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Uh, today is July 18th, 2019. Uh, we are here with the Houston Asian American Archive interviewing Roopa Gir. My name is Christina Lee—

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—and I'm Angela Hui. Hello. Um, okay, so the first question is where and when were you born? So, I was born in a small town, uh, called Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh in India, and that was in

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September 1951. So, how would you describe your childhood and your upbringing? Well, uh, so I studied in a Hindi medium school. So, I was born into a Tamil household.

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That-that's the mother tongue spoken, you know, by both parents, and, um, uh, but the state in which I live, the, the language is Hindi. So, I went to Hindi medium school.

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And, uh, I would say the greatest influence I had, uh, was, uh, my parents. There was so much focus on education and the arts. So at a very young age, um, you know,

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I learned to play some instruments, learned to dance, and-and that's part of the culture of South Indians, that in every household, you know, you must have your daughter and son both learn, you know, some form of art.

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What kind of dance and what instruments did you learn to play? So I learned, uh, Bharatanatyam, uh, which is a classical form of dancing. Uh, and I started

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at the age of eight. Um, and then, uh, the instrument was actually a little too big for my hands. I was too tiny fo-for the instrument. It's, uh, called Mridangam, which is kind of the drums, the

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Indian drum that is played for the Bharatanatyam dance. And you mentioned South Indian culture. Is there a big difference between South Indian and North Indian culture? Quite a bit because, uh,

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South was, um, you know, um, it's completely different. Like in a marriage, uh, in the North, uh, the bride covers her head, right?

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And, and the weddings are typically held in the evenings or nighttime, and in the South, on the contrary, weddings are held in the morning, and the, the bride doesn't cover a

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head and it's actually adorned with flowers and jewelry and all that. And in the South, the head is covered only if your husband is not there anymore, if you're a widow.

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It's exactly the opposite, so it's very different. And reason why this, uh, I believe this change has come is, uh, because of the influence of the North, the Mughals that came into India, I think, uh, this whole culture of trying

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to get the girls married off at nighttime and covering the head, protecting the girls and women against the men. So… What does your parents do for a living? So, uh, what did they do at the time?

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Because I have, uh, uh, my father passed away and my mother's still there. She's, uh, going to be, uh, 99 years old very soon. And, uh, their life was very interesting. I was telling you about the influence of their life.

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Uh, my father was, you know, he lost his father when he was very young, uh, few years old and he lost his father. And, uh, he always believed that women should be educated because he saw his

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sisters and his mother as a widow suffer, um, and be considered a second cla—second class citizen. So, he truly believed in education. He got married to my mom when she was barely 16-year-old.

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And, uh, so she was still in a high school and, um, he insisted that she should go back to school and, uh, continue her studies. And the culture in those days was the women typically did not

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pursue studies, you know, at least higher studies of any kind. So, but he said his wife has to be educated, uh, because, uh, they’re a team and if anything were to happen to him, his wife would be able to,

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you know, take care of the family. So even though his mother said she will jump in the river, you know, and commit suicide or whatever, uh, there's a river in South India called Kaveri and she threatened

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my dad saying, I'm going to jump in the river Kaveri. And, uh, he said, “You know, mom, I love you very much, but, you know, my wife has to get educated.” So, it's absolutely fascinating.

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She had four daughters… and with each daughter she stayed home for about three years and then went back to school. So, she finished double masters. Yeah. And she's an educator.

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So, my dad's a scientist and, uh, you know, he was chief scientist for the government of India. He was that role. And my mom was an educator. And was it very unorthodox at the time for women to be educated like that?

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Very unorthodox. And, and she was kind of very much, uh, you know, both my mom and dad were, uh, you know, way ahead in their time because my mother loved, uh, you know,

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ballroom dancing. She loved the Waltz and the Tango and, you know, and she learned to dance and, you know, so, and my father encouraged – gave full encouragement. And she herself got scholarship and, uh, left, uh, you know, the kids

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at home and went on her own to UK, you know, to Leeds University and specialized in phonetics. So she got a scholarship from the British government. So, it's very unorthodox.

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Typically, you know, women don't do that. And that's in the generation that is… But my, but my mom's… yeah. Besides, um, a respect for education, what other values did your parents instill in you and

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your siblings? So that's very interesting. My dad initially was an atheist, um, but I think he came to believe there is some power.

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And we do not know what form, what the power is. And, uh, he truly believed in the goodness of humanity. That you have to do good, uh, to others

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and, uh, and respect others, and have the integrity and honesty. I believe that was the main, main, main education to us of the value system that was brought.

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So, we had folks who were working in our home, uh, but they were given a lot of respect and if I had any kind of argument with them, uh, it was always that they were right, and I was wrong.

