Dear Reader, Suraj here –
I have some life updates to share, good updates all of them:
- I finally got an internship, where I’ll be doing both tech (working with data) + production (TV shows). Such a wonderful blend of things I love doing.
- I received the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) grant from my university to do my research with an adviser.
- Alongside my STEM Peer Tutor job, I got another job on campus for next semester. I’ll be working in the Career Office to help bring more opportunities for students and help them build a stronger career.
The reason I share these updates is twofold.
First, these are big things for me, and most of you (my readers) have been with me for over two years. You are my community. Hence, I want to share not only the things I’m learning, but also the outcomes those things are leading to.
Secondly, there’s one main reason that all of these things have happened.
The reason is: Building genuine connections
Since moving to New York, I’ve spent a good amount of my time at my university. There, whenever my schedule allowed me, I’d take the chance to engage in whatever I could.
During my freshman year, since I had past experience in organizing events, I had helped a professor organize a panel discussion. My time allowed for it, and I didn’t think this would lead to anything. Now, that professor is my adviser for my research.
Similarly, after a Spring Service Trip I had gone to last year with the campus ministry, even though nobody had asked me to, I volunteered to make a testimonial video about the trip. Although this video wasn’t uploaded on our university’s YouTube channel, it was circulated internally. A lot of staff had seen the video and had liked it.
So later, when DeSales Media reached out to our university with the opportunity, our Campus Minister directly connected them to me because they knew I had media experience. This turned into my tech + production internship.
While I was working at the Academic Center as a tutor, I was also leading the Computer Club. As President, I was able to work closely with a lot of offices and organize some really well-executed events. This led to departments knowing that I was not only active but also informed about a lot of things. This helped me get the Career Office job.
During any of these things, I hadn’t thought that doing those things would lead to anything. Yet, here I am, making progress with the help of other people.
The only thing that I’ve done is try to be helpful and do whatever I could, whenever I could, that slightly aligned with my interests.
Note that I never really had to go entirely out of my way to do these things. It was primarily when my schedule allowed for it. What I focused on was keeping some buffer time on my calendar for other things.
So when you do have some time at hand, don’t spend it all on your phone or digital devices. Instead, see if you can either learn to get better at something you’re interested in or help someone with something.
There, for sure, is a long way to go, but thank you for being a part of my journey so far.
I will see you next week.
Warmly,
Suraj
If you'd like to hear more from me, here's my YouTube channel where I share lessons, experiments, tools, and resources to make life just a little better.
