Home: Sindhupalchowk, Kathmandu, Bagmati

Education: Bachelor of Business Administration, Southeast Missouri State University, United States of America

As is the trend in Nepal, I went to the US for higher studies in 2012. I was fascinated and overwhelmed by the country’s infrastructure and easily accessible basic necessities. Initially, I wanted to live their permanently. However, this changed two years later, when I participated in a cultural exchange program in Asia. The students from other countries had so many positive things to share about their home country. As for me, I sat there listening and knowing nothing positive about my country to share. Maybe, most of my schooling was done outside Nepal due to which I did not know enough about the country. But the only things, I knew for sure about Nepal was that it is a poor country with poor infrastructure, a huge gap between the poor and rich, high illiteracy rate and brain drain. These things I couldn’t share, I felt embarrassed! When I returned to Nepal, I did an internship and worked for a private company. I was doing alright, but I did not enjoy it and neither did I feel my work served a specific purpose for the country. I thought to myself, “What is the purpose of my experiences studying abroad?” I remembered how I felt, during the cultural exchange program in Asia, embarrassed! I had two possible paths: • Continue to feel embarrassed and blame the country or, • Do something about it. I decided to apply for Teach for Nepal. I chose to do something about it.