More than eight years after moving to the United States, an Indian entrepreneur has shared a reality check on immigrant life, loneliness, resilience and the challenge of building a life from nothing to something in a new country.In an Instagram social media post, the founder looked back on her journey from working in data science and artificial intelligence to becoming an entrepreneur, startup adviser, content creator and AI educator in the US.“It’s been over 8 years since I moved to the United States,” she wrote, before describing how immigration changed both her personal and professional life.According to the entrepreneur, adapting to a new country involved much more than changing addresses. It meant learning to navigate unfamiliar customs, social norms and professional environments while trying to establish a sense of belonging.“Being an immigrant teaches you a lot,” she wrote.“It teaches you how to walk into rooms where nobody knows your story and still believe you belong there.”She said the experience also meant adjusting to a different culture, work environment and social life while gradually building confidence in her abilities.The founder explained that she began her career in US as a data science and AI professional before facing a long and demanding immigration process.“Then came a grueling immigration process that tested my patience, resilience, and belief in myself more times than I can count.”Over time, she put traditional employment to the side and built her own business, working as an entrepreneur while advising startups, teaching AI and creating content.“None of this happened overnight,” she wrote.She credited the US with helping her grow professionally, but she said immigration also came with emotional challenges that are often ignored.“Professionally, the US has taught me to ask for what I’m worth, speak up when something doesn’t feel right, and stop shrinking my ambitions to make other people comfortable.”At the same time, she described a loneliness that many immigrants experience after leaving their home country.“But immigration also comes with a very specific kind of loneliness,” she wrote.“You don’t just move countries.”“You rebuild your entire life from scratch.”The entrepreneur said immigrants often have to actively look for housing, employment, visas, healthcare, taxes, friendships and identity issues with little guidance, all while trying to settle into an unfamiliar environment.“You figure out apartments, jobs, visas, friendships, healthcare, taxes, identity, belonging, and a hundred tiny things nobody prepares you for.”She also spoke about the criticism she has faced from strangers over her decision to move abroad.“I’ve had strangers tell me to ‘go back to India and contribute to the economy.’”“I’ve had strangers tell me I ‘left my mother alone.’”Responding to those comments, she argued that a person’s relationship with their family and homeland cannot be measured by where they live.“What they don’t understand is this: Geography does not define how much you love your family. Geography does not define how much you care for your parents. And geography does not define your patriotism.”The founder said it is possible to remain connected to one’s roots while pursuing opportunities somewhere else.“You can love where you come from and still choose to build a life somewhere else. You can chase bigger opportunities without abandoning your roots.”Looking back on her decision to move to US, she said it was never about turning her back on India. Instead, it was about taking a chance on herself and pursuing opportunities in a place where success had to be earned.“For me, moving here was not about leaving home behind. It was about betting on myself in a place where I had to earn my way into every room. And that is something I’ll never apologize for.”
Who is Aishwarya Srinivasan?
Aishwarya Srinivasan is an Indian-origin data scientist, AI educator and entrepreneur who developed an interest in data science at an early age. She studied computer science at VIT, where she completed 11 internships across organisations including EY, Microsoft, TCS and the National Informatics Centre. During her university years, she also co-authored five research papers and worked on projects ranging from handwriting recognition software to stock market forecasting models.She later earned a Master’s degree from Columbia University, where she contributed to the open-source machine learning library scikit-learn and worked on a research project focused on predicting acute kidney injuries during surgery. After graduating, she spent three years at IBM in the United States, where she filed a patent related to machine trading using reinforcement learning. She joined Google, working on applications of data science in the retail sector. Beyond her professional work, Srinivasan launched a volunteer mentorship platform to help students and AI professionals learn, network and explore careers in artificial intelligence and data science. Her mother was a research scientist at the International Management Institute (IMI) in Delhi.
