Freshman Triya Gudipati

After 16 years of living in the U.S., freshman Triya Gudipati’s parents finally received their green card around a year ago. Gudipati’s parents were born in India but immigrated to the U.S. in search of better educational opportunities. 

“At first, it was really hard for [my parents]. They were broke, they had no money, they didn’t know anyone here and they were working,” Gudipati said. “But, once they made their friends and established themselves a little bit, it definitely got easier.”

Although Gudipati was born in the U.S, she says that she can feel different from her peers. Gudipati began to go to daycare around the age of two or three and first noticed a difference.

“I knew that my friends are different [from me]. I knew, ‘hey, they’re not the same race.’ They’re not Indian. I’m the one who’s different,” Gudipati said. “I have a different culture than most of my friends. Most of my friends or families are in the [U.S.]. My family’s Indian so I have a different side of life than other people here do.”

Gudipati celebrates her own culture by interacting with a more local Indian community in St. Louis, as well as visiting India every summer.

“[People within the Indian community in St. Louis] can relate to me more. They have similar experiences to what I have,” Gudipati said. “I was taught to always celebrate all different types of cultures. I think it’s cool that everyone’s different and everyone’s diverse. I know I’m different, but it’s not a bad thing that I’m different. It helps me learn about them, and they learn about me.”

Gudipati says that she tries to challenge the cultural misconceptions and stereotypes she encounters and educate others. One avenue through which Gudipati says she challenges cultural stereotypes is participating in wrestling.

“There’s definitely stereotypes about how there’s pressure for you to be academically advanced. Most of those aren’t really true. Of course, my parents want me to do well, but they’re like, ‘if you’re happy and you’re doing what you want to do, we’re fine,’” Gudipati said. “I generally surprise people. When they talk to me, they realize that I’m what they think of when they think of India. And so I’ve kind of gotten used to being like, ‘yeah, it’s not really true.’ I like that I’m breaking what they think of as what an Asian person would be.”

Gudipati believes it is important for her teachers and peers to make a concerted and mindful effort to be respectful of different cultures. Gudipati has noticed that people around her can make uneducated mistakes, such as interchanging the words Hindi and Hindu.

“[I wish my peers and teachers knew] to try to be mindful about the way you word things. Sometimes they can be worded offensively or just they’d say things that make them seem uneducated. It doesn’t really bother me, but it would be nice if they could at least use the proper terminology,” Gudipati said. “[It’s important to educate yourself because] I feel like it definitely helps [you] see what other people are going through and helps people empathize with others.”

Gudipati says that being a child of immigrant parents has taught her to work hard and has acted as motivation throughout her life. 

“[Being the child of immigrant parents] makes me want to do better because [my parents] left their country, and they came to a whole new place for me and my brother to have a good life. I want to make the best of that situation,” Gudipati said. “It makes me want to try harder and be more determined to do things and be the person that would make them proud.”