From Poor Immigrant to MIT Graduate

My early experiences growing up in Queens, New York

Me as a young girl

I was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, but we moved to the United States when I was 2 1/2 years old.

While my parents were relatively well off in India, in America they were poor. Due to his deep accent and his unfamiliarity with American ways, my father had a hard time finding a decent job. So the early years of my life here in America were rough.

We started off in a one bedroom apartment in a working class neighborhood. It was on the bottom floor of a three family house. My Mom got on her hands and knees and scoured out the grime when we moved in.

I remember sleeping on a mattress on the floor and sticking up pictures of Bugs Bunny on the wall. When my brother was born, it got quite crowded. At least we had access to the back garden.

Fortunately, by the time my brother was two, we were able to move to the three bedroom right above us. Because it was on the second floor, we had a balcony and stairs to the garden.

My highschool graduation photo — yes, I wore those glasses. The blacony is right outside my bedroom and I loved it.

My bedroom was the one with access to this. It became a little slice of heaven for me. I…