Rajika Bhandari of ‘America Calling’: I Am Living Proof Of The American Dream

An Interview With Vicky Colas

Fitting in but retaining your identity: respecting diversity does not mean forsaking the identity and culture that one is born with. Finding the right balance between your unique cultural heritage and common American values is the best of both worlds.

Is the American Dream still alive? If you speak to many of the immigrants we spoke to, who came to this country with nothing but grit, resilience, and a dream, they will tell you that it certainly is still alive.

As a part of our series about immigrant success stories, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rajika Bhandari.

An Indian American immigrant and the author of the forthcoming memoir, America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility (Sep. 14, 2021), Rajika Bhandari is an international higher education expert, a widely published author, and frequent speaker on issues of international education, skilled immigrants, and educational and cultural diplomacy. Dr. Bhandari’s writings touch upon the themes of movement, migration, and crossing borders. She is quoted frequently in global media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Times of India and Quartz, and her writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Chronicle of Higher Education, HuffPost, University World News, Times Higher Education, and The Diplomatic Courier, among others. With a career in education that spans over 25 years, Rajika has held senior leadership roles in the private, academic, and nonprofit sectors and is the founder of Rajika Bhandari Advisors which enables evidence-based international engagement strategy for a range of clients. Until recently, she spent over a decade at the Institute of International Education (IIE), where she led IIE’s research, impact and thought leadership activities, including the flagship Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange–the most definitive resource on international students and scholars at U.S. colleges and universities and Americans studying abroad. She lives outside New York City. Learn more at: www.rajikabhandari.com

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

My background is similar to that of many middle-class Indians who grew up in the India of the seventies. My father’s family was originally from the part of the Indian subcontinent that eventually became Pakistan after the partition of India and Pakistan. Like millions of others, they were displaced, became refugees, and then eventually settled in Delhi. My mother’s family was also from Northern India (Punjab) but from the portion that was already within India. Even though we were an average family and by no means wealthy, acquiring an excellent education was considered especially important and my parents made many sacrifices to send me to good schools. Even though my parents ended up living in different cities across India, I spent my formative years at a British-era boarding school in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. It was like a yesteryear Hogwarts from Harry Potter, minus the magic! Growing up, my path was straightforward and unremarkable: like most young Indians of my age, I went from high school to college, following all the rules and doing all the right things that most of us were expected to do. The two constants throughout were my love for reading and writing, and painting. But I ended up not pursuing a career in either because they weren’t seen as being practical and lucrative. While growing up in India I also observed how so many in my family — starting with my paternal grandfather and then my uncles — had aspired to study abroad, either in England or the U.S. Obtaining one’s post-graduate degree from abroad was considered the ultimate accomplishment, but it was not something that had occurred to me or that I was interested in pursuing.

Was there a particular trigger point that made you emigrate to the US? Can you tell us the story?

I came to the U.S. as an international student to study. In many ways I was an accidental international student and an accidental immigrant; I never deliberately planned to become either. Up until the age of eighteen, I had no desire to leave India to study in the US. My father had tried his best to get me to consider it, and he would insist that I accompany him to the Fulbright Commission in Bombay (now Mumbai) to find out more information about various American colleges and universities. But I had no interest in any of it. I was afraid that if I left to go study in America, I would be faced with a difficult choice after finishing my studies: remain in the US and join the ranks of Indian immigrants there or return home to India. I had often heard that being a foreigner in the US was like being a fly trapped in honey. America tempted and ensnared you, and yet when you wanted to leave, you discovered you couldn’t. I was not used to having choices as everything in India seemed preordained. But from what I had heard, America represented too much choice and too many decisions. Even when it came to selecting a college or university in the US, there were over 4,000 to choose from. Best not to go, I concluded.

But then two years later, I met someone who planned to come to the U.S. to study and — when the heart got involved — the decision to leave India and follow the journey of my relationship suddenly came easily to me. So, like countless others before me, I came to the US as a twenty-one-year-old woman following a relationship that formed the foundation of my early years in the US as an international student, but I soon forged my own path that was ultimately shaped by America.

