Today we’d like to introduce you to Kruti Chaliawala.
Hi Kruti, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Rudra Recommends is a joint venture by me and my husband (Deependra Dehariya).
I came to the US in 2010 when I was only 18 years old. Never traveled anywhere or sat in a plane. I am from a western state in India where it was a big deal for an only female child to travel to an unknown country by herself and achieve something. At that time, I aimed to finish my dual bachelor’s and get a job in a government agency and make my father proud…….. Fast forward to 2021; I am still getting the education as a doctoral student. I haven’t been able to reach the goal of settling in the US, and now, I could never make my father proud because he passed away in 2020 amidst all the chaos, and I did not get to see him one last time or be part of any rituals. So now you might be wondering what I have been doing for the past ten years. How is it possible that I am not yet settled or have made a living for myself?
These are the things I did to make my place in the US:
– Earned 2 Bachelors – Forensic Science and Criminal Justice. After graduation tried to find a job in a government agency, but the administration was not hiring any international students and hence, had to skip Plan B of continuing education in psychology.
– Earned MA in Forensic Psychology. Landed a teaching job. Fell in love with the teaching job and thought that life is settled. But, the government administration decided not to provide an extension for the EAD (Employment Authorization Document) and had to leave the country.
– I came back in 2019 with my husband to do MSc in Health Promotion Sciences while being an adjunct faculty.
– I finished my MSc (Honors) May 2021 and started my Ph.D. in Health Education in August 2021.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road is never smooth. We believe that whether you are a citizen of the US or an international student, one has to go through efforts to reach your goal. Each journey is unique and the rocky roads are the ones that will make us persistent towards our goal.
As we are an international students we have faced many challenges such as:
– Lack of trust from people because of the accent or the appearance
– Some people are confused why we are still staying in the US when our life could be way easier back home in India.
– We both are the only child of our parents so there are familial pressures and expectations.
– Last but not the least, finances are always an issue because international student fees are way higher than domestic students.
But we are who we are and believe that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.
This is just the beginning of the journey. (Didn’t want to make it sound cheesy) 🙂
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
While Deependra Dehariya is the business analyst, data analyst, grant writer, researcher, historian and a tech enthusiast in the consulting firm, Kruti Chaliawala is the quantitative analyst, data entry, data coding, SPSS analyst, researcher, APA writer, research paper writer and statistician at Rudra Recommends. We are currently online providers without brick and mortar but, hope to open up a physical location soon with the help and support from the people.
We both are international students so we understand diversity, inclusion and culture. Kruti was a sexual health ambassador and she brings the LGBTQ+ inclusion into our firm. We are well versed in the areas we provide help with and being present with the current trends of the world, we understand technology, people and their needs better than other firms that might provide the same services.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Every Sunday, I used to play cricket with my father and then he would take me to the candy shop where I can choose as many candies as I want but, I can eat candies only on Sunday. Sunday was the day I always looked forward to.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@rudracommends.com
- Website: www.rudracommends.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/rudra_recommends?utm_medium=copy_link
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100073621610496
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rudra-recommends-cincinnati