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And so, they got the support and he made it very clear that they work hard for a living. And, uh, so I need to respect that because I was just, you know, um, using the resources at home, you

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know, that my father provided, but I wasn't earning for it myself, but these people were earning, so we needed to respect that. Yeah. Um, and you have a few siblings. What are their names and what was your, or what is your

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relationship with them like? So, I have three sisters and, uh, like I said, my dad's a feminist and always believed that, uh, you know, women should get educated and so on. So, the culture at home was that, uh, uh,

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you’re going to get educated, you're going to get a job, get settled uh financially, and then you'll decide who you want to get married to. That's also very different from a typical family back then

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in India. That was not the case. And that's what they believe in. So, um, they, so because of that, all three women are, the siblings are very high achievers.

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My eldest sister became the first woman CEO in India. Her name is Reena, Dr. Reena Ramachandran, very first, you know, CMD

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of, uh, of a company. And then my second sister, uh, her name is Julie Sahni and she's in New York and she studied, you know, Town Planning and Architecture in

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Columbia. Uh, but food was her passion, always. And so, she decided to go into the food world and used to write for New York Times, you know, food critic, was writing for Bon Appetit,

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Gourmet, is a chef and a cookbook author, and kind of a celebrity. And my youngest sister, she's uh, uh, what do you call it? A medical doctor, and she's in Denver.

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So, I mean three of us are here. We have one sister in India who, you know, takes care of my mother from time to time she visits her. So… For our transcript can you

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spell their names just so we have the spelling correct? Um, so your eldest sister, can you spell her name? Right now? Oh, so it's, uh, Reena, R-E-E-N-A, and it's Ramachandran, so it's R-A-M-A-C-

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H-A-N-D-R-A-N. And then your second sister? Uh, the one immediately next to me – I'm the third in line. Uh, she's Julie, uh, and the last

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name is S-A-H-N-I, Sahni. And the youngest is Chitra, uh, C-H-I-T-R-A, and, uh, Gopalen, G- O-P-A-L-E-N. Thank you.

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Uh, next, what was your favorite subject in school growing up? So, I loved, uh, when I was in high school, I just loved geography, so anything to do with Earth. And that was because the teacher inspired me. Uh, and in that time when I was graduating

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from high school, um, uh, physics was the top choice, you know, in college. And I had the grades to get into physics, physics honors, and my—since my dad was a scientist and very

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knowledgeable, uh, you know, generally about subjects – and I'm very lucky to have that kind of guidance – so, he told me that, um, why don't you do physics honors, and if you really want to do geology then go ahead and do geophysics later on.

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So that's how I ended up with geophysics. Um, so at what age, um, did you decide that you wanted to study internationally? In-in other countries? So, I was, at the time, this was, uh,

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I was in my twenties, and I just finished my Master's in geophysics at the, at the IIT Roorkee, and, um, and then there was this opportunity to, uh, apply, uh, to the French government for a scholarship – because we come from a

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middle class family so we couldn't afford to, you know, uh, pay for studies overseas. So, uh, I applied for this, um, scholarship and I got it and I went to France for

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my, uh, PhD. And what was it like being a woman in STEM in the 1970s? Well, first of all, just admission into geophysics was quite a challenge, uh, because, uh,

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there was no, no woman or lady at that time – and I'm talking 19 uh, 70 – there was no one, uh, in the entire university in geology or geophysics. And the reason was that these subjects required

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field trips. And if you're the only girl that all male professors and male students and you go on a field trip to go different mines or whatever, you stay in smaller towns and you'd have one large

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room with your backpacks, that's where you are sleeping. So, what do you do if there's this one girl amongst all these boys and men? So, the, uh, the university had a policy that they would not

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have girls or women at all. And so, when I applied, I had to actually fight for it and my father supported me. And then that's when they made the first exception to the rule, and, uh, and they

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have one of the professor’s wives then come along as a, as a chaperone on those trips. So that was a challenge. I mean, just right from the beginning to get into college. That was one thing. And then of course, uh, when I joined, uh, later on at

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work, it was the same thing. The oil and gas field is primarily – an-and those types – is primarily male dominated. So, when you were at IIT Roorkee, uh, how, how long were you the only female student?

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Um, for, for two years. That's it. And after that, now it's there, it's opened the doors to so many women. Yeah. And— —The way, actually the very next year, someone, you know, applied, there was

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another one girl. But now of course, there are many, many more women students. Um, what was your experience like when you were the only female student for two years? Um, I just, I totally enjoyed it. It was, uh, I was, uh, there were very few women

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overall in the university at the time because it was primarily an engineering school. I don't know whether you've heard of Roorkee. It’s, uh, uh, one of the oldest engineering schools in Asia at the time.

