Connecting the Dots to Create Change

Listen - Connecting the Dots

3:18

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From the moment I started school—whether it was in my elementary classroom in India or after moving to the United States—I’ve always wanted to be part of spaces that empower people and build systems of support. That desire stayed with me, even as I navigated a new culture and school environment in the U.S.

Adjusting wasn’t easy. I often felt out of place, sometimes even asked if I "lived under a rock." I think not being able to relate to those around me right away made me more observant. I realized that if I wanted to connect with people and create real change, I had to understand them first.

Between graduating from high school and starting my undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley, I explored social entrepreneurship through a business incubator. I pitched ideas to investors, tested concepts, and conducted interviews. It became clear that the key to building something meaningful was understanding people’s needs deeply.

At Berkeley, while pursuing a degree in Public Health, I took an elective course that changed the way I saw the world: Introduction to Disability Studies. Learning about the history of the disability rights movement was eye-opening. I discovered that my current residence was home to the Center for Independent Living—the heart of that movement, which was right in Berkeley. It was like the pieces were starting to fall into place. I began to see how design, advocacy, and health could all intersect.

Upon graduation, I started my first job as a  Mental Health Counselor, supporting students with disabilities in a non-public school setting. It was here that theory met practice. I saw up close the gaps in our systems—and the potential to make them better.

All of this eventually led me to my current role at the Fox Family Foundation, where I continue to build on what I’ve learned, using each piece of my journey to inform the work I do today.

What I’ve come to understand is this: When you're building or dreaming up something new, it might not make sense all at once. But looking back, every experience contributes to your path. Whether this was starting to learn about businesses as a freshman thinking I was now pivoting and starting a Public Health degree to learning about disability studies and then eventually starting my role at the Fox Family Foundation, combining all I have ever learned through entrepreneurship, Public Health and Disability Studies and being a Mental Health Counselor.  And in this kind of work—creating, connecting, understanding—learning is always ongoing.

So, as we learn and as we connect with others around the cohort, you may never know how the dots end up connecting but it will sure lead you closer to you and learning the potential that you have to create change.