Parisa Rouhani
Populace
Boston, MA USA
"Just because it hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean it can’t be done."
Career Roadmap
Parisa's work combines: Science, Technology, and Learning / Being Challenged
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Look inwardly and try to figure out what you're actually passionate about and fulfilled by. If whatever you're studying doesn't align with that, then have courage to make a change. I recommend imagining what it is that you want to accomplish. Then, don't just think about the end goal, but think about the process and the steps it will take to get there. Then reflect on whether or not that imagined process feels right to you. That has been the best way for me to decide if a path is right for me.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Management Information Systems, General
University of Arizona
Graduate Degree
Technology, Innovation, and Education
Harvard University
Doctorate
Developmental Science
Harvard University
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
I immigrated to the United States from Iran with my family when I was 2 years old and settled in Arizona.
2.
We moved to Brazil for a couple of years for my mother’s job and came back to Arizona when I was 8 years old.
3.
My elementary school wrongly assumed that I should be placed in an ESL class because I had lived in Brazil—through that experience, I learned early on that I couldn’t let others make decisions for me.
4.
We moved many times while I was in school, which gave me a lot of practice navigating different types of systems so that I was better able to figure out what types of experiences I wanted.
5.
I went to college to pursue engineering because it was interesting and new to me, but I realized I hated it and wouldn’t be happy in that type of job, so I switched to management information systems.
6.
I joined the workforce and realized that I still wasn’t as happy in my work as I wanted to be—my job dealt with how things work and I was more interested in how people learn—so I went back to school.
7.
I earned a master’s degree in technology, innovation, and education as well as a doctorate in developmental science from Harvard University.
8.
I co-founded Populace, a think tank focused on imagining and creating a culture where individuality is the norm.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Parents:
You can't change majors. You need to finish the path you're on. Work hard now and you'll be rewarded later.
How I responded:
When I realized that I was miserable with the major I was pursuing in college, my parents were decidedly against me changing majors. I was raised with the mentality that I had to work hard now and be rewarded later—even if that meant I'd be miserable in the pursuit. But I had learned early on that I couldn't let others make decisions for me when it came to my personal interests. Thinking for myself, figuring out what I wanted, and making choices that reflected that was ultimately the right path.