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It was set up by the Brits almost 200 years ago. And, uh, so it was primarily engineering, primarily male, and we had one, one girl's hostel and, uh, concentration, but we could bond with other

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students, other girls. And that was really nice because there were few. Did you feel like your school was overall supportive towards promoting women in

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education? I don't know whether they even thought about it at the time, whether they were actively promoted. I don't think those – we’re talking seventies – I think there was no such thought at the time. Um,

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yeah. And you mentioned kind of having the opportunity to bond with your female peers. Are you, by any chance still in touch with them? Oh yes, very much so. Very much so. Yes.

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Um so how about getting your PhD in France? What was that like for you? Oh, that was absolutely the most amazing, uh, experience because, uh, um, I did my PhD at,

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you know, University of Louis Pasteur and and um, uh, you know, I don't know how much you know about the Alsace area. It was in Strasbourg and there are such, the three such institutes

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in, uh, in France. One is in Paris, one is in Strasbourg, the other one is in Gardouch, and they all kind of link together, and, um, uh, and Alsace is wine country.

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I got to discover, uh, amazing wine from the Black Forest area and, uh, just friends that I made for life. It was a wonderful experience, yes.

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The challenge there was that, um, finally when I had to defend my thesis, I had to defend it in French. So that was quite a challenge, but, you know, I did it.

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Did you learn French before you moved to France or did you kind of pick it up while you were there mostly? So, that's a great question. So, I, uh, I did study French at the Alliance

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Francaise, uh, for many years when I was in Delhi. And that's because I, I just love the language and that's how I was, you know, drawn towards applying for a scholarship to go to France.

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Uh, so I knew reading, I could write, uh, but I couldn't speak a word. That's how typically it is unless you're there in the country yourself. So that's, so, but when I arrived there, I knew all

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the grammar and so on, but I could not speak and that, uh, just to stay there, then, uh, allowed me to become fluent in French. Um, so you already knew Tamil, and Hindi, and you learned French.

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What other languages do you know and how did you pick them up? So, I, after, um, my PhD, you know, I came to the US, uh, after that, uh, to, uh,

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to Columbia, South Carolina for some postdoc work. And, uh, but I wasn't there too long, and I got this opportunity to work for Schlumberger in Houston and I chose that simply because every month I would be traveling to Paris, you know, for liaison

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work. So, I was, um, uh, what do you call, I just jumped upon the, you know, the opportunity of working at – now your question was regarding the languages.

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So, I worked in, um, they call it interpretation engineering, uh, in Houston for about three years or so. And then I got transferred overseas to Singapore and I, uh, you know, lived in Singapore

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and I lived in Malaysia, so I picked up Bahasa. Malaysia, then I went to – because I lived for six years there – and then I worked in Indonesia for nine years, so, I picked up Bahasa Indonesia.

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And then I worked in Thailand some time, so I picked up a little bit of Thai. So, I speak, uh, Bahasa Indonesia to some extent. So that's the other language in addition to the French, I picked up, yeah.

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Before we move on, um, what did you complete your thesis on? So, it's in, uh, it's seismology, it's applied seismology. And the idea is that, um, when you, uh, when you have earthquakes, and, you know, you know, Japan and all that

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area, the Island Arc, you have a lot of earthquakes. So, the acoustic waves, uh, travel through the earth and they

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go to Tibet, right, underneath, and then they bounce and they come back, come back down again. I mean, it's like, you know, they reverberate, and the instruments are recording these earthquakes

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in, uh, Europe. So, I analyze that data to find out what's going on underneath Tibet from those waves. So it was called spectral analysis of, you know, the, um, seismic data. And was it difficult to get visas to travel to all of

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these different countries, um, for your education and then for Schlumberger? So, the only visa was, uh, for, um, what do you call – France, and then to, uh, uh, you know,

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to the US, but after that, it was always the company that was taking care of visas. Uh, certainly holding an Indian passport makes it a lot more difficult to get visas. Um, and you know, there's a

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certain approval time that it takes, but, um, I didn't have to worry about it because it was taken care of by the company. And what are your everyday responsibilities at Schlumberger?

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Um, you know, I-I've spent almost 30 years in the company, so I have gone through many different kinds of jobs and obviously with every job the responsibilities are, are different. So, my

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initial part when I started out with them, I was writing interpretation software for their down-hole tools and measurements that they make in a well. And since like I said, my PhD was on

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seismology, seismic waves, so I started off in that acoustic wave. So acoustic tools and vertical seismic profiling and writing interpretation software for the measurements that are going to be

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made. Just to give you an example that, uh, uh, in the vertical seismic profiling, you make a big bang on the surface. So, either through a dynamite or you could vibrate the soil and then the

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waves are sent down and then they get reflected at different layers of the Earth, uh, depending on, you know, the changes of density that you have, different rock, and then came back, come back up, and then you're recording it in a well. So, you're putting geophones in a well and you're

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recording these. And with this you can actually find out as you're drilling that what is happening ahead, ahead of the bit, ahead of the drilling bit. So, are you going to encounter over pressured

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zone? Uh, is there a possibility of gas down there? So, that was one of the things that I do. Yeah. But it was many, many, you know, with, uh, with Schlumberger, uh you know, it's an amazing

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company to give you opportunity, um, to-to grow and develop. And uh, particularly I think it's one of, one of the best companies to work for if you're a woman because, uh, I think they value

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what women bring to the, to the table. So, I had the opportunity to represent uh Schlumberger and we had a meeting, uh, uh, organized with the focal point of Women – for Women – at the

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UN in New York. And they had women from all over the world who came in. And the whole idea was to get the member states to, uh, uh, endorse that, how important hiring of women was.

