Siena College
05/03/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/03/2024 11:59
The Untold Story of... Rashmi Assudani, Ph.D.
- My geographic origins: I grew up in India, a country with a population of 1.4 billion people.
- My academic foundation: I received an undergraduate in physics (honors) and an MBA. I received both these degrees from India. I earned an executive diploma from the Netherlands, and then a Ph.D. in strategy & organizations (with a minor in sociology) from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
- Global living: I have lived in four countries across three continents (Asia, Europe & North America).
- Global travel: My family and I have enjoyed travels to 17 different countries including China, Singapore, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba and Poland.
- Languages: I am a fluent bi-lingual (Hindi & English), and am reasonably comfortable understanding and partially speaking two additional languages (Punjabi & Sindhi), and I can boast about learning two more languages (Russian & French), which I have now lost the ability to grasp!
- Personal married life: I married my high school sweetheart Kunal in 1994. We have been blessed with two children - Siddhant who is currently working with EY in their risk management practice in the New York city office, and Suhani who is currently a sophomore pursuing human centered engineering major at Boston College.
- Personal life growing up: I am the middle of three sisters and grew up in a close-knit family in India. My parents have been my strongest cheer leaders. At several occasions and presentations, I find myself quoting what I serendipitously learnt from them while growing up.
- Movies, books, and hobbies: I am a family person, and love to spend time with my close family and friends. So, that's how I mostly spend my (free) time! I love watching Bollywood (Hindi movies from India), and following Bollywood music! The one book that has left a mark on me is a book called 'The Difficulty of Being Good: The subtle Art of Dharma'. This book, written by the former CEO of P&G India, draws upon the Hindu epic Mahabharata to present challenging moral ambiguities in modern life.
- Who else in personal life: Our wonderful addition, Pluto! Pluto, our golden doodle, came into our life in 2018. He is a joy to our family and has been a steady and joyful support to all of us! (below)
- Community: Before arriving in Albany in Summer 2023, we lived in Cincinnati, Ohio for 23 years. I am blessed with an extraordinary community that surrounds us. The community of - family, many friends that span the globe, several extraordinary friends who are family to us that live in Cincinnati and in other parts of the US, my spiritual community that spans the globe and has a presence in Albany as well!