My Story
One of the most important decisions that I took in my life was in 2017 when I decided to forego the ‘safety net’ of a cushy software developer job and applied to a social leadership program.
Till that point in my life, I had always lived by doing the right thing which was working and strengthening my ‘safety net’, something that was deeply ingrained in me growing up in the 90s in a lower middle-class family in Kanpur, India. One was supposed to do well in school (esp. being an FGLI student as I was) so that one could go to a good college to pursue a degree program with good job placement opportunities. Pursuing a degree in Engineering from one of the top colleges was the quickest way to having a large and strong ‘safety net’.
Following that chartered path, in my quest for my ‘safety net’, I grew up and went on to study Civil Engineering at NIT-Bhopal, which eventually led to a career of working as a software developer in Bengaluru. Five wonderful years in Bengaluru, where I not only grew professionally, in IBM and later in Aptean, acquiring valuable technical and interpersonal skills, but also personally- by learning to live by myself and pursuing my other interests like writing.
In hindsight, I think it was at this time that the seeds of working for social change got sowed in me. Quite prominently, it was being part of ACARE, the CSR team at Aptean, that I became more aware about socio-developmental, sustainability, and environmental issues, and got to know about nonprofits and social enterprises. I realized that it was not important to have a fancy, big, and strong ‘safety net’ for yourself, but that everyone around you, in your community, and even generations to come get to have a working one too, and that gradually became my all-consuming purpose in life. I realized I wanted to work directly to make the world a better place.
So, around my 28th birthday, when I got a cold email from the India Fellow program, I made the momentous decision to throw my ‘safety net’ and apply for the program. After my selection and the induction training, I was placed as a ‘Livelihoods Consultant’ with my host organization, Centre for Social Action in Mumbai. The brief that I got from my new boss, Father Mario Mendes, Director, was to scope and initiate sustainable livelihood initiatives for the Katkari tribal community in Raigad to stem their agricultural off-season migration from their hamlets which was hampering other social interventions on supplementary education and availing of government entitlements.
Having no prior experience on either livelihoods or consultancy, yet determined and motivated, I hunkered down to the job. I studied the Katakri people, their various socio-development issues, interacted with community leaders, shadowed grassroots social workers. I even picked up Marathi to be able to communicate my ideas better to all project stakeholders, which in hindsight was probably my biggest achievement, because all my livelihood interventions had come to naught, save for the pilot setup of value-chain for edible products made by tribal women SHGs. Post the fellowship, I rejoined my host organization as the District Project Coordinator and was made responsible for leading the Raigad team for the implementation of the entire social work project comprising objectives on education, culture, and entitlements and not just livelihoods.
With my skills and experience, I led the team successfully for two years, as was evident from project outcomes and feedback. And where I lacked the right skills, I would power through, learning quickly, fueled with passion, and accomplish the task at hand. However, sometimes, a feeling of ineptitude would creep in so slightly, when I would be struggling, say, in budgeting, or performing cost-benefit analysis, or other such managerial tasks. Looking back, I think it was at these times when I started entertaining the idea of going back to school to fill these knowledge gaps. I knew that a management degree would open avenues and foster tremendous growth in my career, but by this time, sustainability and social-responsibility had become core values of my being. Serendipitously, around my 31st birthday, I started getting emails about the Sustainability Management program at Columbia and after attending an information session, I found that it was best-suited to my learning needs and the career trajectory that I seek.
During my time in Columbia, I also did some pro-bono ESG and DEI consulting and worked as a Faculty Assistant to Professor Satyajit Bose working and researching on climate investing and sustainable finance topics. With the courses I took and the aforementioned extra-curricular activities, I graduated in May, 2023 having acquired skills in ESG consulting, sustainable finance, decarbonization strategy, and corporate sustainability reporting and strategy. My expertise also encompasses sustainable supply chain management, renewable energy integration, LCA esp. carbon footprint analysis, GHG accounting, impact assessment, DEI strategy and stakeholder engagement.
With my graduate degree, and with my next job, I plan to continue on my goal of making a positive difference in this world and ensuring ‘safety nets’ for all.