Meet Devanshi Mishra, Class of 2015

Friday, May 8, 2015

Devanshi Mishra
Dance major, Entrepreneurial Management for Performing Arts certificate
Chandigarh, India

Devanshi MishraWhile stomping her feet to the beat of the drums, Devanshi Mishri gracefully winds her hands through the air, forming precise hand gestures along the way. In Indian dance, the dance of the hands tells a story word by word. As the only international student in the Department of Dance in the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Mishri brings this little bit of home with her to Halsey Hall. Mishri is graduating this May with a degree in dance and a certificate in performing arts entrepreneurship. At the UI, she took to her roots joining the Iowa Andhi Bollywood dance team, was on the executive board for Walk it Out—a multicultural fashion show—and served as a Pick One ambassador for the University, all while holding a job with UI Housing and Dining.

How fast did your time go at Iowa?

The time here went crazy fast. I can still remember the first day I got here. The Indian Student Alliance president drove me to campus from the Cedar Rapids airport…I had two overweight bags and that’s all I came with to this country. I just can’t believe it’s almost over…But I’m excited—I’m excited for what’s coming next. And I’m glad I came to Iowa, and I learned so much and I am who I am now.

Why did you choose to come to Iowa?

I chose Iowa because, first, I got into the dance program…I feel like coming here was the best decision I could have ever made for my higher education, given the fact that it is such a beautiful campus and the department here is just amazing. They help you in every way possible—not just the dance department, but people here, your peers. There’s so much opportunity to grow as a person, as a leader. And I feel like that was the best part.

Where do you hope to be in 10 years?

In 10 years, my dream is to own my own company, a dance company, and travel the world.

—Interview by Nora Heaton (BA 2013) and Dora Grote (Class of 2015); photo by Jill Tobin

The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers about 70 majors across the humanities; fine, performing and literary arts; natural and mathematical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; and communication disciplines. About 15,000 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students study each year in the college’s 37 departments, led by faculty at the forefront of teaching and research in their disciplines. The college teaches all Iowa undergraduates through the college's general education program, CLAS CORE. About 80 percent of all Iowa undergraduates begin their academic journey in CLAS. The college confers about 60 percent of the university's bachelor's degrees each academic year.