Brahmacharini Shweta Chaitanya is the Director for Dharmic Life and Hindu Spiritual Advisor. In her role as director, she will lead the Dharmic Life team in supporting Georgetown’s vibrant Dharmic communities. Brni. Chaitanya joins us from Emory University where she has served as Hindu Chaplain since 2021. She received her monastic initiation in the Chinmaya Mission monastic order in 2017 following residential Vedanta (a philosophical branch of Hinduism) training in Sandeepany Sadhanalaya Ashram in Powai, Mumbai. Originally from Texas, Brni. Chaitanya completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied South Asian languages and cultures (Sanskrit). She completed her master’s degree in South Asian studies at the South Asia Institute, Columbia University. She was awarded a Nagral Fellowship (Hindu Ministry Initiative), from Harvard Divinity School and was twice awarded the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (Hindi), from Columbia University. Brni. Chaitanya was drawn to Georgetown by its commitment to serve its diverse community meaningfully and looks forward to forging relationships built around inclusivity, spiritual and personal growth, and community for all. She brings a deep passion for creating access to spiritual practices in a way that looks and feels recognizable to students and lets them know they belong. Shweta enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, experimenting in the kitchen, and going on long drives.