MEET AVDEEP: From Rural India to Global Advocate

Alumni profile: Avdeep Dhillon

Avdeep joins our Zoom call from her sunny New York City apartment, where she is the Executive Director of First Gen Empower, a non-profit organization that works to address educational inequities by supporting undocumented students with college and career-readiness programming. She’s poised and passionate, but as we dive into our conversation, Avdeep shares that this version of herself has evolved from more humble beginnings.

Born in a rural village in India, Avdeep’s early years were modest. She was born into a multi-generational family of farmers, but her parents wanted to ensure more opportunities for her and her brother. At the heart, an education.

Assimilating to this new life in America was understandably hard for Avdeep. She was thrown into a completely foreign culture at the peak of her teenage years and definitely had her share of self-described “loser outcast” moments. But instead of letting those feelings overwhelm her, Avdeep began to view each one as a new adventure and an opportunity to motivate herself. She was determined to honor her parent’s sacrifice.

It was with this mindset that Avdeep discovered Global Glimpse and was awarded a scholarship to travel to Bonao, Dominican Republic. The following interview offers a glimpse into Avdeep’s journey of global awareness and how Global Glimpse was monumental in shaping her future.

Being immigrants and relatively new to the United States, were your parents hesitant about letting you travel with Global Glimpse?

Absolutely. From a young age, I had a pull to travel and experience new cultures. I really don’t know where it came from because no one in my life had done anything like this. When I was four, I had declared that I would do a world tour.

Being in high school, I didn’t know how seeing the world was going to happen, but when I was awarded a scholarship with Global Glimpse, I knew I had to sign up. I brought the idea up to my parents, and they were, rightfully so, really worried and concerned. At first, the answer was “no,” but in the end, I remained determined and fundraised 100% of my program costs, so they eventually, begrudgingly, gave in.  Today, they like to brag to our relatives about how much I’ve traveled.

What was the biggest takeaway from your Global Glimpse program?

My Global Glimpse trip taught me that travel is about learning what it means to be human. By immersing myself in Dominican culture, I experienced how all humans love, care, and feel the same. I saw glimmers of emotions, universally recognizable in our eyes and faces, despite the differences in our eye or skin color, or even the continent we live on.

During my trip I remember being really inspired by a man named Esteban who has been a revolutionary leader in his community since he was 18 years old. He has defended the rights of the people living in his beloved mountains and prevented them from being polluted by the mining companies. His passion for his cause poured out of him when he talked and was felt by all.

You mentioned seeking connections in your everyday life. How did that impact your future after returning home?

The GG trip was really meaningful. Not only did it help me get started on fulfilling my lifelong dream of travel, but it also set an example of the kind of work I wanted to dedicate my life to. 

After my freshman year at UC Berkeley, I spent the summer in Panama living with a family, immersing myself in the culture, and teaching English at a local school. Without Global Glimpse, I don’t think I would have had the confidence and conviction to pursue this opportunity and all the others that came after it.

I looked for any opportunity that would allow me to continue using travel as a means of positive change. From helping to build a social enterprise startup in Nairobi, Kenya to co-founding my own non-profit organization, First Gen Empower, I continue to bring in lessons from my travel experiences and always try to center humanity and connection.

Can you share more about First Gen Empower, the non-profit organization that you are the full-time Co-Founder and Executive Director of?

Absolutely! As an immigrant living in a relatively low-income area, I was very fortunate to attend a charter school where a four-year education was encouraged. Without these conversations prompted by my teachers, I wouldn’t have had the slightest idea of the complexities involved in applying to, and ultimately getting accepted to, an American college or university.

I feel incredibly lucky to have had an amazing education and amazing experiences like Global Glimpse, but I should not be an exception in my community. Everyone deserves to fulfill their dreams and FGE works to make that a possibility for first-gen students.

What do you think the world would look like if travel, regardless of race, ethnicity, and income, were accessible to all?

Honestly, I think about this often. I believe that humans are fundamentally good. We all intrinsically want the same things—love, security, community, and belonging but I don’t think we always see that in each other.

If everyone had access to travel, especially in the early transformative years, I believe we would live less in an “Us vs. Them” mindset and instead embrace the power of “WE.”

The color of our skin or the language we speak would no longer be seen as different or threatening because we would know that the similarities that connect us are greater than those that threaten to pull us apart. With this shift in awareness, I think we would all live more intentionally and recognize our shared humanity.