In many ways, Dibu Gandhi is an ordinary Willamette University freshman, still learning his way around campus.
But not all freshmen get a personal welcome from Oregon's governor. Then again, he's the great-grandson of Mohandas Gandhi."He has had a great impact on a great many people," Dibu Gandhi said of his great-grandfather, the Indian independence leader who was assassinated in 1948. "I respect other people's interest in him, too."
Dibu and his parents were invited to Oregon's Capitol in Salem on Wednesday by Gov. John Kitzhaber and his wife. The two families discussed everything from Oregon weather to U.S.-India relations, and the young Gandhi's future.
He said he picked Willamette partly because of the financial aid and because he wanted a small liberal arts school in a mild climate. He also had family friends in Portland.
Gandhi said he hasn't settled on a field of study but is interested in English, economics and politics.