At seventeen, I moved to a city (and continued moving around to live in incredible places since) where I didn’t know the language or the culture. I’d also started my education in mechanical engineering, where I was one of the mere twenty-four women in a batch of 956 students. Through the years I’ve had multiple jarring experiences and struggles against a lot of deep rooted patriarchy and prejudice. As incredible as my journey had bee, I’ve come to realise the undeniable truth that I & so many of those who identify as minorities, spend every day working just a little bit harder, and speaking a little louder and thinking a lot longer, for the space they deserve in a world that isn’t really designed for them.

I'm lucky to be studying design at UC Berkeley where I can think about and design for accessibility; accessibility for the underprivileged, the minorities, the colour blind and physically & mentally disabled.

In continuing to tackle gendered spaces, factoring in the voices of the end consumers who are often overlooked, and in proposing thoughtfully re-designed solutions I feel the most successful. The ambition long-term, is to be cognizant of both my privilege and the lack of, to empathise with and empower those who do not feel they can belong in the construed spaces occupied by the “privileged” in a particular society, and leverage design and technology and my own experiences to show others that these spaces are in fact porous, and that anyone truly can have a “seat at the table”, so to speak. 

Thus, the impact I want to have, is to be the one creating the premise for (the often uncomfortable but pressing) questions regarding accessibility, in provoking thoughtful dialogue on these matters and in being in the position to create opportunities for and inspire, not just those who look and identify like me but for anyone who is on the outside, looking in.