Those who scoff at the notion that the United States is indeed "the land of opportunity" would do well to have a chat with UB Women's Club President Meena Rustgi.

Rustgi, who came from India to the United States in her early 20s-speaking not one word of English-sought to capitalize on the emotional, rather than material, riches of a country for which she has endless affection.

"I think people bring their best when they do volunteer work," said Rustgi, whose affability and charm are nothing short of infectious.

	“I think people bring their best when they do volunteer work,” says Meena Rustgi, president of the UB Women’s Club.
	photo: Stephanie Hamberger

Rounding out a decade of membership with the club this year, Rustgi-who has served in various capacities, from publicity chair, to member-at-large, to vice president-remembers fondly how she first became involved. Her friend, Norma Rubin, also a long-time member of the club, took her along to an event at which Channel 4 news anchor Carol Jasen was speaking, and Rustgi was hooked.

"I'm telling you, I enjoyed the girls," said Rustgi, a Hindi scholar in her native country and a graduate of both Erie Community and Buffalo State colleges. "I liked the women's activities, and I'm involved in almost all the activities now. I like to do volunteer work."

Rustgi is no stranger to donating her time. After living in Los Angeles, her first U.S. residence and where her husband-now a physics professor at Buffalo State College-was working, the couple moved to Buffalo to be nearer to family. Once settled, Rustgi began teaching cooking at the YWCA, an activity she shied away from in India-at her mother's suggestion.

"I never cooked," she said, noting that she has taught classes in French, Chinese, Mexican and even Indian cuisine. "My mother says after you're married, you will cook all your life. So I did other things."

But cooking-whatever its pre-marital taboo-eventually helped Rustgi find her confidence.

"That's where I learned I could communicate, and people (could) understand me," she said of her three years at the "Y," admitting that above all, learning English was the biggest intimidator in coming to America.

She became involved in the Hindu Culture Center in Getzville, for which she served as president for two years, and while on a one-year sabbatical with her husband in Nebraska, Rustgi-along with her children-joined the Cooperative Extension there. She also initiated a Hindu religion class that met once a week.

"It was a very good experience-that's where I found out how important family is," she said.

Family, for Rustgi, is a relative term. In a city she's made her own through education, work and volunteerism, Rustgi is surrounded by the likes of family through friends-namely the members of the UB Women's Club, who afford her a sense of togetherness.

India's strongly patriarchal culture seems to have done well in making a matriarch out of Rustgi.

As president of the Women's Club this year, Rustgi is overcome by the desire to grow the membership and keep that faction of her "family" strong.

"It's open to anybody (UB-affiliated or not) who is interested in encouraging the activities of the university," she said, noting that the club surpassed its expectations this year with some 260 members. "They're very well-educated women. You learn a lot-it's a challenging kind of thing, it's not like a gossiping club.

"I believe membership matters," she says, adding it's important not only to be among people of common interests, but common goals.

The club caters to the interests of its members with a theater group, book and bridge clubs, cooking instruction and an art history group, but also extends a charitable hand to the UB community. The group, nearly since its inception 55 years ago, has sponsored the annual Grace Capen Academic Awards for UB students and also spends a great deal of its time fund-raising toward that end with yearly events such as international dinners, luncheons and wine tastings. The group also has provided a welcoming environment for UB's international students who often struggle to acclimate, not only to the university but to the country.

"I know-I empathize with them, everything is new," Rustgi said. "And just to see somebody take time to understand you" makes the transition that much easier.

Rustgi, who three years ago first sought out grant money for international student brunches, now enjoys a standing approbation of $1,000 for the recurring series.

Further promoting a "home-away-from-home" atmosphere at the university, the Women's Club conducts on a regular basis conversational English classes for international students. Run by various members of the club, the informal meetings-borne of a shared concern between Rustgi and Stephen C. Dunnett, vice provost for international education-give students the opportunity to hear and be heard, something Rustgi always has found to be a source of fulfillment.

"You learn by social interaction-that's my thing, you know?" says Rustgi, for whom emotional satisfaction through volunteering always will rival chasing a buck.

"That's why I love America-people really take time to listen to you."