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What are the practices – best practices, so on. One is hiring, the second is retaining because the problem always happens that, you know, either when they get pregnant or when they are older,

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they have older parents, that's the time they had the maximum stress on the – in their life. And uh, but the whole idea behind this was to show that it's worth it because they bring so much

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value to a company in terms of negotiation – negotiating skills, in terms of, um, loyalty and they are not that concerned about money and compensation. I think they want, they want more, uh,

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position, respect, value and to be valued. You mentioned that the oil and gas industry was very male dominated when you first joined. What was that experience like and did you ever feel that you faced any particular difficulties because of your gender or because you were, um, originally

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from India? I did. I did have, uh, difficulties. Um, um, and that would, that would, uh, happen, um, I guess, uh, it's not necessarily Schlumberger, it's just general oil

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field because there are very few women. And so, I came across some, um, folks who believed women should be only in research or at home and not in operations.

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So, when I moved overseas to these various positions, uh, it was in operations and, uh, and again, it's so good when you have a mentor in the company, uh, who looks out for you.

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And this particular mentor – I was very young. I had just transferred from engineering in Houston to overseas and he believed that I would succeed.

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He had faith in me. So, he said, you know, I will cover the salary in this particular division, uh, and for one year. And, uh, I want you to see how this pans out.

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And then, uh, you know, after a year, the division manager became my greatest supporter. So, but you have to work almost twice as hard to-to prove, uh, but, you know,

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uh, I believe that, uh, women really do bring value. In terms of, um, the upper levels and upper positions of the company, do you think that there are more Indian Americans or women or people of minority

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populations, do you think they're more represented in higher positions now than before? No, I think there's a lot that remains to be done. It is more than before, but I think it's, uh,

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truly, I think there are some Scandinavian countries that are very advanced and they brought a lot of women to the board level positions and in high levels of management, but the rest of the world really has to catch up. Um, and you have

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one child, correct? Yes, I do. Um, what was it like when, um, what was it like balancing motherhood with your career? So that's, uh, uh, that's a tough, uh, question,

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um, in the sense that, uh, a tough phase to go through when you have a child and you are, if you're very committed, dedicated to work the way I was because I worked on a every weekend and, uh, you know, uh, after work stayed late

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because I did not distinguish between my personal life and work at all. It was – my work was my life. And, uh, so when my son was born, um, I used to travel a lot because I was traveling to all

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the different countries and then I would, um, um, come back with a gift each time, you know, to make him – he was a little baby – and to make him happy. But then I realized very quickly that,

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uh, uh, we were actually, uh, kind of growing apart in the sense that, uh, he, uh, my son would look out for me for the gift, but then that connection wasn't there. And, uh, and then I had gone

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to one of the parent teacher meeting and they had written down in his broken English that, uh, I'm missing my mom and she's gone to Balikpapan or whenever I was different places. And so, um, I then made a very conscious decision that, um,

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I would not go into line management, but I'd rather go into the technical, there was a technical ladder within the company where you could achieve the same level as line management, um, but, uh, you don't have the same kinds of

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pressures in-in tech position. So that's what I decided to do and, uh, I got involved with Boy Scouts. I became a scout mom and I did all that until one day he told me, mom, it's okay. You don't have to kill yourself .

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You know, um, it's okay, you've done enough. So, but that's the kind of balance because you want to be there for, you know, it's extremely important because those, those years, those early years for a child are critical,

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uh, but I do believe it's very important for women to work. And I think when you work, you could really spend that quality time with them. So what inspired you to create iEducate USA?

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So, uh, what happened was, uh, first of all I must tell you about my, uh, just generally interest in education. So, even when I was in middle school, um, and I was studying

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in a convent, we had, uh, slums right behind the school. And, um, so I then started teaching English, and, uh, would give uh, what do you call, uh, cookies and milk? To encourage the kids to come.

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So I really enjoyed teaching. That was something very important. And when I was working here, we had an organization called the IIT Alumni Greater Houston, it’s a strong group

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in Houston area. And, uh, there were a group of us who would go and volunteer, uh, time, at, uh, Lee High School-- it’s now called the Wisdom School, but it was the Lee High School.

