Meghamsh Kanuparthy ’16 met Ema H. Horvath ’16 freshman year when he knocked on her Matthews Hall door as part of his first ever campaign for the Undergraduate Council. Realizing they both hailed from Kentucky, they bonded over a shared background.

While Kanuparthy began his tenure on the UC as an Elm Yard representative that freshman fall, Horvath spent her time on the stage, playing Katherina in a student production of “The Taming of the Shrew.”

Kanuparthy would later serve as the UC’s historian, secretary, and now as its treasurer. Horvath similarly expanded her theatrical pursuits as a member of the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club.

When Kanuparthy began to seriously consider running for UC president this past summer, he said that he struggled to find a running mate. He said that he initially asked other UC insiders to run with him, but none were willing to run as his vice-president, instead opting to headline tickets of their own for the UC presidency.

“I actually did ask a couple of people on the UC to run with me,” Kanuparthy said. “They’re both currently running for president, but I’m still friends with them.”

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When Horvath heard in September that Kanuparthy intended to run for UC president, she said she offered to manage her friend’s campaign, having no intention of being on the ticket itself but wanting to explore a newfound interest in politics.

Now the two aspire to represent the student body together as UC president and vice president. They claim their partnership brings both experience and a fresh perspective to the ticket.

As a UC insider and outsider, the pair say they aim to improve student life and administrative decision-making by delivering four proposals related to summer storage, house renewal, student group funding, and the Smith Campus Center.

“It’s important to have leaders who both have experience and at the same time can take a step back and look at it from a different perspective,” Kanuparthy said.

A Politician and an Actor

Accumulating years of experience on the UC makes Kanuparthy confident that he can lead the organization, while Horvath said that she can use the communication skills she developed as a performer.

Kanuparthy, who originally hails from Louisville, Ky., will soon switch to a chemistry concentration from economics and chairs the Kirkland House Committee.

Alexander F. Weickhardt ’16, one of Kanuparthy’s roommates, describes him as “one of those people who knows a lot of people in the House and is really outgoing.”

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