IPL Origin Stories

Our guests in this episode are Jen and Sherlene. Jen and Sherlene both grew up in Singapore and came to Stanford for their undergraduate degrees. In their conversation, they reflect on how this experience influenced their perspectives on race and identity both internationally and in Singapore and opened the door to further exploration of their interests, career paths, and self-expression. Jen is a PhD candidate in counseling psychology at New York University. Sherlene is Senior Assistant Director of Income Security Policy at the Ministry of Manpower, Singapore. Jen graduated from Stanford in 2013, Sherlene in 2014.

Our guests in this episode are Charlene Wang and her daughter Rachele Lam. Together, they discuss the ways personal loss, the challenges of fitting in, and the joys of finding community have shaped Charlene's journey from Hong Kong and Rachele's upbringing between New York and Hong Kong. Charlene is currently a counselor at Redeemer Counseling Services in New York. Rachele is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist and founder of Fountyn Acupuncture. Charlene graduated from Stanford in 1983, Rachele in 2013.

Our guests in this episode are Sheela Chari and Sonja Srinivasan. Both grew up Indian American in parts of the US where few shared their cultural heritage. Together, they discuss their trajectories as writers, their relationship to the Tamil language and cooking, and representations of Indian characters and stories in literature. Sheela is a fiction and middle grade writer and faculty member at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Sonja is a fiction writer, opera singer, and freelance editor and academic. Both graduated from Stanford in 1995.

Our guests in this episode are Alessia and Xiaorong. In their conversation, they note the surprising similarities they discovered across their Chinese and Italian backgrounds, how their experiences in California shifted or reinforced aspects of their identity and approach to learning, and the warm and supportive community they found at Stanford alongside students from all over the world. Alessia is a sustainable finance expert, author, and adjunct faculty member at the University of Chicago. Xiaorong is Associate Director of Statistics at AbbVie Inc. Alessia graduated from Stanford in 2003, Xiaorong in 2004.

Our guests in this episode are Sheba Najmi and Samira Khan. Looking back over their personal and family heritage from British India and Pakistan, they reflect on how their their experiences and identities contributed to their careers merging social impact with technology. Sheba is the Founder and Executive Director at Tech for Change. Samira is Director of Campaign and Field Insights in Global Public Affairs at Microsoft. Sheba graduated from Stanford in 2002 and Samira in 2003.