From The Peopling of New York City

Hi, my name is Jasmine Varughese. I intend to double major in religious studies and anthropology. I love learning about different groups of people, their traditions and beliefs. Though, I plan to be a medical doctor, another strong passion of mine. I can’t wait to study abroad during my years at Brooklyn! Also, my volunteer experience abroad has left me yearning to go back to other countries. I hope to join the Peace Corps and Doctors Without Borders someday.

How I Became a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker. I was born April 16, 1991 at Flushing Hospital, Queens. Though, my parents went to great lengths to make my brother and I New Yorkers. My parents came to America in May of 1984 from Mumbai, India. My aunt had filed for them to come to America in 1979. My eldest brother was 2 years old and my mom was pregnant with my second brother. Both my parents got their masters degrees in India and worked as teachers. My mom was an English and history teacher and my dad taught botany and calculus. My dad had got a promotion to be principal of a very prestigious school in Maharastra, India. My dad is the oldest sibling and had the responsibility of taking care of the rest of his brothers and sisters. Though, they still left everything to come to the “land of opportunity”. When they came here, they found out that their degrees didn’t transfer and worked jobs that didn’t match their level of education to survive. My dad first worked at Duane Reade and my mom took a federal exam to get a position at the New York State Insurance Fund. My family struggled to bring in an income for four people so my parents sent my brothers back to India to be raised with my grandparents till they were steady. Both my parents went back to school in America, took up new careers all while building our family.

This is a picture in Toledo, Spain in 2009.