I am a finance graduate from China, having work experience in the Chinese stock market for a couple of years. During those years, I realized that I was not contributing anything to my society from the work that I was doing. I felt that in my company, we were just making the rich, richer which felt very meaningless to me. Then I applied to a graduate school in the US and changed my field to Public Policy.

I had always wanted to visit India. It was on the top of my bucket list. I was lucky to get this program in IIM Udaipur for my summers, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. During this time, our team worked with an NGO, Aajeevika Bureau, which focuses on improving the conditions of migrant workers. Our project focused on child migration. We spent 14 days in the village talking to stakeholders to understand the seriousness and impacts of the issue, to come to a viable solution. Staying in the village was extremely challenging for me. But, we were hosted by a lovely family, and their hospitality was really heart-warming.

Talking about my experience here, firstly, I enjoyed a lot studying and working with such a diverse class. Though at first, it was a bit overwhelming, I realized it later, that I had made friends for life here. My friends have given me the tag – ‘Up-for-Anything’, and I really feel that this experience in India has helped me evolve and discover myself. I really loved the people, culture and diversity here. Having an interest in writing, I daily wrote a diary to capture my journey in India. It was a great learning experience, and my biggest take away from here would be to always keep my mind open in any situation. These six weeks spent here have made me think a lot. It’s definitely the best summer of my life till date.

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MYgrateU is a medium for sharing the experiences of the students who have been part of IIMU’s ‘Summer School for Future Leaders in Development’ program. Under the program, students from various foreign and Indian universities and early career development professionals come to IIM Udaipur for a six-week course organized by the Center for Development Policy and Management, IIM Udaipur and the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, USA.