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16 years ago, I witnessed my Bengali parents lose hope due to my father’s illness. He was diagnosed with Idiopathic Torsion Dystonia. Due to his sickness, my father was forced to move to the United States and leaving his family because the United States is one of the only countries with the treatment for his sickness. Then five years later my father had a stroke and spent weeks going from hospital to hospital to receive care. That was the first time in my life I saw my mother cry and it was a devastating moment for me; I was unable to help my father because he was 8000 miles away. However, in 2010 everything changed because I was finally moving to the United States. I would be reunited with my father after seven years. But after first seeing him, I was shocked because he wasn’t the person I knew. He told me it broke his heart that he can’t work and support his family. He didn’t know who he was because caring for us — his wife, and his 2 children — was his intrinsic purpose in life. That year I learned the value of purpose.
We’ve often seen people attach a job to a sense of purpose. However, a job will not give you purpose nor it will define your purpose. I believe that purpose is something that you find naturally and will be the absolute driving force behind effort, passion, and happiness. Unfortunately, in losing your sense of purpose, as my father did, you can lose your sense of self. I’d like to quickly share what I believe is my purpose, as I will soon join a cohort of individuals participating in the Adecco CEO for One Month Bootcamp. My purpose is three-pronged, I want to empower youth for the future of work, build communities, and always, always, always grow.
Empowering Youth for the Future of Work
I emigrated to a low-income community in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn where graduating from high school was a challenge and going to college was a privilege. I saw many of the friends’ drop out of high school and take the wrong path. I consider myself blessed because I had an encouraging family and friends who were always supporting me and inspiring me to do my best. However, as an immigrant who lived in Bed-Stuy, I didn’t have opportunities like those in more privileged communities. In my neighborhood, opportunities were made, not found. Seeing the constant struggle my peers, and the challenges they tried to overcome created a fire within me to bring opportunities and resources to underprivileged youth. Especially with the job market to become more challenging to navigate, I believe we need to give the inhabitants of low-income communities a greater chance to survive. Moreso, it is imperative to include individuals from underserved backgrounds in the Future of Work: a cross-culture, multigenerational, diverse, and inclusive system for all.
Through my past work, I have served over 1000 students teaching 21st-century skills and mentoring them. Through the impact those students have created, I realized the significance of building relationships with young members of society and to encourage them to do great things. It’s critical that our youth cultivate a growth mindset, are continuous learners and become intentional about their career paths.
Building Communities
It’s not about me.
It’s not about you.
It’s about them.
It’s about us.
It’s about we.
I have always been passionate about building communities. I have a love and a knack for bringing people together and fostering connections and shared interests. Building a robust community helps us flourish and through the experience, we thrive to better ourselves. In this technological world, being empathetic, showing compassion and love will be the most important skill and through a community, we can experience it all. When I see people sharing information, knowledge, and values with each other it’s just an amazing feeling. Communities have truly had a huge impact on my life.
I’ve failed more times than I can count, disappointed more people than I could imagine, and have been in some really difficult situations throughout my life and that led me to turn to my community. Friends and strangers would help me find my way and provide judgment-free guidance and encouragement. Whenever I see a lack of community, I use to opportunity to build one and bring compatible and like-minded people together. I have fostered many communities on my university campus and outside the campus. I always knew that I can go to them for support, especially when my own family was struggling with its own battles. These communities drove me helped me define my purpose and I will always strive to be a community builder who brings people together to build a great bond.
Constant Growth
Building a learning mindset can be an invaluable skill. I believe it’s one of the most important skills to have. I always look for ways to find growth, and how I can build myself personally and professionally. I believe learning creates experiences and those experiences create impact.
Knowing that I’m growing myself every day keeps me going. It’s really exciting to me that whenever I meet new people or start a new job, there are always things I can learn and better my skills. I’ve taken many L’s (losses), cried countless times, felt lonely, depressed, and defeated. However, I used all these moments and turned them into a learning opportunity. My eagerness to learn helps me follow my passion and guides me to complete my purpose.
I’m excited to be part of The Adecco Group CEO of the month boot camp program. Following my purpose has led me to this point, and I hope to continue the pursuit through the program and beyond. I’m thrilled to be part of this extraordinary adventure enabled by extraordinary people.
Thank you for reading what I had to say. I’d love to hear your purpose!
