The Sun-Times called it a "surprise win." A Huffington Post writer called it the "biggest upset of the Chicago elections."

Ameya Pawar, a program assistant at Northwestern's office of emergency management, made history last month when he was elected the first Asian-American and Indian American alderman in Chicago history, defeating favorite Tom O'Donnell.

 Pawar narrowly avoided a runoff with 50.8 percent of the vote, while O'Donnell trailed with 43.5.

Even though he was the Chicago Tribune's and Sun-Times' endorsed candidate, the 30-year-old Pawar didn't expect to win — he didn't even prepare an election-night party.

"I saw him later that election night and he genuinely didn't think he was going to win," Tom Jacks, an NU student who ran against Pawar, told the Daily Northwestern.

Talking on WTTW's Chicago Tonight the day after his win, Pawar said he received a congratulatory call from Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel, who lives in Pawar's ward, the day after the elections.

At NU, Pawar works on creating a university-wide business continuity program, according to his campaign Web site.

Running for public office is something he has dreamt off since 2004, Pawar says on his Web site. “I found myself becoming increasingly disappointed with the divisive nature of our politics. I often wonder at how politics always seems to trump the idea of public service, a dichotomy that truly mystifies me.”

In the summer of 2009, he had the opportunity to spend 10 weeks in Jaipur, India, as part of the State Department’s Critical Language Program. While in India, “I had many interesting conversations about politics. One question continually arose: ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could just set politics aside for once and focus on what is needed?’ It reminded me of many late-night discussions in college, and it renewed the promise of my youthful idealism. So today I am running for alderman without a political agenda and with a focus on improving the city.”

Born in the Chicago area, Pawar earned his B.A. in Philosophy and Religion from Missouri Valley College, his M.P.A. from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and is expected to earn his M.Sc. from the University of Chicago’s Threat and Response Management Program this year.