Can you tell us the story of how you came to the USA? What was that experience like?

My journey as an international student in the U.S. began in 1992, as one of 439,000 international students that year, and similar to that of the thousands of students who arrive at the doorstep of America each fall. I arrived in North Carolina to attend North Carolina State University. Even though I was coming from a large, cosmopolitan city like Delhi, there was a lot to learn and absorb, especially because the American south was so different from what I knew or understood about the U.S. The first few days were a blur of new tastes, smells, ideas, and learning — from savoring the fizz from a real Coca Cola to getting acquainted with the all-American chocolate chip cookie on the American Airlines flight that brought me into Raleigh, to gauging and understanding classroom dynamics in America, and to beginning to realize that all the fundamentals of education I had grown up with in India had not prepared me for the culture of teaching and learning in an American university. In the years to come, the experience of coming to the US as a student would stretch my boundaries and challenge my thinking and assumptions in ways I hadn’t imagined. These are the experiences that I document in my book as well.

Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped make the move more manageable? Can you share a story?

There wasn’t a single person but rather a whole village of people who were very supportive during my early years in the U.S., ranging from my academic advisor who understood the large educational and cultural gap I was experiencing and helped me settle in, to two dear American classmates and friends who treated me like family — donating furniture to me for my student apartment, bringing me a real Christmas tree on my first Christmas in the U.S., and showing me the ropes of everyday life in America. And then there was my support system of other Indian students just like me who were trying to adjust to life in the U.S. the same way I was.

So how are things going today?

Overall, the situation for immigrants in America has improved in 2021 and there is a greater sense of hope and security under our current political leadership. For me, personally too, this is an important moment in time. Our country has a vice president who represents many firsts: the first female vice president, the first vice president of Indian American and African American descent, and the first second-generation immigrant to occupy the role. Kamala Harris’s mother followed the same path to the US — as an international student from India and then becoming an immigrant — that I did, and her father was also an international student from Jamaica. My own journey, first as an international student and then an immigrant in America, has brought me to an interesting juncture. I am now also the mother of an eleven-year-old daughter who is a proud born-and-bred American. This has given me a different vantage point as I think about issues of education and migration, of the notion of home, and of raising a young girl in a country that has helped shape my identity as a woman.

Looking ahead though, I think we can only be cautiously optimistic. The US remains a deeply divided country and the fear of the “other” re-emerges in some shape or form. We have seen this play out this year with the hate crimes against Asian Americans. It was also a challenging year of completing my book because everything that I was writing about — education, immigration, and the hopes and dreams of young student migrants — was in a constant state of flux. Yet this time of disruption has also been a reminder of the importance of cultural exchange and understanding, especially at a time when America is becoming increasingly nationalistic. The pandemic has also shown us the importance of international students-turned-immigrants who have been behind many of the scientific breakthroughs and are also on the frontlines of fighting the pandemic.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Throughout my career I have focused on training and mentoring the next generation of young professionals in international education, many of whom will go on to work in international careers that will enable the US to keep its doors and minds open to global talent. The platform I have built for myself through publications and speaking about such issues has also enabled me to be an effective advocate for international students and skilled immigrants in the U.S. Finally, as a writer I hope to bring to light the experiences of immigrants in America.

You have first hand experience with the US immigration system. If you had the power, which three things would you suggest to improve the system?

America must solve the puzzle of the higher education to immigration transition, but to do so requires, first and foremost, an honest conversation of the fundamental links between studying and staying on, and between opportunity and ambition. The three specific things I would list are:

• More attractive and clearer immigration policies that enable talented international students to stay on and pursue their ambitions while contributing significantly to the U.S. economy and society. If this doesn’t happen, the U.S. will continue to lose American-educated talent to other countries.
• Eliminating the “single-intent” aspect of the international student visa so that at the time of application students are not forced to decide and declare that they will return home immediately after their studies. Most students are too young and unprepared at that point to know exactly how their aspirations and plans will shape up after they complete their studies.
• Friendlier border agents at entry checkpoints in the US.

