Oja Pathak is a PhD student in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park focusing on gender and ethnic identities and South Asian politics. Her work examines the role of intersectional identities on the political outcome (election, nomination, political access) of minorities. Her other work includes finding a novel way to study the visibility and public opinion of sexual minorities. She received her B.A. in International Relations and Philosophy from Wesleyan College in Macon, GA. She also received her M.A. in Political Science before joining the Ph.D. program at UMD. A native of Kathmandu, Nepal, she enjoys all things nature, finding new Nepali recipes online and trying them, and analyzing the depiction of women and culture in South Asian movies.