Hello!
My name is Arianna. My background as a foster care alumni and minority has made me understand the importance of education and community support. – you can watch a video about me and my past here – After receiving the Beat the Odds Scholarship, I returned to the Children’s Defense Fund to teach middle school students in a homeless shelter. I’m 2016 graduate of MIT, with a Course 21E Bachelor of Science degree: Engineering in Material Science and Anthropology. I lived in Random Hall during my undergraduate years, one of MIT’s undergraduate dorms in Cambridge. If you want to know more about Random Hall, check out the Random Hall page and blog. Through work, guidance, and luck, I was able to attend MIT for four and a half years on full scholarship. Proudly, I have earned a 4.2/5.0 GPA at MIT; I was also able to write a grant proposal to have funding for two summers of an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program.
What I do
My work has also been acknowledged in the two papers the MFA has published in The Journal of the American Institute for Conservation. I prepared an exhibit for public display during Black history month for the Martin Luther King Jr. Seminar and Exhibit class. At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, my slides and updated program templates were used for Merry Foresta’s curator talk for the opening of Democracy of Images Exhibition. My documentation and protocol writing was used in the Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance imitative at Boston University DAR Research, utilized to archive 1,200 paper records into a centralized filing system and train a cohort of five federal work-study students to clean documents of confidential information. I share here some of my academic writing and art.
Plus Cat
I also talk about my two cats. Prilla (Full name: Priscilla) is a shelter cat from the MSPCA. She was a mom living out on the streets until the MSPCA found her. All her kittens were adopted before her. She languished in ill humor. Finally, I adopted her, whisking her away to Random Hall. Prilla is a laid back cat with plenty of nicknames: Prilla-illa, Prills, Meow-ster, Loser cat, Bae, Cat (Breakfast at Tiffany’s style), and more. Her least favorite nick name is Cow from when she had her tummy shaved from neutering and her black spots gave her a particularly unfashionable cow like look. Her mood has improved since then. Prilla now enjoys sleeping, eating, and having her chin scratched.
My second beautiful fur child, Toothless, is named after the dragon from How to Train Your Dragon. She really does have all her teeth! She’s just like her namesake: all black, sleek, and flops over when scratched on her shoulders. Toothie also has an oversize sense of adventure. She loves to murder my plants and try to smell people – and cats’ – butts. She too is a rescue kitty, from the Canton Cat Rescue. She’s a high energy ball of destruction, but she’s glad to be here on the blog too!
Reach Out!
To contact me:
ariapluscat@gmail.com
I paint landscapes and portraits, constantly improving. I hope to one day work as an art conservator. I enjoy challenging myself to try new techniques and share my emerging work.
ariapluscat 
Hey Arianna,
here you have got an Indian fan….i watched your video about your struggle but
due to your US accent i couldn’t understand it much….it seemed you lost your mother or may be someone else due to cancer & someone committed suicide & i am sorry i could not understand anything after that….i am from the CITY OF JOY kolkata but the word JOY is rare in my life .My life has never been bed of roses.
My father committed suicide due to mental illness in 2003 when i just passed class 10 in my school.He was the only earning person.My mother is uneducated & she can’t do anything without my help. My parents did a lot to help my own sister to stand on her feet. After becoming a computer teacher in a very reputed English medium school(DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL in RUBY in Kolkata ) she chose to separate herself from our family over few issues with my mom. Now i am not yet settled .I am pursuing COST & MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANCY (final) .I am also working in a call center here to look after my mom.My mom tells me to study whenever i get time but I don’t feel like studying any more as its quite difficult to focus while doing job,specially COST & MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANCY (final stage) is very higher level of study.
If i can improve my English then i can get promoted to be a team leader in my company & then i can manage some time for my study.
I am also thinking of learning web designing & seo to start my own business though web designing & seo are different from COST & MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANCY.I am 29 years old now. I have to settle anyhow ..but I am confused as to which career path to choose…
there are so many things to do in life…there are so many career opportunities / career puzzles in life…
Could you give me some good advice as to what exactly i should do about my career ?
