| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My most memorable childhood experience was spending time with my paternal grandfather in the village. He would teach me to understand the Gujarati language by reading the newspaper together during breakfast. After breakfast we would hike to our ancestral land and eat wild berries on the way and bird watch. We would go to the field if there was fresh produce to be harvested and bring some home. On our way back we would always stop by the one ice cream shop in the entire village. That ice cream tasted extra delicious after the long hikes in the beaming sun. After reaching home we would prep the produce for dinner before taking a nice afternoon nap. Afterwards we then went to the temple and spent time with their friends. I would also get to meet other kids from the village, and we would play tag in the huge lawn the temple had. We would attend the late afternoon sermon before heading home and having dinner. Dinner would always be extra special because of the labors of the day and the ice cream! |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I most closely identify with my maternal grandfather. Both of us tend to have an entrepreneurial mindset, a liking for old Gujarati and English Literature and our affinity for homemade meals. He was also one the biggest influences in my life growing up as he taught me the value of hard work from a very young age. He moved to a new country, despite having a comfortable life for his family in India, to create a better life for his children and grandchildren. He would work 16-hour days at fast food not knowing any English and still provided for his family and would always enjoy life by taking it head on. He never complained. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | Traits I admire in an individual are passion, empathy, integrity, growth, and candor. Passion and empathy for all humans, non-human animals, plants, and the planet that we live on make you want to strive for a better future. Growth allows you to acquire new experiences, grow as a person, be open to new perspectives and change your opinion if the facts in a situation change. Candor enables you to do what needs to be done as an individual and as a human in this world. To be able to think on your own and be self-aware to speak out against something that might be against your values. And Integrity to never back down, believe in what you are doing and not be moved merely by money or materialistic gain. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | The funniest thing to happen to me was during an expedition in the Himalayas. Our group got separated during the descent due to a very brutal snowstorm. One of our local guides asked us to stop and wait for the storm to subside. For some of my friends, that was a scary thought, but they complied as they profusely prayed to God. As the storm subsided, we realized we were missing half of our team. The first instinct was to panic. We were very worried mainly because none of us had any cellular device for communication and it seemed like they had decided to keep moving or to move before the storm truly subsided. Before the panic truly set in our local guide just started walking and gestured to us to follow him. We complied and completed our descent. Upon reaching basecamp we realized our entire team was yet to make it. We were all ecstatic and were ready to pounce on the other team to roast them for not making it back in time despite abandoning us. They were 4 hours later than us. We do not let them forget this fact to this day! |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I would travel to Bhutan, a country in the Indian Subcontinent. It is a small and remote country located in the eastern Himalayas. They have beautiful scenery and are a very isolated country. It is one of the few countries in Asia that does not have a single traffic light. It is also supposed to be a kingdom but is very progressive. Their remoteness makes it a great spiritual place filled with amazing Buddhist architecture. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I would like to pass on to my children the value of hard work that my grandfather passed on to me. I would like to pass on to them the stories of their brave ancestors who decided to start fresh in a completely new environment so that they could have a better life, while at the same time trying to keep them connected to their cultural values and adopt what they might choose as good things for their life. |
