It was not just another day!

Have you ever felt like a victim of circumstance?

When I was in the 10th grade, like every other day, I woke up in the morning thinking about my model examination, which I was supposed to appear for, but what I didn't know was that it was not just another regular day.

My father was our family's sole breadwinner. He ran a small grocery shop in our village in Nagercoil. That day he got ill, and my mother took him to the hospital nearby. Thus, instead of my father, I opened the shop and started doing regular work there, hoping that my parents would come early so that I could attend my model exam. But I got a call from my mother. I could sense that she was a little nervous, but she presented herself strong and said, "Raja, your father has been hospitalized; please take care of the shop". Without any support system, I woke up early, went to the market, purchased the goods, sold them, and repeated the same every day after that. My teacher realized that I was not attending the model exams. She contacted my family and spoke to my mother about the upcoming board exam. They decided that I'd be at the shop in the forenoon and school in the afternoon. The teachers showed their kindness by mentoring me one-to-one for the board exams. They conducted the model exams for me alone, evaluated and shared the feedback. This completely changed my life. Being an above-average student in my class, I scored the first mark in school on the board exam. My total score was 470/500. I secured a district-level first mark in Tamil Language and lost 20 marks in another language. By now, you might have guessed which language it was. Yes, English. Since then, I have had a complicated relationship with English.

Education is the key to empowerment

After my schooling, I pursued Engineering and chose the Electrical department where my school senior was studying. With his support I studied hard and passed with distinction. A few of my friends and I decided to work only in electrical core industry rather than IT due to the fear of communication. I was lucky enough to get a job at a thermal power plant in Tuticorin. However, the project was delayed, and I never heard back from them.

In the meantime to support my family, I had short stint as a Lecturer at an institution in my hometown. I found great satisfaction in sharing my knowledge and making a small difference in the lives of others.

During that time, a mentor from my village advised me to go to the city to pursue my career. I was confused between Chennai and Bangalore. I chose Bangalore to improve my communication due to local language barrier. He referred me to the interview.My friend accompanied me to an interview, not for any technical assistance, just to introduce me to the receptionist. The interviewer noticed my nervousness and started the conversation in my native tongue. I cleared the interview and joined the company. My role was as a field engineer in a non-IT field. But my roommates who worked in IT were kind enough to train me in IT. They provided me with every opportunity to get prepared. Then, after one year, I started my career as a Networking Engineer in an IT firm, Capgemini.

Life is full of unexpected opportunities

I worked hard after getting the opportunity in IT field and completed my Master’s in Software Engineering. My hard work paid off when Cisco hired me. Getting a job at Cisco is a dream for many network engineers. At Cisco, I took advantage of every opportunity that came my way. I worked in various roles, travelled to different cities, and became a master of my craft.

My experiences at Cisco have prepared me well for my current role as Solution Architect at Google and I am doing my second Masters in AI/ML.

Making it possible for others to succeed

However, I am more passionate about what I do for others. In the past few years, I have given speeches at schools, colleges, NGOs, community events, workshops and conferences across South India. I have also been a mentor to job seekers, sharing my knowledge and experience to help them and I am committed to continuing this work. So far, I have delivered more than 30 sessions. I have recently started developing my public speaking skills to reach a larger audience and bring in opportunities.

It was not just another day; if my government school teacher, friends, or my first interviewer did not show their acts of kindness and had not opened the opportunities for me, I would have gotten stuck. I strongly believe that everyone deserves opportunities, and it is our responsibility to help them achieve their goals.

I am tagging a few people who made my journey more inspiring and provided me with opportunities. Remember, life will provide us umpteen opportunities, but it is in our hands to make use of that.

Babu K.Y. Vinayagam N Jeyavelu (JP) Arumugam Pillai K.G.Prathish Balaji Madhavan S K NAGARAJAN M Dr.Balasubramaniam S Kumar Thenkarai Maharaja Pillai ???? vinoth kumar Esackimuthu Paramasivam

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