In honor of Women's History Month, Sara Rashidi '23MPH shares her story of her family's move to California from Iran and how the women in her family motivated her to follow her dreams.
At the age of eight, Krisna J Panchal (SEAS ‘25), already knew how to change the faucet and remove the pipes below her kitchen sink to fix a leak. By the age of ten, she was learning how to make repairs on her family’s Toyota Camry, which was as old as she was. Whenever a problem required outside help from someone like a plumber, Krisna was always there to keep an eye on the situation.
Krisna grew up with her father, an engineer, teaching her how to fix things around the house when they needed repair. But it was Krisna’s grandmother, Premila, who she says overcame many challenges throughout her life that would provide Krisna the opportunity to attend Columbia and become an engineer.