I’m not sure how many South-Asian journalists there are in the United States. So far in my journalism classes, I’ve only ever seen one other South-Asian student. One. I had never even interacted with a South-Asian professor. That is, until now. 

Gayathri Sivakumar is a South-Asian associate professor in the journalism department here at Colorado State University.  She grew up in South India and had a lot to say about the struggles and challenges that she had to overcome in order to be where she is now. 

The Fight for Her Career 

From early on Sivakumar knew that math and sciences weren’t her thing, despite those subjects being deemed as so important in Indian culture. 

“By class eight (grade eight) I knew science was not my thing,” Sivakumar said. “By then I understood that my everyday life would be terrible because I wasn’t going to enjoy what I would be doing.”

Though for the most part she knew what she wanted to do, there was a lot of pushback from her mother about her career choice and what she would study in college. 

She had originally wanted to study English Literature and go into journalism. She was curious about the world around her and was ardent about storytelling. 

Her mother, however, was unwilling to let her pursue this unfamiliar path, creating a familiar tension that we had seen in my initial post, and in my post from last week. 

Sivakumar applied to only schools that specialized in the humanities, getting into top schools without her mother knowing that was all she applied for.

When her mother found out, she was furious and tracked down a university that was still accepting applicants for a math program, but Sivakumar refused. 

“My mother was crying and she was trying to explain to me that she was doing this for my own good,” Sivakumar said. “We compromised, I let go of my obsession with doing literature, and she decided to stop forcing me to do math. We decided that I would study Business Administration.”

This is not a conflict that we are new to. I faced the same tension, and so did Akash Kakumanu. Kakumanu and I would probably describe that period of tension we had with our parents the same way Sivakumar would. 

“That was one traumatic summer.”

So…Why STEM?

The pressure for South-Asian students to pursue STEM has been a constant. But why?

In Hindu culture, math is seen as very important and prestigious. 

“In Hinduism math is a glorified thing…there’s always an obsession with math,” Sivakumar said. “It is a measurement of how intelligent you are in some ways.”

Sivakumar’s decision to pursue a non-STEM field was emotional for both her and her family. In India, the status of the family is something that is important and always considered. 

When someone strays from the norm, there’s a lot of emotional turmoil. The stakes are really high. It’s not always just about a job, it’s about how you and your family are perceived. 

The other side to this, is that Indian parents just want their children to be living a good life. 

“In India it’s always a joke, when you’re young they always ask, ‘What do you want to be? A doctor or engineer?’ Those are the only two options they want to give you.” Sivakumar said. “I realize it comes from a place of wanting to be protective and a lot of it has to do with the economic situation back home in India at the time.” 

There was a high demand for STEM related jobs in India, but nothing really that diverged from these fields. The only jobs that were available were government jobs, which were highly competitive, and positions as a school or university instructor. 

“You have to realize that the salary that you get for these professions were minuscule. My parents were aware of the fact that if I did not fall under the category where it would be easy to find employment, the chances that I would be economically underprivileged would be pretty high.” Sivakumar said. “The difference in lifestyle between middle class and lower middle class were pretty huge.” 

The relationship that South-Asian cultures have with STEM is complex. It’s a symbol of status, but it is also a sign that you have a good life that comes with a sustainable job.

However, in India, they are beginning to realize how detrimental the lack of humanities has become in the workforce. 

People are now trying to humanize STEM because they were producing individuals that were very proficient in their fields, but lacked the necessary skills to be a good employee and communicator. 

Sivakumar & The Humanities 

Sivakumar loved reading when she was a child, but her family did not have much money to buy reading material. 

Her and her siblings would be able to buy a comic book once a month and they would treasure this purchase. They would read and reread these books over and over again. 

Sivakumar’s mother was actually an avid reader as well. She was an expert in Tamil literature and had impressive control of the language. She was also able to sing beautifully and improvise songs on the fly. 

She was a natural poet and artist. 

Her brother suggested she study Tamil in university because of her expertise in the language, but she was highly offended. She decided to study economics in college and was married by the time she finished her studies so she never did anything with it. She kept up with the housework and took care of the kids. 

She took a more respected route, but she told Sivakumar that she always regrets not pursuing Tamil. A regret that Sivakumar will likely not face, because she was able to chase her dream, the thing that called out to her. 

Still, if her mother had studied Tamil and kept singing, maybe she would have been the first thing I’d hear when I turned on a radio in India.