Kanchan Vissamesetty | Photo submitted by Kanchan Vissamesetty
Two Indian international students found themselves in the U.S. under similar circumstances, but the passion and pressure that drove them there are completely different.
Tisha Sharma and Kanchan Vissamsetty each came to Wright State University as international students. While they chose the same college, the pressures they faced in pursuit of their passions were different.
Sharma struggled to separate her own interests from her family’s, while Vissamsetty tried to balance her dual passions of music and academics.
Destined for America
Sharma’s parents decided that she would come to study in the U.S. before she was born, and put her in an international school to learn English along with Hindi.
“It was predetermined that I study in the U.S.,” said Sharma, a psychology major. “My parents put me in an international school and I learned English. I didn’t really have a choice in going to the U.S.”
Sharma came to the U.S. from Gurugram, India. However, most of her family already resides in the U.S. Her dad’s side of the family lives in California as citizens.
Sharma’s family wanted the same for her, so they decided she would study abroad in the U.S. in hopes she could settle there later.
Her mom moved to India from the Philippines, where nursing was a popular career choice, to marry Sharma’s dad. Influenced by her mother’s culture and the rest of her family’s careers in medicine, Sharma first chose to major in biology. This also allowed her to do what she cares about: helping others.
Moving continents for college meant Sharma was the furthest she’d ever been from her family. It takes over half a day for a plane to fly the 7, 521 miles from India to the U.S.
Even with her dad’s family in California, Sharma is still a four-and-a-half-hour flight away from anyone she knows.
Although far from her family, Sharma chose Wright State because it was an affordable, research-based college. At 18, Sharma arrived in the U.S. in 2018 as one of 202, 104 Indian students who came to the country in 2018.
Her brother arrived with her, helping her move in before returning home.
Eventually, Sharma switched to majoring in psychology to pursue more of her own interests. This was a change from her family, who predominantly work in the medical field.
Without family nearby for the first time, Sharma struggled at times connecting on campus.
Sharma eventually joined International Friendship Inc., an on-campus organization for international students. She also joined the fencing club, something she’d always been interested in, and became its president in 2020.
After joining both organizations, Sharma more easily made friends and adjusted to her independence.
She also joined a psychology lab, where she works with other students testing guinea pigs.
Both are interests for Sharma, but her greatest interest is still helping others. Now, instead of a doctor, Sharma is considering going into disaster or emergency management.
This career field could combine medicine and psychology, allowing Sharma to retain her own interest while not straying too far from what she originally planned.
However, Kanchan Vissamsetty from Andhra Pradesh in southeast India had a different experience. Andhra Pradesh is a little over two hours away from Gurugram.
Pursuing a passion for music
She came to the U.S. to pursue her dream of a master’s degree in electrical engineering, but the coursework didn’t allow her to pursue her other passion, music.
Vissamsetty originally only came to the U.S. for her master’s, wanting to study abroad after completing her electrical engineering undergraduate degree in India.
For her, choosing to come to the U.S. was an easy decision. Her sister studied abroad in Texas, and Vissamsetty wanted to have the same experience.
“My sister, she used to say that she used to go to one day or two days for classes and I used to feel like okay I wanna go there. I need more holidays,” said Vissamsetty.
After applying to several different universities, she chose to complete her master’s in electrical engineering at Wright State.
“I feel like in India. We used to have only like two options like after 11th or 12th grade, like after schooling 10th grade. Either they think like that they need to go to engineering or medicine,” said Vissamsetty.
Despite feeling she had only two choices between majors, she found she enjoyed her classes enough to continue her Ph.D.
An electrical engineering graduate student, Vissamsetty also enjoys classical Indian music. She grew up listening to music daily as a child and even completed a diploma in Indian classical music in India.
However, her class load and goals don’t allow her to pursue it as much as she would like to at Wright State.
Working on her Ph.D. means Vissamsetty is taking three courses each semester, along with her research. This is a change from when she worked on her master’s, which only required two classes per semester.
The additional class has been difficult for Vissamsetty, who strives to put 100 percent effort in all she does but feels like there’s not enough time for her to work on her degree and pursue music.
Vissamsetty enjoys both but puts her academics first. She spends most of her time studying for classes and hasn’t joined any music clubs or organizations. However, she hopes to in the future.
“Sometimes I feel like, okay, let me wait. Maybe once I complete the minimum requirements of my Ph.D. course I can take something,” said Vissamsetty.
