I was born in South Carolina, the second daughter to immigrant parents from Northern India. While I was born into a comfortable home, my life and my successes are a testament to the struggles my parents went through to ensure that I have the opportunity to receive an education, better quality of life, and make a genuine impact on the world. Soon after I was born, my older sister, parents, and I moved to Nebraska!

Up to no good, a bit of a grump, and a big fan of the teletubbies, I enjoyed my childhood--even if it was in suburban Nebraska & my mom dressed me up as a pumpkin for Halloween...every single year. I even dreamed of growing up to become a Firetruck!

As I grew older, I learned what it meant to have and cherish an indentity that was equally American & Indian. Occasionally, my family even adventured to India & Europe to visit family.

In high school, I played Piano, did Lincoln-Douglas Debate, played Viola in an Orchestra and I (thankfully) began to smile more in pictures.

Then I completed my Masters in Systems Engineering at Cornell University in May 2019! My research was in robotics. After graduation, I traveled Scandinavia for a month before beginning my career and passion in the innovative field of space exploration as an engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory! 

After graduation, I headed off to Baylor University to pursue my passion for engineering. I got involved with the Society of Women Engineers, Relay for Life, and Interfaith Dialogue. I worked on cool engineering projects, interned for JP Morgan, Northrop Grumman, & NASA-JPL/Caltech and traveled!

In May 2018, I graduated with my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Baylor University. I interned at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology as a Project V&V Systems Engineering on the Mars 2020 Mission. 

At JPL, I have worked on projects as a Systems Engineer. Projects include: MAIA, Europa Clipper, a Proposal, Psyche, and the Cold Atom Lab. See my portfolio for more details! I have also done lots of science outreach in a number of schools and colleges, have started a young professionals community at JPL, write technical papers for international conferences, and have kept up with my love of nature and music--playing the viola, attending concerts, hiking, and traveling! In December 2020, I even decided to launch my own Podcast, Space People!