Vivek Prasad’s son Abhinav speaks about his father’s qualities and qualifications for the role of Fremont School Board Trustee. Abhinav discusses his father’s character along with his many years of dedication towards Fremont’s students. Learn more at vote4vp.com

https://youtu.be/ySJRdnP15BU

Dear Fremont Community,

My name is Abhinav, and I am the proud son of Vivek Prasad, former MSJHS MPPFA President and current D5 School Board trustee candidate. I know many of you may have been bombarded with messages about the candidates, but to those of you reading this, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to learn about your local elections. Admittedly, sometimes it’s hard to take our attention away from national politics, but making the right decision in a School Board election will have tangible, lasting impacts on your children and our community. Today, I want to take just a few minutes to tell you about the person Vivek Prasad is.

When I was younger, I faced some of the common childhood challenges — bullying, peer pressure, and academics-related stress were all embedded in the ups and downs of what we all know as “growing up”. Just like many kids raised in Fremont, I was initially skeptical of my parents’ ability to help me through those struggles. Would they understand? Or would they tell me to quit crying and just be stronger? It is with the utmost privilege I can say that both of my parents worked tirelessly to learn how to help me cope, manage, and thrive. From baseball to tennis to the piano, they provided my brother and me the time and opportunities to identify mechanisms to relieve our stresses. To this day, I am so fortunate to know that when medical school gets tough (which happens often), my parents are unconditionally available to provide me with love and support.

For over a decade when I was younger, my father ran a math tutoring program on weekend mornings. The charm of the program came from his ability to not only effectively teach math concepts but also inspire studentsto be interested in learning. To this day, I try to match his level of dedication, passion, and compassion for students; trust me, it’s been hard to beat the hundreds of extra hours he devoted to students who needed more help, all without asking for a single extra dollar.

For those of you who may not know my father personally, his personality and motivations can best be described as deliberate, compassionate, and dependable. His tenure as MPPFA President was undeniably difficult but successful, in part because of his unique ability to find common ground and work collaboratively with teachers, staff, parents, students, and administration to meet the diverse needs of students. To this day, students benefit from the revitalization of the little theater, upgrades to the baseball field, replacement of lockers across campus, hiring of MPPFA funded mental health counselors, creation of the first AP Computer Science class in FUSD, and replacement of inefficient projectors with large TV monitors for classrooms. I still remember how meticulously he personally selected those monitors, alternating between negotiating with salespeople at the electronics store and getting input from teachers on what would suit their needs best. He leaves no stone unturned and considers all.

Despite his exceptional work ethic, you’ll almost never hear him claim ownership for any of his successes. When asked what he accomplished as PFA president, his answer will likely start with, “I had an amazing team.” That’s what makes him a phenomenal leader. He inspires, encourages, and empowers people across the board to participate. This is evidenced by the fact that under his leadership, there were several committees created surrounding student safety, staff and teacher support, and student involvement for feedback from the most important stakeholders. Moreover, he more than doubled the amount of dollars AND number of parents who donated to improve various facilities at MSJ. His ability to rally the community around a central cause is unparalleled, and he undoubtedly will do the same as your FUSD Trustee. When I was in high school at MSJ, so often I’d get a text from various friends saying, “Wow! You look just like your dad!” And I’d immediately know what they meant by that — he’s on campus again having a lunch meeting with teachers or overseeing the implementation of a project. How did he make so much time to help MSJ? I have no idea, but he did so nonetheless.

My father is unique. He has no political aspirations, no special interest funding, and no hidden motives. What he does have is an unwavering commitment to your children. He will bring the much needed balance to a board where 4 out of 5 trustees were funded by the FUDTA to secure those positions. He will unequivocally be the voice of parents and students. We ask for your vote for Vivek Prasad to give him the opportunity to continue to serve Fremont’s youth. Thank you so much for reading and for being an active member of our community.

Best Regards,

Abhinav Prasad

Please visit my dad’s campaign website to learn more about him!

www.vote4vp.com

The open letter was first published on Medium – Oct 7, 2020. Link to original post: https://medium.com/@abhinavprasad/vivek-prasad-proven-to-serve-you-and-your-family-b51d6b1ad6ce

 

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