Growing up in the bohemian beach town of Encinitas, near San Diego, California, Priti Gandhi showed early interest in music and performance.  But she was a first born child in an Indian immigrant family that placed high value on job security, so a career in the arts was not even a consideration. In college, Priti signed up for voice lessons to counter the demands of her journalism courses. The moment her voice instructor introduced her to opera, her path in life changed.

Many Roads to Here is a production of The Immigrant Story. This episode was produced and edited by Elayna Yussen with sound design by Rick March and post production by Greg Palmer. The original interview was conducted by our Executive producer, Sankar Raman.

Thank you to Priti Gandhi for providing the live opera music you hear in this episode and to St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Beaverton for the use of their space to record the interview.

This episode is a part of a series exploring the stories and experiences of Asian Americans in a climate of Anti-Asian rhetoric and increasing violence. It is produced as part of the Oregon Rises Above Hate coalition and made possible by a generous contribution by Anne Naito-Campbell. 

To learn more about the Oregon Rises Above Hate Coalition, please visit https://oregonrisesabovehate.com.

For more stories, visit theimmigrantstory.org/manyroads, listen live at prp.fm, or stream us wherever you get your podcasts.