00:30:28.050 - 00:30:44.390

And, uh. And it was on Saturdays, and it was Saturday mornings, I believe, and I just felt that it was way too late to do it in the sense, in terms of the age, a high-school

00:30:44.830 - 00:31:02.520

level. It was after school, where they’re totally tuned off, and then it was taught by grown-ups like us, professionals, so there was no consistency, and, um, what do you call, um, it

00:31:03.110 - 00:31:19.490

was volunteer. So when I was volunteering, you really don’t get same kind of results because you don’t have accountability. And if I go away on a business trip then there’s a gap, right? In that. So then we decided, “Okay, it’s too late, let’s try

00:31:20.020 - 00:31:31.750

middle school.” So we went to Jackson Middle School. It was just a shade better, I mean, we can almost pat ourselves on the back that we did great, but I know the impact really wasn’t there. So

00:31:31.750 - 00:31:50.920

then, uh, some decisions were made that, number one, we will have younger people, not old professionals, we will pay them, uh, so that there’s accountability, and we will go to elementary

00:31:50.920 - 00:32:04.970

school, because that is the foundation. So by the time, you know, by third, fourth grade, kids already have decided whether they love math or they hate math. They hate science or love science.

00:32:05.750 - 00:32:22.920

That’s the age when they actually, you know, have their mindsets, uh, set. So, um, it’s important to have s—mentors, especially from engineering schools and uh, sciences to be there

00:32:23.060 - 00:32:38.030

in the classroom so these are young students who are still studying, who are there as mentors and role models to, you know, uh, teach/co-teach these elementary school kids. And the money that

00:32:38.030 - 00:32:51.830

they get helps them pay for their own tuition. And these college students come from very similar backgrounds, so they are able to relate to the kids. And so that’s how this whole iEducate

00:32:52.090 - 00:33:08.610

program started, with one school, and we saw incredible results – we saw how the general passing level increased, so the school where we started, it was a hundred percent two years in a row. And the kids, uh, this is fifth grade math, and then,

00:33:09.710 - 00:33:24.860

um, the other thing was that they, um, uh, what you call, the advanced level, uh, went to almost half, forty-eight percent of the kids, were graduating with A’s in fifth grade.

00:33:26.090 - 00:33:39.760

But as we moved on to other schools, we gathered more data, we discovered within the first two years, that reading was critical. So earlier on our focus was just math and science, and we were starting in fifth grade.

00:33:39.760 - 00:33:55.640

then adding fourth grade, then adding third grade. So now we believe very strongly that reading is critical to the success of, uh, the child’s future. So by third grade, if they’re not

00:33:55.640 - 00:34:14.610

able to read, then they have four times more likelihood of not graduating. And if they do not graduate, then, you know, from high school, then they’re three times more likely to be in prisons, to be incarcerated.

00:34:15.810 - 00:34:32.000

So it is so critical, reading is so important, and to provide basic equity, uh, you know, especially for the underserved, reading is critical at third grade.

00:34:32.180 - 00:34:48.470

And then of course you add, you know, science and math, is added on at later grades. So now we’re going even lower and lower, we’re also piloting second grade, and over the summer we partnered with Texas A&M, uh, University, to bring this, uh, summer

00:34:48.470 - 00:35:06.940

program all across Texas, where we’re dealing with first graders and second graders. So you mentioned that the, um, mentors are college students with similar backgrounds? Can you elaborate on the similar backgrounds part? What I mean is, uh, like, um,

00:35:07.140 - 00:35:18.910

if you look at the population, for instance, let’s take one school district like HISD. It’s one of the largest school districts in the country. So the composition of HISD, 62% Hispanic, and

00:35:20.440 - 00:35:32.960

about 25% African-American, right. And the rest is— so that’s already 87%, and the rest is the other groups. So we hire accordingly.

00:35:33.600 - 00:35:44.480

If you look at the composition in the colleges, it’s very similar. You have many Hispanics, you have African Americans, and so I’m talking among all the public colleges. So those are the kind of students

00:35:44.480 - 00:36:02.970

they are – they have struggled, they have made it, now they are in college, and they are fantastic role models for these elementary school kids, so… Um and so how do you go about the process of kind of advertising or recruiting college

00:36:03.050 - 00:36:17.670

students for iEducate and then training them later on as well? So you know the program has evolved over, over the years since we have learned from it, they’ve evolved. So what, uh, what

00:36:18.050 - 00:36:32.750

we did, initially was first work with professors that we already knew, and said, “Can you find us your best students?” and that’s how we got them. And as we were scaling up, so we, know you, from HISD we added,

00:36:33.560 - 00:36:49.670

uh, KIPP, and Spring—Spring ISD, and then Alief and Aildeen - Alief and Aldine. So when these school districts, um, we had to find a way of uh, scaling up and getting really a pipeline of these college students.

