Humans of Lee: Amulya Sake, international student
Amulya Sake, a freshman at Lee, says students ought to enjoy the freedoms they're afforded where they are.
Valeria Ramirez/ Lee Clarion
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, I sat under the shade chatting with Amulya Sake, a freshman Public Relations major and international student from Delhi, India.
She's living outside of her homeland for the first time, and Amulya is now experiencing a completely different culture from what she has always known. She described the perks and downfalls of living in India, as well as in the United States.
“There's been a lot of crime in Delhi, and it is a city, so obviously the crime rate is high. However, I was born and brought up there so it is my home. It’s just the warmth and fun of metropolitan life. It’s a rush, but I miss the rush now,” she admitted.
Fresh out of the high school experience, Amulya—affectionately dubbed Amu by her friends—pointed to the similarities she saw between the two countries in their respective education systems.
“High school was so fun. I don’t think high school is that different in India than it is here. High school life is all about who looks cool and who’s better than everybody. Though I do think the education there is tougher than it is here, specifically in high school,” Amulya said. “I think that even if the culture is different, everyone goes through the same basic human phases in life. I know many people here who went through depression and really felt low about themselves in middle school, and I felt that same way during middle school. I’m glad that in high school I developed into a new person and was super happy with who I am. One thing that I love about here is that nobody cares how you dress, what you are, or how you act.”
In India, where caring about dress standards carries a great deal of weight, women are forced into stereotypical dress measures.
“Girls usually wear shorts [in America]. They dress up the way they want,” Amulya said. “But one thing that is really prominent in India is that people judge by looks; they judge by the cover of the book. That is one thing that I didn't like in India.”
Even so, her parents allowed her certain freedoms as she grew up. She was given an education, and since her dad is a missionary, she was able to broaden her view of the world by meeting and conversing with missionaries from other parts of the globe.
“I think meeting them has given me an open mind. In my society, I was the free one,” she said. “There were still restrictions for us [Amulya and her friends] though, like not being able to be out of the house after eight or nine at night—for safety reasons. Even in the daylight, being a girl is not considered to be safe.”
During winter of last year, Chair of the Communication Arts Department Dr. Joel Kailing traveled to India to see his daughter, who is serving there as a missionary. Amulya and her parents had a connection with Kailing, and he came to visit their church.
“He told me about Lee,” Amulya said. “I was stuck in between local colleges in India and Lee, and when I realized that going to the local college would not work, I diverted all my focus to Lee. It was sort of my last option even though it was at the top of my list; I had never truly thought about coming to the United States and studying. I came to realize that it was all God’s work and that God had a plan for me.”
Before coming to attend Lee, Amulya had only ever been to the United States once—to visit really close friends in Atlanta the summer of last year.
“My mom loved the environment here because in India, specifically in Delhi, it is very polluted and populated, while here there is so much space and so much fresh air. I was fascinated by how different it was. I loved the U.S.”
But that doesn't mean there aren't aspects of India she misses in her day-to-day living.
“I had never actually left Delhi for long. I have been there all my life, basically. I have been in a city; I have heard noises when I awake up. Shouts, wiggles— even our ACs make noise," she said. "I miss the noises in Delhi. Here it is quiet, serene, calm, but Delhi is hectic and noisy. But that is one thing I miss.”
Despite longing for sounds of home, Amulya isn't sure she wants to return to Delhi after she graduates in 2021.
“I would love to get opportunities here. In India it is all about the degree, they don’t care about your experience," she said. "I have heard that only the people who go to Harvard, Oxford, or Columbia get positions in deserved companies there; for them, having a degree from known universities is more important than experience or knowledge of the job.”
Her first career inclination is towards something in the world of theater or acting, and during her tenure at Lee she wishes to focus more on singing than she has in the past.
“I love singing, but I never really focused on it. My mom wanted me to learn the Hindustani music, but it didn’t interest me much because of how conventional it is,” Amulya said. “I actually got more into singing when the lead of my church choir went away and I started singing and leading the choir. That made me realize that I was pretty good at it and that I liked it.”
Of course, Amulya couldn't have chosen a better school if she wants to sing. LeeU is overflowing with opportunities to show off vocal talent—from choirs to small vocal groups, the sky is virtually the limit.
But for Amulya? She'd rather join a band. That particular foray into music sounds a bit more appealing, since bands create their own music and have their own sound.
Before going our separate ways, Amulya asked me to remind Lee students to remember how fortunate we are to live in a university and a country with such a wide range of opportunities.
“Appreciate what you have,” she said. “I come from India where we do not get this much exposure and experience or such good values included with studies. Here, students have a lot of freedom and I do not want them to take it for granted. I know how much freedom I have now, and how much freedom I had in India. There’s a lot of difference.”
