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We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Prajakta Pardikar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Prajakta thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned in school and why that lesson is important to you?
When I look back upon all those formative years, each phase taught me something essential about life and relationships. Through K-12, I went to 7 different schools, as we moved homes within town, and couple of inter-state moves. I struggled with low self-esteem then, which made it all the more difficult for me to find that confidence and sense of belonging at every new place & School I went to – every single time! Just the thought of eating lunch alone in the initial few days brings back stinging memories of loneliness. I learnt to smile through it, take my time, find my inner confidence, give others time to see me, and eventually build strong relationships. It is so very difficult to be the ‘Outsider’ isn’t it? My heart desired deeply to be on the ‘inside’. When I hear others talk about their friends from Elementary School, I for the most part have only memories of those times. This was days before social media or phones were common, so I lost touch with most of them. Thanks to social media though, as an adult it has been nice to connect with some of them for sure.
This theme of ‘finding a space to belong’ carried with me in my adulthood too, as pre and post marriage we happened to move across cities and continents. I feel I have been an immigrant most of my life :) each time finding my sense of belonging within the community I am in, and especially finding that sense of belonging to myself too. This is what gives me the purpose and drive to work to create stronger & integrated communities – To make people feel belonged, to get them a feeling of being on the ‘inside’. Stronger community systems, networks, support systems are our very own village to help us learn, grow and belong.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I followed a very traditional path when it came to my professional journey. Went on to become a Computer Science Engineer, started my journey in an IT Services company right after I graduated, and have been in this sector for over 25 years now. This is a competitive, fast paced and ever-changing industry. With the multiple moves across cities & continents, starting a family, and managing a professional career while pursuing my passions, there were many moments filled with overwhelm, anxiety & self-doubt. It does need a village, especially when the kids were younger, and when away from my home country, finding that village was extremely hard. While dealing with all this, as a woman I was also trying to find my voice and place at work. So ‘finding’ was the theme in many ways for many years!
Through this journey of ‘finding’, together with battling postpartum depression, and years of anxiety, I moved into a phase of ‘learning’ & ‘knowing’ – teaching myself through books, short courses, and with my amazing mentors to unpack a lot of baggage I carried until that moment.
That is where my true journey with my new purpose began. I started engaging & contributing through numerous community initiatives where I could give back, while helping women & youth finding their voice and purpose, bring them closer to their goals, and offer them the safe space where they are heard.
The more stories I heard, I found the common thread which ties these shared experiences. We come to a new Country harboring so many hopes & dreams. These immigrant women are educated, have a family & friends circle, and they leave all that behind to create a home in a new place. The loneliness which accompanies is deafening at times with only the whirr of the air conditioning, or the distant television providing the white noise to negate that loneliness! You build up your support systems from scratch. You find new ways to integrate into the communities. Not growing up here means that there is a lack of awareness of the public systems, education systems available. You navigate by asking, learning, finding this information for yourself. But many struggle with self-esteem & overwhelm which leads to a reduced level of confidence. Especially for women who are not having the work authorization to work here, it is a hard journey in many ways – to set aside their dreams and desires, to put forward those which work for the spouse & kids, and when they are at that phase and stage in life where they can think of making a career, it feels daunting! And rightly so!
We all deserve to feel heard, to feel empowered, to explore the opportunities around us.
So finally, after a decade and more of working on initiatives which help navigate these situations, together with a fabulous group of like-minded women we founded ‘Prerana Sakhi Network’, a community platform for South Asian Immigrant women to find Prerana (It means inspiration in ‘Hindi/’Marathi’ languages).
Prerana is network/community for South Asian immigrant women, on a mission to Inspire, Connect & Empower. It is an inclusive platform focused on building a culture of growth mindset & facilitate empowering, courageous conversations to make our network/community stronger & more confident. Women’s achievements small & big are to be celebrated and Prerana is an enabler to celebrating these women!
There is power in shared experiences, and having courageous conversations, and Prerana is one such place which encourages this through its platform.
Prerana is Dallas based currently with a network expanding every day, and we have expansion plans to entire U.S. and Pune by 2025.
We offer virtual events & meetups which can be availed for free for our members and local leaders to leverage this as a platform and help more and more women to connect, be inspired and feel empowered.
We have a virtual – FB Group which allows women from all over US to connect, and a local to DFW WhatsApp Group which enables a feeling of togetherness & an extended support system.
We meet in Person in DFW coffee shops, parks & libraries.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Pivot is the motto I live by!
The truth is for most women the career of their spouses is more important. The women let them take the lead, follow them, adapt, and create a new home and a new career too when you move to a new city or country. There are gaps in their careers and they lack the confidence to find their way back into the workforce! I firmly believe that skills are transferable.
While I have worked professionally in the same Sector for years, it has given me the opportunity to play various roles. With a growth & learning mindset, your core skills and values can be easily transferred. Add in your passion & purpose – and there you have it – A perfect recipe to pivot!
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
So many! When I say mentors/guides, at times, these have been people who have influenced my thinking and philosophy through their published work – Books, Talks etc.
The first pivotal moment I remember is when I heard Amy Cuddy speak! Her ted talk ‘Your body language may shape who you are’ was powerful! I was tall for my age, and due to not having stability at one place during my childhood years, I unknowingly started to hunch to make myself smaller. Her talk opened me up, taught me to expand my body language and make myself feel powerful.
The next one I distinctly remember is listening to Brene Brown and reading her works! Wow! All those hidden feelings and stories within me which made me feel small, less than, and not good enough suddenly found a new meaning. These feelings and stories are what make me who I am, and I can be vulnerable and share them in a meaningful way, rather than letting them shame me internally is what I learnt through the amazing work of Brene Brown.
Simon Sinek and his leadership thoughts ignited a new leadership thought process within me to become a people leader, embrace servant leadership with a compassionate approach when it comes to working and leading teams.
Lastly, and most importantly, Sheryl Sandberg and her work with ‘Lean In’ has been pivotal for me in my professional journey. Reading her book, I learnt to take a seat at the table, if there was no chair, then go find and pull up a chair. I learnt to Lean In. At the same time, I also learnt to find a balance through it all and ‘Lean Out’ when that is what I needed.
I also have had amazing coaches and mentors to guide me through my journey. I have been grateful to have them in my life.
It has been a wonderful journey so far, and the learnings at each step of the way, has guided & led to the creation of Prerana Sakhi Network. Through this platform we hope to keep inspiring through shared experiences & stories, create a sense of connectedness & belonging, and enable our community to feel empowered in what they do.
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None as such. All pictures taken during a Prerana Sakhi Network event by me and my team.
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