00:36:50.170 - 00:37:05.010

So it’s through, um, uh, relationship with the deans of the universities, where we go talk to the chairs, they believe in their—they have assigned somebody in charge to help recruit to get.

00:37:06.030 - 00:37:19.730

So we used to do Career Days and go and talk to them, but that is not as effective as actually working directly with the, uh, um, you know, the heads of universities. Because if they buy into the

00:37:19.830 - 00:37:31.780

program, then, you know, it’s good for their students, and we also offer professional development or advice to the scholar students as well. And what is the training process like for the…

00:37:32.500 - 00:37:48.650

So the training of—well, it’s now very well-defined, there’s um, uh, orientation, where they learn classroom management techniques, of how do you handle, um…and then they go through

00:37:48.710 - 00:38:04.910

this whole video where they can watch another student teaching, and they gain knowledge from that. So there’s a whole process of training orientation uh, that has evolved now. In what year did you found

00:38:05.440 - 00:38:22.700

iEducate? It was 2013. Yes. And it was, actually, there was a big, uh, collaboration with Schlumberger, I’d just left Schlumberger, and they gave the initial, um, you know, seed money

00:38:23.420 - 00:38:40.760

to get this, uh, started. Yeah. Um, what other funding sources did you have besides Schlumberger? So, there’s another organization, you may also consider them like a seed organization because they gave the money right in the beginning—this is the

00:38:40.760 - 00:38:59.890

Indo-American Charity Foundation, so they provided some funding. Uh, then we have, um, individuals, high net worth, we have foundations that are giving us money, so…yes. And we have also partnership with One

00:38:59.890 - 00:39:15.550

Star foundation, and they, uh, we get, uh, three AmeriCorp fellows that work with us. So if, for instance, if a student, uh, has graduated and now would like to serve in the, you know,

00:39:15.610 - 00:39:29.910

community, then you can apply to the AmeriCorp, you know, uh, to—for a, to be AmeriCorp fellow. Vista. And, uh, and we are listed as one of the companies that offer that employment.

00:39:30.200 - 00:39:46.510

They can come and work with us. What would you say makes iEducate unique in the nonprofit world, and how would you say it’s similar, uh to or different from organizations like Teach for America? Yeah, actually it’s very different from Teach for America.

00:39:46.510 - 00:40:03.000

I think we have a conduit of college students who can go into Teach for America because they gained the experience. Teach for America’s for when you’ve already graduated. Uh, iEducate hires these college students right

00:40:03.270 - 00:40:18.000

from when you’re a freshman. So you’re studying and you’re taking out, say on average, ten hours a week. And you’re embedded as a teacher assistant, or a co-teacher in an elementary

00:40:18.260 - 00:40:35.600

classroom, right. So, and then, so you see how different it is from Teach for Amer—and then, once you’ve done that, in fact, we have had some of our students who have, uh, graduated from, um, college, who are iEducate mentors—we call them

00:40:36.100 - 00:40:52.660

CRM, or College Readiness Mentors, so once they graduate, they applied and got into Teach for America, and some finished Teach for America and are now working in, you know, school district. So, many of our college students,

00:40:52.660 - 00:41:07.710

you know, uh, develop a passion for teaching that they were unaware of, um, and then they, you know, apply for a teaching job after that. So… In one sentence, what would you say is the ultimate goal of iEducate is?

00:41:10.260 - 00:41:26.430

I would say, it is to bring equity. And to bridge the, uh, academic gap, um, in a child, so that he can really truly develop his full potential.

00:41:28.240 - 00:41:42.820

And this is done through providing a mentor in a classroom. I-I would like to add one more thing. You know the system of education, um, is still

00:41:42.820 - 00:41:54.080

pretty mu—the model is still the same. It’s what it was forty years ago. But the demographics have changed. Right? And the, um, economic structure’s changed.

00:41:54.360 - 00:42:03.820

A lot more differences between the haves and have-nots. The gap has grown, economic disparity. And then the social

00:42:03.850 - 00:42:16.180

structures, social fabric has also changed. You don’t have all the uncles, aunts, grandma, grandm—grandpas, living in the same family, providing support or just mentors in the family

00:42:16.340 - 00:42:28.360

setting. So when you have all these changes that have happened, uh, kids today need mentors. To me, this is a critical element. And I think that’s what makes iEducate unique.

