THE PASSION PROJECT : PART XII | Supriya Medapati
As far as I can retreat to retrieve into depths of my mature mind, there has always been this one obsessive idea that has propelled me through my professional life – “Why work doesn’t feel like work for some people?”. Some people seem to breeze through the weekdays, hardly waiting for the weekend to come and when it does, they simply carry on working, oblivious of the calendar constraints. Monday morning blues is not a relevant thing for them. They get up every day rejuvenated with a sense of excitement for the day ahead and what they are about to achieve. These are of course people who have found their passion in life that is now leading them purposefully in whatever they do. And yet, as we have these real-life examples strutting around, it seems like an almost-alien concept that doing something you love, professionally, is even a remote possibility. It’s just a myth they say, something out of a fantasy film they feel. “Nobody is that happy with their job”. But that is exactly the point. For these people, what they do isn’t a mere job, it is the joy of their existence. I have stumbled through life, trying to find that joy for myself. And while I still may be an amateur, I thought to seek out the experts who may help shed some light to find what we all are looking for. This series encapsulates those people who have not only found their passion but are living it. And I hope their stories will inspire you to live your purpose too.
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“Strive for continuous improvement, not perfection.”
– Kim Collins
“It’s going to be insanely intense. Having a 7-year-old daughter and being a single mom, you don’t get any free passes. But I have no other option. I have to do this. I want to do this. I want to take the plunge and set an example for her. That she too can follow her dreams and be whoever she wants to be. I have raised her to be a self-sufficient, strong, and independent woman. And she is so proud of me going to MIT. She even put it up on her Instagram! It’s usually the other way around, parents bragging about their children’s achievements. But here she is, celebrating me.”
I was talking to Supriya Medapati, an IIT Madras alumnus and a soon to be MIT Sloan Fellow, sitting thousands of miles away from me in Massachusetts, USA. Her reputation preceded her through my friend’s texts which talked about what a powerhouse she is in her domain. Wanting to know more about her journey, I had chided her into a weekend connect that we were just settling into, she with her Saturday morning cup of coffee and I, post my sumptuous Saturday dinner.
“I grew up in Visakhapatnam, a beach city in Andhra Pradesh,” she began, “My dad is a doctor and my mom used to work at the port. She was as dynamic as my dad was supportive. But together they made a great home for me and my elder sister. I got my first computer at the age of 7 and I was hooked! I really wanted to study well and get into a good job – either form my own business or join a company that could empower me to reach my highest potential. I didn’t want a cookie cutter career. My parents suggested to pursue biotechnology. It was gaining momentum then as a very unique field. So, after school, I applied for IIT-JEE and joined IIT Madras with biotechnology as my discipline. I was the youngest in the batch. It was like coming out of the cocoon from Visakhapatnam to Chennai. My first real world exposure. I met people from all over the country, understood different perspectives, and grew as an individual through those four years.”
After completing her undergraduate, it was Chicago from Chennai for Supriya. She joined Mu Sigma, a data science firm, working for a pharmaceutical company. “Mu Sigma was great as a first job because I learnt so much within just the first few months. I got an overview of analytics, tech and even business problem-solving. There are a lot of smart people around to learn from. It was there that the tech connect really solidified. Even within the tech world, I understood that I was good at business and data. I saw this clear intersection of data science and product management where my skill sets lay. That was an important phase in my life. It wasn’t one specific moment but through series of learnings that I picked up at Mu Sigma which helped me identify what I am passionate about. I feel you can never really know what you are good at unless you apply yourself to various situations. All of us might be good at 10,000 things, some unique to us and some not. But we never find out about it because we don’t try.”
By the end of the year, Supriya knew the one thing she connected with but now wanted to look for the other 10,000 as well to broaden her horizon. “It was great fun at Mu Sigma, but my knowledge was very US centric. I had absolutely no global exposure. I was young and wanted to travel the world, see different countries, experience cultures. Around this time, some of my friends back home working for a tech company for the travel ecosystem and going all around the world. I wanted to try that too. So, I made the jump, moved to India – oh and married my undergrad sweetheart! – and joined Sabre Solutions. him and me both. I was in that role for almost 10 years through which I travelled 17 countries like Belarus, Chile, Vietnam, you name it. I was deploying e-commerce, merchandising and loyalty solutions for top middle eastern airlines by the day and digging into the local cuisine of Serbia by the night. It was amazing! Did you know that Serbia doesn’t have genetically modified food? Not back then anyway. Those were some of the best meals I have had”, she reminisced smilingly.
