Behind the Scenes of Moving to the United States for Graduate School with Trishala Pillai

StorytellingCreative EntrepreneurshipCareer
Written By Naomi Haile
 

Listen to the episode on Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts

Listen to the episode on Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts

Trishala Pillai (@_TrishalaPillai) is an Indian-Canadian, born & raised in the Middle East, and she currently lives in the US. Over the past 5+ years, she has contributed to building some of North America's avant-garde, leading social technology start-ups/scale-ups with her skills in new product development, research, business strategy & development.

Currently, she is a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering. She explores how to tackle society's most significant challenges through integrated product development at the Integrated Innovation Institute.

In her spare time, Trishala advises Greenhouse (University of Waterloo’s social innovation discovery lab) and participates in high-stake public discourse on topics at the intersection of technology, society & culture at global events. Most recently, she created, hosted and produced a soon-to-be-released talk show on immigrant entrepreneurs called Newcomer Rise Up.  


This episode is for you if:

  • You are curious about the process of studying in the United States as an international student

  • You want to explore life outside your current environment

  • You are drawn to experiences that grow you as a person

  • You want to learn about the 5 core aspects of studying abroad

Looking for something specific?

  • [6:00] Why Trishala decided to pursue graduate school at Carnegie Melon, especially now with 4-5 years of practical business and technology experience under her belt

  • [7:52] Thinking of yourself as a “student” or “learner” in all environments

  • [9:00] Factors that Trishala considered before deciding to apply to graduate school in the United States

  • [13:30] Using a weighted decision matrix for life decisions

  • [19:40] How to make difficult decisions when you know that they also open up doors for your growth

  • [20:40] The importance of having a support system and relationships with people that you can trust

  • [22:00] 5 core aspects of making a move for school: immigration, finances, health, employment, housing.

  • [34:36] Creating a home for yourself that you can come back to at the end of the day – Trishala’s considerations for this dimension varied from undergrad to grad school

  • [38:25] Using excel spreadsheets and notion templates to plan our move to the U.S. – specifically, to document important deadlines, follow-up reminders, and important tasks to complete.

  • [40:27] How much we pay in rent – Pittsburgh and New York City

  • [45:15] Case competitions and engaging your curiosity in a different environment

  • [47:00] Safety considerations while living in the United States and how Trishala navigated Pittsburgh

  • [48:17] Navigating the feeling of having to build from scratch in the United States

  • [52:00] Ask for help and internalize that you don’t have to go through life’s challenging moments on your own

  • [52:53] No one country is the be all and end all of anyone’s personal or professional life

**In other news, watch the official trailer for Newcomer Rise Up, a Limited Series from the Jugaad Community here.

We didn’t get the chance to talk about the work that Trishala is doing over at Jugaad, so check out their instagram page here. They are committed to connect and educate folks on how to do more with less.

Connect with Trishala

Connect with Naomi

 
Naomi Haile
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