00:42:31.680 - 00:42:52.470

What do you think the greatest obstacle to educational equity in Houston or Harris County is? The greatest obstacle? Uh, I don’t know whether it’s, you would say obstacle, but I would like the leadership, and I think they are trying to move in that

00:42:52.650 - 00:43:10.080

direction, which is to understand that, um, every child, you have to measure the growth in a child. He’s at level A and goes to level B. And look at what the child’s,

00:43:10.810 - 00:43:23.510

um, you know, needs are. Because you cannot just think of school solving all the problems. They cannot. Because if the child is coming from a home

00:43:24.110 - 00:43:36.570

where the father is incarcerated, right, or he’s not had breakfast in the morning because they couldn’t do it, um, you know, and they don’t see their parents, I mean, there are all these different reasons,

00:43:36.650 - 00:43:49.640

and, so we have to see what the child’s needs are, the mental health of the child, the nutrition, all the other asp—the aspects. And that combined with this academic support through mentors, I

00:43:49.670 - 00:44:02.910

think that can really help the child move ahead. Does that answer your question? Yes, I think so. Um, that kind of ties into my next question, which is, where do you think or

00:44:02.940 - 00:44:17.370

how do you think iEducate can grow? Do you think that there is a possibility you can grow in maybe those areas that you mentioned as well, like providing, whether that could be like, nutritional equity, or kind of expanding into those areas?

00:44:18.350 - 00:44:35.900

I don’t think so. I think that we should do what we’re doing very well, and just expand horizontally so we can serve as many kids as possible. But I think it’s a—what we really need to do is partner with other organization that offer that nutritional

00:44:35.900 - 00:44:45.550

support and mental health and all the other components. Um, to me, that is very important, yeah. And also I truly believe that the

00:44:45.620 - 00:45:01.080

criminal justice system has to reform. And the way it is today, uh, perpetuates the problem. And we will not, we cannot look at that independently. That has to be solved even to help with the

00:45:01.080 - 00:45:15.390

academics of these kids. So on, um, that note of politics, you’re also involved with the Indo-American Political Action Committee? Um, what do you do there and what sort of, what

00:45:15.760 - 00:45:31.270

sorts of issues are important to, um, the committee? Well, the whole goal of the, um, Indo-American Political Action Committee is to inform the community, which is the Indo-American community, of all the major

00:45:31.270 - 00:45:46.640

issues. So, for instance, when healthcare, the Affordable Health Care Act, was being talked about, there was so much, uh, disinformation, misinformation around, so the question was just provide education

00:45:46.640 - 00:45:59.700

and bring all the different stakeholders and let them talk to the community and so that they are well, better informed. So that—that’s one aspect, to inform them of all the local, all the issues, current issues,

00:46:00.120 - 00:46:13.310

that are important to us in the community. And the other is to help elect, uh, Indo-Americans to elected offices.

00:46:14.020 - 00:46:27.280

Offices. So the whole idea is, you know, if you’ve got a young person, you’d like to help support them, uh, you know, by informing others, or financially, help fundraise, so that they can run for office.

00:46:29.060 - 00:46:49.970

I would say these are the two main objectives of the organization. Would you say that you’ve always um, been interested in politics or political activism? I always, yes, I’m, uh, I

00:46:49.970 - 00:47:02.920

have always been interested. Uh, I won’t say it’s politics, per se, but uh, yes, there is a certain amount of activism that I, you know, regarding issues that are, uh,

00:47:03.280 - 00:47:16.140

so critical to us. Like the criminal justice I was talking about – I truly believe that we have to make a difference. And it’s only when people, you know, get up and fight for it that you get it.

00:47:16.240 - 00:47:36.010

and if you elect the right people who make the decisions, and put them in office, then you will get, you know, what’s really important to the community. Do you think the Houston Indian-American community is particularly responsive or civically engaged? Not as much as I would like to have.

00:47:36.340 - 00:47:49.420

And I think that is generally true for Asians, in general. That, um, I don’t see them, uh, as politically active. I mean, they’re a very strong force.

00:47:50.100 - 00:48:07.200

There are also, uh, in a certain economic strata that can make a difference as well. But somehow they’re not as engaged as they should be. Why do you think that is? Um, I think it’s cultural. This has been going on for generations.

00:48:08.000 - 00:48:21.000

Their focus is their family, their education, they don’t look outside and see what’s, you know, what all is happening around them. It’s just them, their family, and home, and, uh,

00:48:21.000 - 00:48:32.710

that culture has to change. Would you say that you raised your son with the intention of helping him become civically engaged or engaged with activism?

00:48:33.680 - 00:48:48.100

So you know, I’ve not, um, you know, forced him to do anything, um, you know, everything was his own choice. I’m a vegetarian, and he decided on his own that he wanted to be

00:48:48.100 - 00:49:04.180

a vegetarian. Um, and he watches, I guess, he watches what I do, and I think that certainly has an influence, um, because he, uh, uh when he graduated,

00:49:05.240 - 00:49:21.100

uh from Johns Hopkins, he came to, uh, Houston, and he had uh, was working in a startup, which was a technology startup in the oil and gas field. And uh, and then uh, but he was always

00:49:21.610 - 00:49:36.640

helping me in the background with this nonprofit. And, uh, two years ago, he basically came on full-time and started working with iEducate and has discovered this whole passion of working.