Supriya gave her full dedication to Sabre but after a decade, it felt like she needed a bigger challenge. She started to look for the next best step in her career. “I knew I wanted to do an MBA at some point in my life. For me, it was a source of real-world learning and deep networking with peers from diverse fields. But given the extensive experience that I had, there were very few programs which were tailored for such candidates. I was also concerned that I really didn’t want to apply for a program where I would be the oldest in the batch and not really be able to absorb anything. After some research, I finally discovered the MIT Sloan Fellowship program and it felt like the right fit. I could get to hone my product management skills and also learn about handling a business. So, I gave it my all and I was accepted. And lo and behold, I was in fact one of the youngest in the batch!”, she snickered, “From youngest in the undergrad to one of the youngest in the post grad too, I have come a full circle. But I really like it that way. I get to learn so much every single day from these amazing people around me.”
While Supriya’s story may look to be without obstacles, she did have her share of hurdles before she could reach where she is. As I remark on how remarkable her journey has been, she tells me how the finish line may be all smiles, but the last few meters just before is where you see the sweat. For Supriya, going to MIT is actually a year in delay.
“As I was about to leave for my second chapter in US, my mom was diagnosed with a tumor near her brain stem. It was a really difficult time for us as a family and I couldn’t leave everything behind. I had responsibilities. So, I got my seat deferred to the next year. That’s the thing. I feel that while there may be similar obstacles to overcome for men and women, there are that many more obligations to obey for women – raising children, family duties societal restrictions. No doubt things are changing and that is why I can do what I can do. But sometimes it is a struggle, especially with motherhood. There are times when you have to prioritize your work over your child and there are times when your child is the only thing that matters. And every time that happens, it’s like going into a spiral of a mother’s guilt trip. That feeling of stressing about work when with your child and missing your child when at work. But I made a conscious decision that whenever such thoughts creep into my subconscious, I will throw them away. Basically, I don’t want to be a perfect mother. Because there is no such thing as a perfect mother. I have had enough experience to know that my child will grow up to be amazing irrespective of my upbringing. I am raising her in an environment where she learns from all her surroundings and not just me. So, I choose not to take too much upon myself. I know that this may sound very outrageous, but I have always done things against the norm. I have always stuck to doing things my way and speaking my mind, even when I was afraid. I have pushed through that fear and found the courage to speak up, even in a full room. That courage is the reason I am here today, that courage is the reason I have a seat at the table in that full room.”
That courage carried Supriya through the tough times of the pandemic and her mom’s tumor last year. Instead of letting herself be overwhelmed by her circumstances, she put her deferred year to a good use. She joined a health tech company called Qure.ai which uses AI to understand abnormalities in medical imaging. With a great solution but just little push required in its pace, Supriya came in and revolutionized the way the people within and outside the company perceived Qure’s product. She took time to also upskill herself and got no less than 10 certifications over the past year in AI, blockchain, data science and many other streams that simply would take a day for me to understand and quote here. But as we close on our conversation, I ask her what has kept her going every single day.
She ponders and tells me with poise, “I think a lot of people are not able to differentiate between hobby and passion. I love to dance and if not for my typical Indian father worrying about my economic sense, I might have wanted to pursue that as a naïve fantasy career. Thankfully I found something else that I equally enjoy or even more. But that doesn’t mean I stopped dancing. I still dance to this day. I went dancing yesterday with my friends. Every week, my daughter and I have one day dedicated for our weekly dance off. But I know I cannot pursue it as my career. It is just my most loved hobby. The actual test comes when you do find your passion. Now you could already be great at it, which is a rare case, so that’s an easy call. We call it Kshamta (talent or capability). The trouble is when you love something you aren’t great at. This is the more common case and most people in this situation leave it. They aren’t willing to invest in it. But the successful ones are those who still practice it and keep at it. They may not have the innate talent, but they have the grit. We call it Sadhana (dedicated practice). It is that sincerity towards whatever you pick up. Sadhana will always trump kshamta.“
“I remember growing up most things came easy to me as I was a topper. I didn’t practice, I didn’t learn how to learn. In 2008, I wrote CAT and got more than 99 percentile, but I still didn’t get into any of the IIMs as I didn’t clear verbal section cut off. I had a chip on my shoulder for a long time thinking that I am no less than anybody, but I knew subconsciously – this was one of my weaknesses. So, when I got around to writing GMAT for my Sloan Fellowship, I didn’t just let it go. I reached out and asked for help. I practiced and practiced for months. It was hard. I hadn’t asked for help in 30 years. That made me understand the value of always being in a learning mindset. That’s what keeps me going every day. To be better today than yesterday. To strive, not for perfection, but continuous improvement. That’s my Sadhana.”
This is second in the series of The Passion Project. To know more about the author and the origination of this series, read here.