Can you share “5 keys to achieving the American dream” that others can learn from you? Please share a story or example for each.

• Embracing the diversity of America: what makes the U.S. special is that it truly is home to different cultures and immigrant diasporas from all over the world. Celebrating and engaging with this diversity can help us all be better Americans and better global citizens.
• Fitting in but retaining your identity: respecting diversity does not mean forsaking the identity and culture that one is born with. Finding the right balance between your unique cultural heritage and common American values is the best of both worlds.
• Being fearless: one reason that the US has been a beacon for many around the world is that it is seen as the “land of milk and honey,” and a country of possibility. But to truly reap the benefits of these opportunities, one has to be fearless and bold.
• Educate yourself in America’s world-class college system: The U.S. is home to the world’s best colleges and universities — over 4,000 of them — that cater to different needs and learners. Acquiring a Made-in-America academic degree is an important part of the American dream.
• Being resilient: as an immigrant — regardless of your specific pathway — there will likely be many hurdles and set-backs, including frustrating delays. This might sound like a cliché, but it is incredibly important to be resilient through the immigrant journey to persist and to find your own version of the American dream.

We know that the US needs improvement. But are there 3 things that make you optimistic about the US’s future?

• I feel optimistic because of our country’s current leadership which not only has the right attitude towards immigrants but is also committed to policy reform in this area, despite some recent setbacks.
• Another trend that makes me optimistic is that we are seeing an embrace of and focus on diversity, access, and inclusion as never before, a development that was long overdue.
• The U.S. has always been a world leader in science and innovation, and I feel this is an area that will be strengthened going forward and that will be needed in tackling a post-COVID19 world.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I will cheat and name two, also because they are so different. I would love to meet Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo, and who also came to the US as an international student from India. I admire her professional ascent in a male-dominated field, rising to be a handful of women CEOs in her sector. The other person I would pick is the Nigerian American author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose books I have long admired and who also came to the US to study. No one writes about the immigrant experience better than Adichie and I would love the opportunity to discuss writing, literature, and immigrants with her over lunch.

What is the best way our readers can further follow your work online?

My website is www.rajikabhandari.com where readers can also sign up for my newsletter, America Calling: A Take on Education, Migration, and Immigration. I can also be reached through my Facebook author page (@authorrajikabhandari), and through LinkedIn (@rajikabhandari).

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

About The Interviewer: Vicky Colas, Chef Vicky, is an award-winning chef in the Caribbean food arena. In 2012, Chef Vicky was awarded a silver medal for Caribbean Chef of The Year at the Taste of the Islands completion hosted by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association. She was called to represent her country and be a part of the Culinary Team Haiti as a Culinary Chef Ambassador competing with 10 other Caribbean nations. The team was also awarded a silver medal for the Caribbean Team of the Year and received an Award for “Best Team for Taste of the Islands”. A published nutrition researcher, her study was selected in 2013 in the International Journal of Child Nutrition. Her recipe and interview have been featured in Essence Magazine online, Island Origin, and most recently the cookbook Toques in Black: A Celebration of 101 Black Chefs in America. In 2019, she was nominated in the “40 under 40” class of Legacy Magazine as one of South Florida’s “Black Leaders of Today and Tomorrow”.

Most recently, Chef Vicky was selected as one of twenty women candidates awarded for the 2019 James Beard Foundation Women Entrepreneurial Leadership (WEL) fellowship and is also part of a selective group of talented Chefs in the James Beard Foundation local food advocacy training programs. She is a wife, a proud mother of 3 boys, a business, and a food influencer in her community. Chef Vicky has been featured in her local news stations such as WSVN CH 7, Deco Drive, WPLG Local 10 News, 6 on the mix CH 6 and Good Morning Miramar.

Vicky is also a subject matter expert in the Hospitality, Culinary Arts, Restaurant Management, and Public Health (Dietetics and Nutrition) arena. She is a graduate of Florida International University (FIU) and Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.