00:49:37.100 - 00:49:52.380

So this is his discovery. Certainly the opportunity came because I was already in it, but, uh, I think it is the passion that has helped him drive to all these different districts that we’re in now, so that’s

00:49:52.400 - 00:50:05.350

because of his dedication. So that’s what I’d love to see more young people involved in, um, you know, um, community- related activities for the betterment of the community.

00:50:07.150 - 00:50:22.760

Uh, what is your son’s name? Uh, his name is Arun. A-R-U-N. And, so, outside of your career, which is very long and accomplished, what do you do for yourself in your spare time?

00:50:23.950 - 00:50:37.860

Well, I’m, like I said, I’m, uh, I get, I’m involved in um, a lot of community events. So I’m, uh, part of, uh, Samskriti that brings art and

00:50:38.120 - 00:50:54.220

culture to Houston. Kind of uh, bringing the East to the West. So I love that, that’s very enjoyable. I’m also, um, I was on the board of TIE, I’m a charter member of TIE, which is called The Indus Entrepreneurs.

00:50:54.750 - 00:51:10.860

It’s a fantastic organization to help, uh, young people when they have a startup, to help them grow and bring their ideas to fruition. Um, and I’m an angel investor in some

00:51:12.010 - 00:51:31.340

of the companies, and um, yeah, so these are all these different activities, I mean. And then even within my neighborhood, um, uh, there are always the issues relating to, what do you

00:51:31.490 - 00:51:46.170

call, um, housing, you know all the different issues related to the community. So I’m very involved with my own local community, Bellaire, as well. And are you involved in any activism um, in India?

00:51:47.060 - 00:51:58.880

Or in any of the other countries that you’ve lived in? So I don’t know whether you’d call it activism, but uh, and I’m so glad you brought up that question, because that is very dear to my heart.

00:51:59.640 - 00:52:18.930

So I’m on the board of organization that is called All India Citizens Allies uh, for Progressive Development—that’s AICAPD. And it’s a very, you know, interesting problem, that when you have migrant workers

00:52:20.140 - 00:52:36.140

coming to a big city, so they’re coming from all other states, uh, neighbors who come in, um, they, their children don’t go to any schools. And they’re in a way stateless, so they don’t have the

00:52:36.140 - 00:52:51.780

paperwork from the place that they want to be in. And the builders don’t have the responsibilities to have schools for their kids. So, and it’s, this job is very transient. So they’ll work on a construction project, and

00:52:52.620 - 00:53:06.500

then once that is finished and move to another - another construction project. So…that continuity is not there as well. So, um…someone who worked for my sister earlier in Delhi, in a

00:53:06.500 - 00:53:21.010

management school, along with the help from a couple of us, he started this nonprofit called AICAPD, which is called the Innovation Mobile School, and the idea is, it’s focused for children

00:53:21.010 - 00:53:29.550

of migrant workers. So the school knows where the kids move. And what is the school? The school is basically the teachers.

00:53:30.770 - 00:53:47.630

So if they’re working in a particular establishment, once the project is over, they go to another place, then the teachers will move to where the kids are. And so now, I’m—I’m so pleased with it, because there are several young men

00:53:47.630 - 00:54:02.670

and women, uh, over there who wanted to be a teacher, wanted to be a doctor, want to be a policeman. So they have gone through the schooling, and then there is something called “open school” in India, like um,

00:54:03.620 - 00:54:19.710

distance learning, where you can actually write an exam and then you achieve that grade level. So they have graduated from high school and some of them are in jobs. And otherwise, prior to that, they were not working at all, they’d be selling vegetables, or you

00:54:20.550 - 00:54:37.570

know, going and helping their parents in the job. So…so that’s the extent of what I do in India. And there’s one more project, uh, I was involved with, which was, um, basically raising money for Pratham.

00:54:38.020 - 00:54:54.880

You may have heard of Pratham. And the idea is um, we have the IIT students, uh, in Roorkes, and working together with the professor they did what they called the HACER survey, which is just

00:54:54.880 - 00:55:09.730

to understand the level of reading. It’s a survey that is done, and that was done by the students. That’s all the questions I have. Thank you so much for your time, this was really really

00:55:09.840 - 00:55:24.200

inspiring and gave us a lot of insight um, into you. If there’s anything that you’d like to add, um, I guess now’s the time. Well, uh, I can just add one thing So I had the opportunity last

00:55:24.200 - 00:55:37.770

year to be, uh, nominated and be an, um, American Leadership Fellow, ALF, for last year. And, um, that was an

00:55:37.770 - 00:55:53.390

incredible experience, so mee-meeting, uh, all like-minded people and then gives it an opportunity to bring people together, uh, who are leaders in the community so they can do

00:55:53.390 - 00:56:02.370

something for the common good. And that was just an amazing experience. So I came across, some amazing people who are doing work.

00:56:03.960 - 00:56:05.360

Thank you.