TECHNOLOGIST

Growing Up in India

TAKING MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS

01 / I was born and raised in India between Mumbai and Hyderabad. At the time, India was experiencing violent demonstrations due to religious clashes and hatred. I remember experiencing curfews where we could no longer go out to play.

02 / I was a bit of a handful growing up. I was fearless and active and spent a lot of my time playing outside in Mumbai. I was outspoken and not afraid to stand up for myself or others, even if it meant being uncomfortable.

03 / My parents were fairly hands-off with school, so I decided to take my education into my own hands. When they moved to the United States, I was in 7th grade. Instead of going with them, I asked them to send me to boarding school in India. It gave me the independence and focus I needed, and I discovered my love for academics and athletics.

04 / In 8th grade, I immigrated to Atlanta, Georgia. It was a tough time for me, and for the longest time, I didn’t feel like I belonged. I struggled to fit in and make friends at first despite being a social butterfly back home. We didn’t have the resources for me to stay involved in a lot of athletics or extracurriculars, so I focused more on school. Science was one of the few things that made sense to me at the time, and it became an important part of my life.

Attending a Local College

CHOOSING VARIETY

01 / I decided to study at Georgia Institute of Technology because it was close to home, my big sister attended, and it was relatively inexpensive. I knew I wanted to pursue science, and assumed that meant becoming a doctor.

02 / I had a hard time choosing between all of the scientific subjects that I loved. When I discovered biomedical engineering, I was excited to realize that there are fields that mix lots of different sciences together.

03 / Growing up in a conservative Indian household, college was very expansive and stimulating for me both culturally and intellectually. I learned so much about myself and found a sense of belonging for the first time since I’d moved to the US. I experimented with other cuisines and even cooking outside of what I was familiar with growing up, thanks to the people I met. I was exposed to many other people from different backgrounds for the first time.

Exploring My Options

CHASING A MISSION

01 / I graduated college without much of a plan. Initially, I thought maybe I’d go to medical school, but wanted to pursue financial independence instead of taking on that debt. I thought about going for a PhD as well, but my family encouraged me to look for jobs that they believed would be higher paying and easier to handle.

02 / My family worked in the technology sector and helped get me my first job working in tech consulting in New Hampshire. I loved the outdoors in the region and discovered my love for snowboarding in the New England mountains. Over the years, I took on a few other jobs in DC and Boston but started feeling restless. I was craving more fulfillment and wanted to find a career that was more aligned with the subjects I was excited about in school.

03 / I took some time off to go solo backpacking around Southeast Asia and New Zealand – an experience that shaped who I am today. It was on that adventure that I decided to focus on pursuing a mission instead of a specific career. When I got back, I set out to find a company doing work that I could connect to and feel proud of.

Finding Fulfillment

STARTING MY CAREER

01 / Once I decided to pursue mission-driven work, I started researching companies that I admired. I looked for organizations working to fight diseases or pursue sustainability.

02 / I talked to as many people as I could and asked for their insights and advice, even if they didn’t have a job that I wanted to apply for. It helped me understand the landscape of options and got me interviews that I otherwise may have missed.

03 / I found my fit at a company called Amgen, where I could leverage the skills I built in technology and consulting to work towards improving treatments for serious illnesses. It was my opportunity to blend my love of science with my love of community, technology, business, and healthcare.