インド＃３：A Sequence of Accidents Made Me Go to India

こんにちは、きゃはりんです。米国大３年生です。

I can’t believe it’s almost three weeks to go to India! 

In this article I want to write about why I decided to go to India/Aravind Eye Care System (Aravind), and things that I am looking forward to doing over the summer.

For background, Aravind is an eye care system in South India (state of Tamil Nadu) that provides very affordable eye care for low-income to high-income population. 

Why Go to Aravind?

Every time I say “I’m going to south India this summer for an internship”, most people react by saying “Whaaat?” or “WHY?”. 

The only exceptions are my teammates my lab group and my family who simply said “oh that’s cool, enjoy” – and that’s why I love them.

So, why did I decide to go to Aravind?

For the first two years in college, I was thinking of pursuing a PhD. So, last summer (summer of  2023), I worked full-time on cell engineering research. 

Interestingly, when the summer ended, I was convinced that I am more interested in healthcare consulting or healthcare management rather than a PhD – I was strongly affected by my PhD student mentor, who just got a job as a consultant. 

I was at a loss what to do during the summer until I accidentally saw “internship in India” in an email in December, 2023. Somehow, it stuck with me, and when I was in Rome, Florence, and Naples for a vacation I kept thinking about it from time to time. 

On January 18th, 2024, I entered a building I have never entered before to visit the internship fair in India. Learning that I am a bioengineering major, people there recommended going to Aravind. After getting back to my dorm, I read blogs of past interns and a book “Infinite Vision” to learn more about Aravind. 

Realizing that Aravind would be a perfect place to work on healthcare management and potentially biotechnology, I submitted the application. And here I am, ready to go to Aravind in three weeks.

To sum, I really think it was a sequence of accidents that brought me here. If my PhD mentor was not a consultant, and if I was not reading carefully enough that one email, I would not have gotten this internship opportunity. It kind of blows my mind.

Goals for the Summer

Since we’ll decide on which project to work on at Aravind, I cannot write my goals specific to my project. However, I have three major goals for the summer.

Goal #1 is to bring a meaningful impact to Aravind by applying engineering skills and mindsets that I have developed so far.

If what I have done so far was engineering in a controlled, protected environment, the summer at Aravind will be my first opportunity to exercise engineering in the real world. 

I believe that the core of engineering is to meet the unmet needs. I want to make sure to learn what people at Aravind think needs to be done, and contribute as much as I can. 

Goal #2 is to gain a better understanding about myself by living and working in a very different environment than I am used to.

Coming to the US as an international student, my biggest challenge was to build new relationships, learn how to present myself, and to figure out my role in a very different culture.

Although it was actually a huge struggle, in retrospect I’m glad that I went through it because I was constantly tested on what I truly prioritize, and got to know about myself better.

I am excited to interact with supervisors, local people, and fellow students from my college in yet another environment, struggle again, and be more conscious about myself.

Goal #3 is to explore architecture and nature in south India. 

Madurai, where I will be living for 10 weeks, is an old city with so many beautiful temples! I’ve got to explore them. Also, I am really hoping that I can do actual mountain climbing for the first time in three years (East coast is too flat)! 

Last but not least

I am thankful for everybody who made it possible for me to join the internship at Aravind this summer. Yes, Consulate General of India, I am thankful for you too, although some minor glitches on your website made my visa application process significantly harder than it was supposed to be.