What makes you a Difference Maker?
In my thoughts, a Difference Maker is someone who sets out goals for self, motivates and achieves these goals. Being a part of the UM-Dearborn community from 2019, has put me in a path of discovering myself and enabled me to take more risks, harbor more confidence and shape up to become a strong individual. Stepping out of my country was a first step outside my comfort zone and these two years have been a huge learning curve for me to identify my strengths and has helped me make choices which have inflicted positive self-growth. I have always been very determined, hard-working and energetic. With the right support and resources from our campus community, it was a wonderful journey as a Dearborn Wolverine. I do not believe that we need to stand out from the crowd to be different, we have to grow with each other while being kind, supportive and inclusive, because then we will learn to embrace the unique individuals we are. In this wonderful process, I have also discovered new traits and disciplines which will stay with me for life and will definitely help me achieve all my goals and ambitions.
Tell us about your leadership experience.
As the president of GISO, I had multiple ways to hone my leadership skills through various events like the International Career Expo, Welcome Reception with the OIA, and other professional events where we invited various industry experts to address students about how to be a good professional at a workplace. As the professional development chair of SWE, I had the opportunity to engage students with various activities by organizing a Networking event with ZF, an automobile manufacturing company about how to create good resumes, workplace etiquettes, networking, building LinkedIn, etc. which are huge learning platforms for students and are extremely helpful. There were many social events which I helped organize through GISO, SWE and SG, like "All Around the World Day", "Valentine's Social", and multiple online events with different themes like Halloween, Thanksgiving and game nights. I was also able to host and organize an event with the Graduate Rackham International (GRIN) called the "International Faculty Panel" where faculty members from both campuses addressed the students about being an International Student. Back in India, I always took a special interest in involving myself in various Non Governmental Organizations to increase awareness about environmental and wildlife issues.
What is your dream career or goal?
My most important goal in life has always been to be in a position that will enable me to help people. Though it sounds like a cliché, it is true. One of the reasons for me to choose Engineering as my major was that I could build technologies that can aid human life. I majored in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering during my Undergrad which led me to discover the elite field of Embedded Systems, which motivated me to take up Computer Engineering as my major in Graduate School. The courses and the projects I worked on in school helped me secure an Internship at a Functional Safety Consulting Firm, where I learned how safety plays an important role while building Electrical and Electronic components. Almost everything that people use have to be checked for safety and has pushed me to further increase my knowledge on developing technologies which create a better, safer and ecologically balanced world. So I intend to be an Embedded Systems Engineer who can develop and test electronic products to help people lead a good life. I also intend to take steps towards making Earth more greener and work towards improving the environment, which is becoming a huge concern and needs to be addressed seriously.
What is your most defining moment?
I would like to say that my most defining moment is a collection of all the wonderful moments I got to experience at UM-Dearborn. When I got my first on campus job at Picasso, followed by the research assistant position, being the president of GISO, meeting my wonderful manager at the International Career Fair Expo with whom I would work for another year, making amazing friends and colleagues, and evolving into a Wolverine, the subtlety of how two years can transform a person has truly humbled me.