By: Nikita Kulkarni, Fall 2016 Braven Fellow, Rutgers University – Newark
My mother has been a tremendous inspiration to me throughout my career journey, giving me valuable advice and life lessons based on her own experiences. She works in pharma as a Project Manager and is responsible for overseeing the entire process of putting a drug in the market, from creation until it is packaged and shipped.
Throughout her career, she has always been an ambitious go-getter. She has achieved her career goals by putting in 100% to every project and asking to work on projects that appealed to her. She made me realize that you can’t wait for opportunities to come to you — YOU must be the one to pursue what you want. She has taught me to be more confident which is a skill that isn’t natural for me. Without having the confidence to 
network with people in the workplace, to ask for more responsibilities, and to share your vision for a project, you can not advance in your career.
My mother has also incited in me a fierce drive to build a successful career and overcome any challenges I face. Her biggest challenge was maintaining a work-life balance: advancing in her career while still being able to spend an ample amount of time with her family. I am incredibly inspired by her ability to manage this. The best example of it is when she was working full-time, studying for her MBA as a part-time student, and still not letting my sister and I feel her absence when we were younger. She was always around and actively taking care of us. This moment of her journey has made me appreciate her dedication to her dream and unwavering faith in being able to achieve it. She knew what she wanted and did whatever was necessary to achieve it, all while enjoying family time simultaneously.
As I have been faced with more responsibilities throughout my college career (which I know are preparing me for life in the business world), remembering this time in her life gives me the confidence that I will be able to balance all of them if I have the drive to pursue them and the hard work to achieve them.
In short, my mother has been a source of inspiration for me, not by giving direct advice, but by setting a tremendous example that I strive to follow.
Nikita Kulkarni is studying Finance and Management Information Systems at Rutgers University – Newark. She is the President of Rutgers Undergraduate Women in Business in addition to being a 2016 Braven Fellow.