Vismaya Mohindra

Contact

vismaya@wharton.upenn.edu

Ask Me About…

Before studying abroad in Singapore, I had never travelled abroad alone, so landing in a new country, culture, and education system halfway across the world was both exciting and overwhelming.
From my dorm room in Singapore to hotel lobbies in Indonesia and Vietnam, I interviewed for U.S.-based internships across a 12-15 hour time difference, waking up before sunrise or taking calls well past midnight. As stressful as it was, balancing recruiting, travel, and academics quickly taught me how to manage my time and stay focused.
I also had to navigate the unexpected, including getting sick in a foreign country, losing my credit cards, and figuring out how to maintain long-distance connections with my support system living over 24+ hours away by plane. I found strength in community through local friends and other exchange students, whose friendship and support will stay with me for a lifetime.
I’d love to chat with students about managing recruiting across time zones, making new friends, and being prepared for emergency scenarios.

My Experience Abroad

As a student studying South Asian Studies and Marketing, I’ve always been drawn to the intersections of culture, language, and business. However, studying abroad in Singapore added layers to my academics that I didn’t even know were missing.

Stepping outside of my comfort zone, I deepened my connection to South Asian Studies by enrolling in Beginning Tamil and exploring Little India’s food, history, and community. Immersed in a region where Tamil is an official language, I was able to bring to life classroom concepts about diaspora and identity to life.

I also decided to take a course in Financial Geography, a new discipline that explores the intersection of urban development, finance, and policy. From tracing the history of currency to exploring the inequalities introduced (and solved) by new fintech solutions, the course challenged my understanding on business ethics and its capability to produce sustainable, long-lasting outcomes.

Learning a new language, navigating unfamiliar neighborhoods, and analyzing business through a geographic lens all reinforced one thing – the importance of culture and context. Whether I’m thinking about consumer behavior or branding strategy in my future career, my time abroad reminds me that understanding people’s backgrounds and day-to-day lives, the context in which they live in, is essential!

Other Highlights

• Studying street signage in Singapore: with four official languages, Singapore’s signage is often lengthy, and it’s fascinating to see how different place names are translated into each language. A fun example: the Singapore Botanic Gardens is பூ மலை in Tamil, which translates into “flower mountain”!
• Exploring the food scene in Southeast Asia: you can find just about any cuisine here, suitable for every diet. Some highlights include an amazing Peranakan-Thai vegetarian restaurant in Singapore that I’m still dreaming about, desserts from hawker centers and bakeries, trying bánh xèo for the first time in Vietnam, and cafe-hopping in Malaysia.
• The friends I met during my time abroad: I was able to reconnect with old high school friends, befriend new exchangers from all over the world, and meet many local students who I am still in touch with today. Learning and experiencing everyone’s different cultures including holidays, cuisines, and language made each day so exciting and new.
• Traveling in my free time: I was able to visit Vietnam, Malaysia, Bali, and Hong Kong with my friends on weekends. In addition to exploring the beautiful scenery and historic sights of Southeast Asia, I also learned a lot about how to plan trips, travel safely, and navigate emergencies!