Millennial Musings with Anurag

The protests that have broken out in the United States following the brutal murder  of George Floyd in Minnesota by a white police officer has led to a lot of uncomfortable, yet overdue  conversations about race relations, police brutality, and systems of oppression, amongst others. On this episode, Anurag chats with two young black leaders, Willie Thompson and Justin Bryant to unpack some of these conversations that are finally happening now. They discuss what it was like to grow up black in America, how as young people, we can work to address and combat systems of oppression, and how they took initiative to bring about tangible change in a community that they are active members of - the Schwarzman Scholars Program.

Willie J. Thompson grew up in Griffin, GA and earned his B.A. in Economics with a minor in Chinese Studies from Morehouse College. After graduating summa cum laude / Phi Beta Kappa from Morehouse, Willie worked as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Taichung, Taiwan with the Fulbright Program. Upon finishing his service as an ETA, Willie worked as an Associate Consultant for The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit consulting firm that works with non-profits and philanthropists to address society's most pressing needs and challenges. Willie spent a year as a member of the  Schwarzman Scholars Program, where he earned a Master’s in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Willie returned to Bridgespan, where he currently works on impact investing, philanthropic prizes, and workforce development as an Associate Consultant. He is also an avid jazz fan, having played drums for the Morehouse College Jazz Band all four years of his college career. Connect with Willie on LinkedIn.

Justin is a second-year J.D. candidate at Stanford Law School. He has a B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University, an MSc in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, where he was a Schwarzman Scholar, and an LL.M in European and International Business Law from the University of Vienna School of Law. Justin focuses on the intersection of law and technology and seeks to create ecosystems in which individuals can experience the benefits of technology without suffering harm. He advanced this mission during his time at ALT Advisory in Johannesburg, where he built Data Protection Africa. Justin was a cyberlaw fellow at the law firm Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe in Menlo Park, California, and he previously worked at Microsoft in Beijing and San Francisco on projects concerning cybersecurity, government relations, and civic uses of technology. He will be working at the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project in New York this summer. Connect with Justin on LinkedIn.

Follow Anurag on:

Instagram: @anuragrc and @millennialmusings_podcast

Cover Art obtained from Unsplash: Photo by James Eades on Unsplash

Title music Ikson-Alive is obtained from the artist's website, and used with due credit given. Support Ikson's music on https://soundcloud.com/ikson

Surya Karki is one of the most inspirational people you will ever come across. He was born and brought up in poverty by a single mother in a village where education was a rare sight and schooling was a 2.5 hours walk to-and-from the school. He left his family and his village at 8 years old to study in the capital of Nepal and went on to study at the United World College of Venezuela, finished his undergraduate from the College of the Atlantic in Maine and his Masters Degree as a Schwarzman Scholar in China. Recognizing the opportunity he had, he dedicated his life to educating those with a similar background to him--building over 34 schools and educating over 5200 vulnerable children in Nepal, through his organization, United World Schools in Nepal.

In this episode of Millennial Musings, Anurag chats with Surya about his incredible journey, and tries to understand the mentality, dedication, and perseverance of one of the most impactful young leaders in the world today. They further discuss some of their experiences as Schwarzman Scholars in Beijing, a year that bonded them for life.

While Surya does not like to discuss his awards and recognition, Anurag has no problem revealing it. For his work in education and sustainable development, in 2014, he was awarded the Prince of Wales and UNILEVER Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Award; in 2016, he was recognized as one of 30 under 30 International Literacy Association leaders; and in 2017, he was listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia.

Follow Surya and his work:

United World Schools Nepal Website

Follow Anurag on:

Instagram: @anuragrc and @millennialmusings_podcast

In this episode, Anurag and his guest Ruchita chat about the mental health consequences of social distancing in the time of coronavirus. They chat about many of Anurag's recent struggles, including break from routine, isolation from friends and family, as well as the difficulty in seperation between work and personal life. They also discuss several global trends being observed, and culminate the chat with Ruchita's recommendations to tide over these difficult times. 

Ruchita Chandrashekar is an independent psychologist with a specialisation in traumatic stress and violence recovery. Her approach is to politicise mental health, integrate identity politics, encourage the destigmatisation of mental health in South Asian communities and aid the discussion of cross cultural issues from a psychoeducational lens. You can follow her on Twitter @roocheetah

Follow Anurag on:

Instagram: @anuragrc and @millennialmusings_podcast

Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash

Title music Ikson-Alive is obtained from the artist's website, and used with due credit given. Support Ikson's music on https://soundcloud.com/ikson

Jonathan Lopez lives and works in Beijing, China, where he just recently completed his 50th day in self-imposed social isolation. With Anurag, he shares his experience of living in a China that is plagued by Coronavirus, and how he has mastered the art of effectively living in social isolation. Additionally, he breaks down some of the myths and media narratives around life in China currently, how China has now effectively controlled the spread through stringent measures, and also discusses how and why he set about raising awareness through his social media posts. Finally, he shares his advice for all of us who are just about embracing social isolation and working from home.

Jonathan Lopez was born and raised in Medellin, Colombia, and migrated to Montreal, Canada for his Bachelor's at McGill University. In Canada, he embraced an identity of global citizen, learning several languages and travelling to 60+ countries. Subsequently, he was chosen as a Schwarzman Scholar to complete a Master’s degree at Tsinghua University in China. Currently, he resides in Beijing, China, and works at ByteDance, the world’s most valued start-up, as a Content Strategy Manager for a key SaaS product. He shares his daily updates on living in a China (Beijing) plagued by Coronavirus on his Instagram account. Ultimately, Jonathan aims to become an entrepreneur and investor; an inspirational figure and leader; a philanthropist; a Colombian diplomat, and eventually, President.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanlopez-ca/

Follow Anurag on:

Instagram: @anuragrc and @millennialmusings_podcast

Title music Ikson-Alive is obtained from the artist's website, and used with due credit given. Support Ikson's music on https://soundcloud.com/ikson

In 2017, Anirudh was diagnosed with a rare blood disease that threatened to derail his life. Anirudh shares the incredible story of how he battled the disease twice, receiving two bone marrow transplants, before setting on his path to recovery. As a rising star in the healthcare policy field, and having experienced first hand the challenges of healthcare in America, Anirudh is one of the best young voices on healthcare policy reform. Anurag and Anirudh chat about America's healtcare system, a move towards value-based healthcare, and other innovations in the field.

Anirudh Srirangam works at Roivant Sciences, a healthcare company based in New York City. His mission is to increase access to high quality, high value healthcare for patients in need.

Mehek shares her inspirational story of her work as a game-changing visual artist, and the founding of her studio, Giggling Monkey. Anurag and Mehek also chat about the power and importance of trying to do a task yourself, as well as the challenges of being a young woman entrepreneur in India.

Mehek Malhotra is an award winning designer and visual artist who is the founder and CEO of Giggling Monkey Studio, based in Mumbai, India. You can follow her work on Instagram @giggling_monkey.