An Entrepreneurial Mindset with Pooja

Transcript

Now let’s head over to SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, to meet up with Pooja. She’s majoring in technological entrepreneurship and management with a minor in statistics and a certificate in cross-sector leadership. Once again, these students are so impressive. And she’s gonna talk to us about what the ASU entrepreneurial mindset is all about here. Pooja, take it away.

A big, warm hi and welcome to everybody watching. A little bit about me. So, born and raised in Chennai India, I came to Phoenix all by myself the day after I turned 18, flying over 15,000 kilometers for 24 hours with nothing but two suitcases, two carry-ons, and quoting Coldplay, “A head full of dreams.”

I was admitted to ASU as a scholar of the Next Generation Service Corps, which is a four-year leadership and scholarship program which trains its members in cross-sector collaboration, community engagement, and human-centered problem solving to create tangible solutions to complex societal problems. Outside of ASU, I’m an advisory council member for Ashoka U, which is the world’s largest higher education social innovation convener with a global community of 500 Changemaker Campuses. Fun fact, ASU is one of the Changemaker Campuses, and I both attended and presented at the Ashoka U Exchange Conference in the past, representing ASU. All this might seem like a lot, but the hustle is what I live for, and it’s integral in the making of an entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial mindset.

Speaking of the entrepreneurial mindset, at ASU we define it as letting your curiosity take flight, securing connections, and creating value. And it is by no means limited to only those who wanna start a business. In fact, at ASU, we go above and beyond to incorporate the entrepreneurial mindset in everything we do as Sun Devils. It has definitely been one of the most important tools I’ve learned, for everything I’ve been able to achieve and accomplish is because of the entrepreneurial mindset. I’ve been a member of several startup founding teams and founded my own EdTech startup called Purpose Setter to help high school students make clear and purpose-driven career decisions for which we won several awards and funding.

My personal motto has always been passionately ambitious, continuously learning, and constantly problem-solving, and from the minute I set foot at ASU, I knew I belonged here. ASU is different from other universities in that we are measured by whom we include and not whom we exclude, and it is for this reason that I chose ASU. I’ve learned and grown so much here at ASU, made so many friends, met with top-notch faculty and staff, and been a part of many wonderful opportunities. And I’ll forever be a proud Sun Devil. Alex, that’s what entrepreneurial mindset is all about at ASU. Back to you.

Pooja, that was incredible. Great work. What you’re accomplishing here at ASU is phenomenal. You’re gonna change the world, Pooja.