Tamil-American is youngest delegate to attend DNC

Sruthi Palaniappan's parents immigrated to the United States in 1992 from Chennai.

Sruthi Palaniappan with Hillary Clinton. Photo: Special Arrangement

Sruthi Palaniappan, whose parents immigrated to the United States in 1992 from Chennai, was the youngest delegate to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) that ended on Thursday night. The 18-year-old high school graduate is set to join the Harvard University to study government.  She spoke on behalf of the Iowa state delegation during the voting process for presidential nomination.

Her father Palaniappan Andiappan also attended the convention as a member of credentials committee. Ms. Palaniappan wants to run for office and thinks that politics is the best route if one is interested in public service.

Passion for politics

“I am pursuing this passion for politics that I have,” she told

The Hindu . “I became involved in service and advocacy-related activities initially, and when the time came to be involved in the election process, I jumped right on board. I got into the Clinton campaign, and went door-to-door canvassing in my area. I was able to encourage people to come out and vote,” Ms. Palaniappan, a huge fan of Hillary Clinton, the first woman presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, said. She has met Ms. Clinton four times through the current campaign cycle. 

She was one of the four delegates elected by the district convention directly to the national convention that allowed her to bypass the election at the state level. It was her one-minute speech at the district convention that put her on the path to DNC.