My roots are a collection of moments — Mathew Antony shares what APIHM means to him
For Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month (APIHM), we celebrate all of the rich culture, traditions, and history of Asians and Pacific Islanders. This year, our employee resource group Asians@ chose the theme Roots: Growing Your Story. This month’s theme is about “origins” — the idea that where we came from is part of what makes us who we are now. We spoke with Dropboxers about what this theme means to them.
Q: What is your name, what office do you work out of, and how long have you been at Dropbox?
A: I’m Mathew Antony. I work out of the Austin office but will be moving to the San Francisco office in June 2019. I joined Dropbox in July of 2014.
Q: What’s your current role in helping make the world work better?
A: I’m a product operations manager for Paper, which is a fancy way of saying that I listen closely to what Paper customers are saying and make sure that their feedback is communicated back to the Paper team to inform changes to our strategy and roadmap.
Outside of product feedback, I also ensure that, for any new Paper feature we launch, our customers and support agents have all the answers and tools they need to address questions or issues.
Q: In your time at Dropbox, what’s something you’ve accomplished that you’re proud of?
A: Three years ago, we started the “Chai Cart,” inspired by an ex-Dropboxer who’d make five cups of chai everyday and leave them in the micro kitchen for others. We wanted to keep the tradition going and wondered, “What if we just made chai for the whole office?”
Easier said than done, turns out, you can’t just multiply the recipe by 30). We somehow also managed to spill half the chai down the sink on that first day.
Fast forward three years, and the chai cart’s a beloved Austin tradition that everyone contributes to.
Since I’ve joined, our Austin office has grown by about six times and we’ve seen a lot of change. With all this growth and change, there’s something reassuring in that the familiar chai cart will roll around every Thursday at 3.
Q: What does this year’s theme, Roots: Growing Your Story, mean to you?
A: For me, it’s hard to pinpoint roots as a physical place. I was born in India, grew up in the UAE, and spent the past nine or so years in the United States. So answering the question “Where are you from?” is never easy.
To me, roots is more a collection of moments that feel familiar: an afternoon cup of chai, overhearing strangers speak my mother-tongue (Malayalam), calling anyone’s parents “uncle” or “aunty,” or having family I’ve never met pick me up from the airport when I’m in a new city.
I’m also really close to my family, so roots is whenever I’m with family (even if we’re in a place that we’ve never been before).
Q: In light of our theme, tell us about your current journey and how you’re forming your identity.
A: This is a hard one. Although I’ve been in Texas for the past nine years, I still don’t really feel “American,” and when I visit family in India, I don’t feel very “Indian” either. I think the biggest step toward forming my identity was realizing that not truly belonging to a single place is perfectly fine and that there are a lot of people that feel that way (shoutout to my third-culture kids).
Q: Are there any Asian or Pacific Islander leaders or role models that you look up to? How have they shaped who you are today?
A: I’m a big fan of the “Kondabolu Brothers” podcast (so I’m a big fan of Ashok and Hari). I wouldn’t say they’ve shaped me in a significant way. But it was the first time I heard a conversation on a podcast that sounded like one I would have with my siblings — which was awesome, refreshing, and made me feel nostalgic for family. Ashok/Hari, if you’re reading this, please give us more episodes
.
Q: What topic or topics do you feel are top of mind for you and the Asian community that you belong to and why?
A: I’d love to change the narrative around Asians simply belonging to the world of STEM. My brother’s an incredible musician, my sister’s a badass journalist, and there are so many other incredible Asians in non-STEM fields that need to be celebrated. #MoreThanSTEM
Note: I realize the irony in me posting about non-STEM representation in a tech blog post.
Q: And lastly, what’re you most excited for with this year’s APIHM at Dropbox?
A: We’re doing our first ever APIHM Family Night this year in the Austin office that I’m really excited about!
