Sneha has had an unusual journey since the start! Coming from the family of Doctors and Lawyers, she always chose different career options, whether its choosing Arts over Science, or choosing Hotel Management and Tourism over engineering. Bucking the trend of the usual countries like USA and UK for higher education, she chose New Zealand for her Masters in Tourism Management. She now works at a premier Tourism company in NZ. But even that's not what she's known for!
More than 20000 people (as of now!) on YouTube know her as a Star Vlogger, depicting cultures of New Zealand and India. Her fan following is increasing at a crazy rate from all parts of the world, with more than 100k views on each video.
Being from a small town of Maharashtra and completing her major part of education in local schools, she has had a hell of a journey being a path-breaking YouTube Vlogger! You can check her YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-GksIBnd3eL88-EIEaFm7w
More than excelling language and education, her journey has been more about gaining that super confidence.
Before COVID-19
Q: We would love to know you and your journey so far.
S: I am from Chopda city, Maharashtra in India. I studied my bachelors in India and came to New Zealand in the start of 2018 to study Masters of International Tourism Management. I have always loved travelling and visiting new places. I traveled to beautiful places in New Zealand and thought of documenting it through camera which led me to develop my love for Vlogging. From being an awkward introvert to loving being in front of camera, it’s been quite a self- transforming journey, I would say.
Q: What is your profession? What do you do for feeding your kitchen and your soul? These two may be different as well. You can give us how you spend your typical day if that’s more suitable to your profession.
S: I work as a customer service consultant for a tourism and transport business in Auckland. My work mainly revolves around locals, international tourists and commuters. I enjoy talking to them, dealing with their queries and selling them our products. As I call myself an introverted extrovert, meeting new people around the world and knowing their different perspectives is something I really enjoy about this job.
Q: We would love to know how you came to be who you are now. What were the most important turning points in your childhood that made you YOU?
S: I have been travelling and staying at different places throughout my childhood. I was away from my family for the most of my childhood, which has made me an independent person. Even though I was away from them, my family always encouraged me to do what I love. They always supported my decisions and let me me dive into my dreams and passion.
Q: What was your 3-5 year plan before COVID? We would like to know your long term goals before this unexpected phenomenon.
S: To be honest, I never planned for anything in my life. Things happened with time, decisions were made spontaneously and I let myself dive into it. After finishing 10th, I knew I wasn’t into studies at all. I have always been more into things that existed outside books and exam halls. Travelling, exploring new destinations, cultures is something I am always keen to do. You can say I am bitten by a travel bug. Over the past few years before coming to New Zealand, I allowed myself quite sometime to contemplate about what I really want to do in life. I thought why not pursue a career where I can actually enjoy my work. I decided to study masters in tourism. And that’s how ended up studying masters in New Zealand. I had thought of travelling across New Zealand before this pandemic hit the world. And now no one knows when the world will go back to normal and we can travel.
Q: Any experience with best and the worst bosses/employees? Any story? Don't worry! We'll change the names of those individuals! ;)
S: I don’t have a vivid memory of such incidents at work. But I would say that now that I am working in New Zealand, one thing that I have noticed is the drastic difference between work culture of India and New Zealand. My experience of working in India was never as good as working in New Zealand. I would say no-where close to. I would like to replicate that if and when I come back to India.
Q: What new culture you wanted to bring to the profession you are working in? (before COVID-19 of course!)
S: Smart work, social skills, and passion to learn more everyday!
After COVID-19
Q: How are you holding up the fort of your home and your profession in these trying times? How are you entertaining yourself if you have more free time on your hand now?
S: Now that we moved to level 3 lockdown in New Zealand, my work is resumed. And that's what keeps me busy. Also, planning to make a way out of my work schedule to make vlogs.
Q: What changes are you experiencing in your job? What changes you had to make in your working style?
S: The work definitely has slowed down. As I work in tourism sector, the work flow has reduced tremendously. But the company is trying its best and making a productive use of this situation by providing training sessions to the employees, which will definitely help enhance the skills of the employees for future.
Q: Everyone is talking about how this virus is going to permanently change the way we live now. What do you think will be the biggest change after this Pandemic situation is over?
S: I think, Getting the businesses and world economy on track would be the biggest challenge, especially for the countries with less financial privileges.
Q: Do you think this will affect area/industry you are working in? If yes, why and on what scale? If no, why not?
S: Tourism industry is brutally damaged by this pandemic. Being one of the biggest contributors to the economies of many countries, it’s a big challenge for this industry to get back in its feet. Many tourism companies and jobs are struggling to survive while some of them have already been shut down.
Q: Some of us are optimistic that this is just a small bump in our progress story and won't majorly affect how we lived. Do you agree? Do you think we can get back to where we left before this pandemic?
S: Positive mindset and optimistic perspective have always played a significant role in the business or any industry in terms of developing new aspects of business and new ventures. As they say, there is always sunshine after the storm.
Q: If a kid walked up to asking for your advice for starting his/her venture and you only had a few minutes to give them your best tip, what would it be? Considering the pandemic.
S: I would say, Go for what you really want to do, what you are truly interested in, without giving it a second thought. Better to regret it after doing it rather than not doing it (This makes even more sense to me especially after the pandemic). Every fall teaches us to rise up again. Life and business is all about falling and rising.
Q: Which direction you think that we all - as a world - responsibly need to act and think? You can say in whichever sense you feel is most important.
S: We all can make the world a better place by embracing Unity, sensibility, compassion, and humanity.
Q: We should not ignore the silver linings that you noticed in this scare. After all, hope is what makes the world go round. What positive thing you experienced during this pandemic?
S: I learned to appreciate the value of life, family, and time. Learned to live every moment as if it’s the last because life is too short to hold back.
Q: Do you think you and the world need to set new milestones? Will sustainability and earth-friendly business practices be an important factor now? How will you ensure you fit in this new picture in your respective profession?
S: This pandemic has taught a hard lesson to the mankind. It’s high time that Sustainability and eco-friendly practices should be implemented in the businesses and everyday living as well. I have always believed and practiced Minimalist life style that does not involve any harm to the environment and plan to continue doing so.
Comments