Finding a home abroad: U of T grad Sera Gandhi’s journey from Pune to Toronto

New grad Sera Gandhi.

“How exactly does one say goodbye?” asks Sera Gandhi in an online essay about leaving her hometown of Pune, India, to study at the University of Toronto.

“How does one leave their familiar surroundings, their home, and not look back? How does one pack up their whole life into three suitcases and make sure that they don’t leave anything behind? How does one do all this with a smile?”

In 2021, Gandhi had already done the first year of her undergrad remotely from India due to the pandemic, with 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. workdays and classes in the wee hours of the morning via Zoom.

Her journey from Pune to Toronto was an arduous 80-hour series of flights with stops in the Maldives, Istanbul and London. And once she arrived, she had to quarantine for two weeks in her adopted city where she had no family or friends.

“I wish I could say that through those times I was always confident and optimistic,” she says. “But no, I experienced a lot of anxiety and thought, ‘I have no idea what I'm doing.’ But in the end, the journey gave me confidence that I could face whatever the next three years threw at me.”

Today, Gandhi considers Toronto to be home and graduated this spring as a member of New College, with a double major in psychology and cognitive science – and a smile.

Here, she shares her thoughts on how she has thrived in her new home.

How did you adjust to life in a new city and country without family or friends?

When I moved to Toronto, I realized that, wow, I have nobody here – no aunts, uncles, not even distant relatives. So, I decided to create a new community to replace the support system I left behind. And I found the best way to do that was to become involved in as many student life experiences as I could.

During my first year in Toronto, I was the social commissioner on the New College student council which meant organizing all sorts of social events like bingo and craft nights. And the year after, I was senior learning experience assistant with the Office of Residence and Student Life at the New College where I got to meet new students and organize events for first-year students in residence. It really helped me find people like myself who were committed to building an inclusive and equitable space for students. It was through those experiences that Toronto became my new home.

What is it about cognitive science and psychology that interested you?

In my first introduction to cognitive science class, Professor John Vervaeke described cognitive science as the discipline that’s trying to explain how we as humans explain things and how we understand things. I've always been fascinated by how the human brain works and cognitive science allows me to think about it from many different angles – from the perspective of computer science, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience.

On top of that, psychology helped me apply what I learned to the world around me; the things that I was learning about, I could see around me. And that's what I like about psychology. Many people would say it's more abstract than the natural sciences, but I think you can see it around you if you know what you're looking for.

Can you describe the research you did during your undergrad?

I worked with Professor Felix Cheung and PhD student Elizabeth Chan on a project that looked at social relationships and how they affect the well-being of adolescents. In other words, how does time spent with different social partners affect how an adolescent is feeling? We looked at data from over 4 million participants to see who these young people spent time with and how that affected them. And we found that time spent alone on weekdays instead of with one's peers, friends or a parent was found to have a negative effect on their well-being. But we also found that when adolescents spent time alone on weekends, it was as good for their well-being as when they spent that time with social partners.

What are your post-graduation plans?

My goal is to continue to do what I did during my undergrad – help underserved and minority populations. So, being involved in community well-being, building identity – not just collective identity but also individuals’ identities within minority populations. I took a course in my last year about disabilities and exceptionality in human learning and since then, I've joined disability advocacy groups. So, I'm taking this year to determine the best way for me to reach those goals – whether it’s through a career in law, psychology, or mental health and well-being. I'm keeping my options open and exploring as much as I can but I’ve also taken a position as a research assistant at CAMH, where I’ll support a project involving assessment and intervention with parents and children with mental health difficulties.

Looking back over the past four years, what advice you would give students just beginning their undergrad?

Be as adventurous as you can. When you start at U of T, there’s so much to think about. You want to do well academically. There are classes and exams to think about. You want to maintain your GPA. There are all sorts of logistics to worry about. And all of that’s important of course. But it’s really important to take these four years to discover yourself outside of academics. So, meet as many people as you can. Be open minded. Be spontaneous. Don’t just try to survive – thrive! Prioritize your happiness and discover yourself.

Originally published by University of Toronto Faculty of Arts & Science