Ali Asghar

I was born in Staten Island, New York and have lived in all five boroughs of New York City. For a part of my teenage hood I lived in foster care. At times I struggled with graduating from middle school, high school, and college, but I did graduate.

I graduated from Hunter College as a Film major. My favorite films include What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Princess Mononoke, Ordinary People, Grave of the Fireflies, Adaptation, Before Sunrise, and Before Sunset. My favorite filmmakers are Richard Linklater and Hayao Miyazaki.

I was a production assistant on a few undergraduate thesis short films while in school. I also worked in the Equipment Office of the Film and Media Department. I was initially an intern, and later on I became a college assistant. I prepared and checked in equipment for classes and student films. I also advised students on how the process of submitting equipment forms and how to use equipment when necessary.

I've always been interested political activism and student advocacy. As a result, I've interned for New York Public Interest Research Group (N.Y.P.I.R.G.) and Manhattan Neighborhood Network (M.N.N).

The former is the largest student advocacy organization in the U.S. I spoke to classes and organized events on various issues affecting college students. These issues include voter mobilization, higher education tuition reform, housing security and food instability. In addition to all that, I was also a Campaign Leader for the Consumer Protection Campaign. I informed students on food justice issues such as G.M.O. awareness and encouraging students to call legislators to pass a GMO labeling in NY. As a campaign leader, I also provided procedural advice to people interested in pursuing cases in the Small Claims Court.

M.N.N. is a public access network. I was a Video Journalist intern for their non-profit organization The Youth Channel which was dedicated to telling political and cultural stories about youth of color in New York City. The stories we told were related to filming events on topics such as police brutality, educational neglect, and youth activism. I had different tasks. I was a researcher, camera operator, editor, and interviewer. For a time, I supervised and advised newer interns.