Q: Describe your summer internship in three words
SK: Collaborative, challenging, rewarding.
Q: Out of the seven Panasonic Principles, which one do you align with most and why?
SK: "Contribution to Society" hits home for me. Last semester, I worked on a project where we built an app for seniors to use telehealth services. Watching my own grandmother struggle with video calls back home made me realize how much impact thoughtful design can have. It's not enough to build cool tech - it must help real people solve real problems. That's what gets me excited about working at Panasonic.
Q: How do you define resiliency? Why is resiliency important to you?
SK: Resiliency for me is getting back up when things don't go as planned - which happens way more often than I'd like to admit! When I first moved to Boston, everything felt overwhelming. The weather, the coursework -- even simple things like grocery shopping were challenging. I learned that life is not about avoiding failure, it's about what you do after you mess up. My mom always says, "problems are just puzzles waiting to be solved," and that mindset has stuck with me through tough times.
Q: If you could swap jobs with anyone at Panasonic for a day, who would it be and why?
SK: Priya Banigandlapati, my manager. She's amazing at what she does. She can explain the most complex, technical information in a way that makes sense, and always takes time to help her team learn and grow. I'd love to experience how she thinks through strategic decisions and balances all the different stakeholders. Plus, she's genuinely kind, which brings significant benefits in the corporate world by fostering positive relationships and enhancing teamwork and morale.
