I’m an echo. Grandmother, Mother, Me. My echo lost power as it traveled with me from Kolkata, India – to North America – before the age of 2 years old. Growing up in Canada with immigrant parents, I felt what so many first generation kids did who grow up in the west, “I don’t fit anywhere,” and I didn’t. I wasn’t Indian enough and I wasn’t Western enough. I’d lost my community. I continued to feel lost through our move to Minnesota as a teen, and into adulthood.  Then I met my chosen family at a work picnic in 2021 and my echo became a chorus. I found my community.

My organization encourages us to join a Business Resource Group (BRG) to find affinity. I did and I’ve been working to build the Asian and Pacific Islander community through my work as an AaPI BRG leader ever since. I joined the Minnesota AaPI BRG team and I began to tell our stories through internal social media. I wanted more people to feel included, so I applied to the MOVEE program at CAAL so I could learn how to advocate for social justice. There I learned how I could build community with the power of an organization behind me.

I’m not an echo; I’m part of a harmony of Asian American activists who insist the needs of our community are heard by people in power. I didn’t have to worry about how “Indian” I was anymore. I’m Asian American and I’m Indian American. I write and rewrite my identity as I tell my story and encourage others to tell theirs. I share my passion for community development unapologetically in personal and professional spaces. We have a lot of work to do and I’ve learned that we don’t do it alone. We sing together.