Avani is the second daughter of Indian immigrants who moved to the U.S. in the 1970s. After being born in Pennsylvania, she lived in several different states before moving to Texas when she was 10 years old. She has spent most of her life here and now works at a large research university as a career coach for health professions students. She is passionate about animals, the environment, and helping create a world where there is more open dialogue rather than censoring opinions that may make us uncomfortable. She truly believes there are teachers all around us from the tiniest ant to the largest whale in the ocean.

This interview is split into two parts. You are listening to Part 2 of Avani’s journey where she talks about her mother, Pragna Trivedi’s, incredible response and support after she got to know about Avani’s identity. You will also hear about her mother’s own journey as a child raised in a large joint family in India, to migrating to the States, to making the leap from a homemaker to a career woman, all the while ensuring that she never neglected her family’s needs.

We’ll continue from where we left Part 1.