness.

How has California's lack of education funding negatively impacted you?

I was fortunate enough to go to a private school named Montessori up until 3rd grade, when it became too difficult for my parents to afford any more. So they had to send me to public school after that. From elementary school to the public university I went to, I struggled with the large classrooms, few teachers, and the inability to ask the many questions I had. I definitely missed the personal attention I got at Montessori, which was integral to my learning and growth when I was younger.

What made you want to pursue this career?

I was volunteering at an elementary school in Oakland and witnessed how systematic inequalities between socioeconomic statuses have a big impact on the quality of education that children receive. It just did not seem enough to spend a few hours at the school playing and tutoring these kids. The plain and simple truth to me was that these schools needed more funding to ensure the best future and opportunities for the students. These inequities in accessing a good quality education have really stuck with me, and are what have motivated me to look for a real solution–which is what brought me to Evolve! Reforming Prop. 13 is the best way to restore sustainable revenue to make educational opportunities equal for all!