With honor and gratitude, I am pleased to share memories of the 5 glorious years I had spent at St. Joseph’s University (Bengaluru) and how it shaped me through education, outreach, and values to set and achieve high goals, as the Jesuit philosophy goes, “magis” or “the more.”

It was in 2012 that I joined St. Joseph’s University (then St. Joseph’s Autonomous College), in the Humanities section for BA Economics, Political Science and Sociology. Each semester at Joseph’s helped me grow as a student and as a person. SJU has always had students from all parts of the country and even other countries who actively participated in all academic, sports as well as cultural events. This provided an inclusive environment and a space to know and understand the situations, cultures and perceptions of students and the conditions of their home state or country. SJU also had specially-abled students and I have had conversations with quite a few of them.

The professors at SJU have always been quite approachable and always ready to help students, not only in their academic progress but also in personal development. I’m glad to have had the guidance and mentoring of all the professors of humanities, even if I wasn’t in their class. I am glad that I was continuously mentored by Prof Clement D’Souza and Prof Jerome Nirmalraj who have shaped my moral and work ethics to a great extent. I am glad to have studied Sociology through classes by Prof Berin Lukas. Although I History was not a subject in my BA course, it was always a pleasure talking to Fr Clarence D’Souza who was also the Administrator back then. Prof Latha Radhakrishnan was another Professor I will remember for the clarity of her lectures. Prof Somaiah’s helped clarify political concepts and public administrative structures well. Prof Anuplal was also quite supportive even though I didn’t have Industrial Relations as a subject.

I was also quite fond of the English Department as I have a close connection to books and literature, although my professional interests have always leaned towards Economics. I truly enjoyed classes by Prof Etienne, Prof Jyotsna, Prof Namrata, and the conversations with Late Prof Padma. There were many other Professors in other departments like Prof Kiran Jeevan in Social Work, Prof Johnson Rajkumar and Renee D’Souza, Melvin Colaco, Prof Bojamma, Prof Beatrice Siqueira and others with whom I had the pleasure to talk to and even learn from.

I was a part of both academic and cultural associations at SJU. As Vice President of Social Zest, it was great to work with Prof Anita Noronha and Prof Maria David. I was also closely involved in the Political Science Association as a core committee member, under the guidance of Prof Jerome. I also had the pleasure of editing ‘Echoes,’ the annual publication by NETSF. I was also a part of the college choir and I made many friends from the Science section of SJU through the choir. I was a part of both CSA and AICUF, but for limited time. Apart from associations, I was also a student member of IQAC and a student editor of the College Yearbook. SJU’s fests were

always something to look forward to, like Visages, Exodus, and Footprints. It was a time to participate, perform, enjoy, compete, make friends, appreciate, and learn. The fests also gave me enough occasions to click photographs and it helped me improve my photography skills. As I was also a musician, I had many opportunities to perform in various events in college. Sports Day was fun too. I used to sketch portraits and one room in the Humanities Block was reserved for an art exhibition on Sports days. So, I had put up my sketches there.

The college (now University) also offered several opportunities to travel to different places in Karnataka for personal development as well as social outreach. I had gone to Mangalore through SJU to attend a ‘Soft Skills for Employability’ workshop and to Mysore to attend a Leadership camp. The venue for AICUF’s State meet was also in Mangalore back then and I had got an opportunity to be a part of it though the association. Our class had also gone to Yercaud in Tamil Nadu for a Sociology study trip related to social research and Raichur district for Bembala outreach. The Political Science Association, Spectrum, had arranged a visit to Navadarshanam, an Eco farm. The Economics forum had arranged a trip to Chennapatna toy factory and Heritage Winery, which I was a part of. SJC also offered many certificate courses. I had signed up for Legal Literacy and it has proved to be useful even today.

I ‘crossed the street’ to continue my education at St. Joseph’s University in MA Economics. Although it was an intense course, as students we had moments to have our share of fun and relaxation amidst our studies and academic discussions. I am truly grateful to the PG faculty during my days there, including Prof Subhashini, Prof Manojit, Prof Anirban, and others. I also had close friends in the Mass Communication and English Departments and talking to them was a good break from the regular lectures. Sometimes learning something different as a hobby is relaxing. So, when I spoke to friends from other departments, I did learn a thing or two from them about their area of expertise and that was not only helpful but a healthy diversion from the intensity of lectures. I also participated in an idea pitching competition at the Changemaker Week 2016 event organised by Ashoka India, a network of social entrepreneurs, bagging the First Prize.

While pursuing my master’s degree, I got an opportunity to intern at NIAS and then another opportunity to intern at IGIDR. I chose the latter eventually, which helped me in a great way. I gained practical experience to work with large datasets not only during the internship, but also while preparing my dissertation. After graduating from St Joseph’s College, this time for MA Economics, studied Data Science from International Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore via upGrad and started working as a data science consultant at Quantzig. The very next year, the COVID-19 pandemic had its first wave. I quit and went back to my home town, taking a break from my regular career and instead learning, teaching economics to school students and taking guitar lessons for children.

Soon the danger levels of the pandemic started to decrease and companies started to hire again. I applied and got into PricewaterhouseCoopers India as a Senior Analyst. I was in the Economics and Public Policy team of the Economic Advisory Services competency. I am grateful to St. Joseph’s College (now a University) for imbibing in me the values, ethics and giving me ample opportunities to learn and teaching me to always keep learning. The virtues of ‘faith and toil’ continue to guide me in my work as move from one ambition to the next.

Thank you, St. Joseph’s!