Soundarya Balasubramani is a two time author of Unshackled and Admitted, creator of unshackled.club, and the founder of The Curious Maverick, LLC. She is the recipient of the O-1A extraordinary visa along with 12+ awards, including the Emergent Ventures grant, Cargill Global Scholarship, and S.N. Bose Scholarship. Soundarya graduated from Columbia University in 2019 and worked at Salesforce as a Product Manager for 2.5 years before quitting to become a founder. She is an expert in the field of talent mobility.
“I remember glimpses from that phase in my life: playing hide-and-seek with my 3 friends in the neighbourhood; visiting the swimming pool once a month (which was a luxury back then!); spending my evenings finishing my homework as soon as I get back from school. I was a type A student. My dad prioritized my education over everything else, so becoming a top ranker was a goal that I pursued for a long time, until grad school. I was the top ranker in my high school (computer science dept) as well as at NIT Trichy (chemical engineering dept). In hindsight, a part of me wish I hadn’t pursued grades with so much devour. I wish I had learned for the sake of learning. Nevertheless, getting good grades opened many doors in my life, including getting me into Columbia University for grad school. That, and moving to America, changed my life,” she says.
“My best friend once told me, “I think your mission in life is to convert individual darkness into collective light.” That’s it. What I’ve done this a few times so far: with Admitted, I broke down the journey of getting into one’s dream university abroad based on my own experience. With Unshackled, we created the friendliest (and engaging) guide on high-skilled immigration, after I went through a complex process trying to get my O-1 visa. I hope to keep doing this through many more books, communities, and creations in the future. My hobbies have changed over the years. I’ve indulged in rock climbing, singing, playing the guitar, fusion dancing, playing badminton, and more,” she adds.
Read the full story that first appeared in Global Indian here:
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