SANJIB BANERJEE
+91 9674481851
+91 9339651734
KOLKATA
INDIA
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I just want to apologize about taking so long to get back to you.
I’m very sorry to hear about your father. Losing a parent is always difficult but losing one due to suicide is a unique pain.
I don’t know the best thing to do but I would suggest a few things that might help.
It’s wonderful and kind that you can help your mother.
If you can reach out to your sister, not asking for anything but just to make sure she is alright and happy. Family troubles are hard, but you can maybe be good friends with your sister still.
I am glad that you have a job in a call center. That sounds like good work, even if it is draining you. Please take time to take care of yourself as you study. Recognize your hard work. To be less drained, try to break your studying into small tasks or find someone else who is working on improving.
You may be able to use online courses that are free to help you. MIT’s OCW has resources for web design, programing, and even finance that you can use for free at your own pace.
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/
For learning a language there is https://www.duolingo.com/ and also if you can practice talking and reading.
I struggled to choose a career. You have many concerns for yourself and your family to balance. I would suggest you think about what is a good stable job as well as what you can do without being too tired or sad.
I hope that my advice was clear and understandable. I wish you the best of luck! Please give your mother a warm hug!
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I WANT TO THANK YOU MAM FOR YOUR KIND ADVICE. SO LET ME SHARE SOMETHING ABOUT ME WITH YOU TODAY & PLEASE FORGIVE ME AS THIS MIGHT GO LITTLE LENGTHY .
MY FATHER—
He was good in English despite being from Bengali medium school as he had an Australian friend named David. So my English is also ok though I am also from Bengali medium school. BUT I LACK FLUENCY & THAT’S MY PROBLEM.
He was a genuine person with high moral values & simplicity & so people around him in his office(ABP Ltd., a reputed news agency/media in INDIA)& also outside used to make him fool in various ways to fulfill their vested interests & I was a small kid that time. I am capable of protecting my father as on today if he was alive.
I have many memories with him as we together traveled to many places like Madhya Pradesh, Puri, & in West Bengal places like Murshidabad, Maldah, Santiniketan , Digha & many more.
Our relatives (though after his death they don’t talk to us as they want to stay away) think he did little to protect the future of our family & he was an unorganized kind of a person lacking practical sense.
But I don’t care as I’ll build my own career with my two hands.
MY MOM—-
It’s my duty to do everything possible to fulfill all her dreams as soon as possible. She is a frustrated mother over concerns about my sister’s & my future. She gets angry as well as cool down fast .She is not educated but very frank & happy like a child when in good mood. I teach her many things like how to use a mobile phone, her bank cards ,etc.
MY SISTER—-
What a co-incident!!! As you sent your reply on 24th I just got a SMS from her asking about how r we doing. When we tried calling her many a times she insulted us badly, now she is sending SMS. Well, after your advice I’ll definitely call her. Let’s see.
MY JOB & STUDY—
Ah!! That’s the biggest issue indeed. My friends are all settled in life & spread all over the world almost. One of my friends accepted my friend request on FACEBOOK but after learning that I am not yet settled & I just work in a call center he choose to stay away & he was one of my best friends during college life. That’s all right. I felt little bad but accepted everything.
HOW CAN I CREATE SPACE FOR MY STUDY ?
My mom has a pension of 6k p.m (Rs. 6000/Rs. 60= $ 100 p.m) & I contribute 4k p.m (Rs. 4000/Rs. 60= $ 66.67 p.m) , so our monthly budget is 10k p.m ($ 166.67 p.m & $1=Rs. 60). My gross salary is 10k p.m & net salary is 8.8k p.m.
So if I work for only 4 months in a year I’ll have 36k including govt. dues to manage these 4 months & the rest 8 months of a year as well (instead of 4k p.m I’ll contribute 3k p.m & manage, so 3k p.m makes it 36k for all the 12 months).
So if I work only Jan-April’15 & then leave my job , I can well seat & study at home for rest 8 months till Dec’15 when finally I can seat for my examinations(gr3 & gr4).CMA exams are held twice in a year-june & dec.
YOU TOLD ME TO THINK ABOUT A GOOD STABLE JOB & A GOOD CAREER OPTION—
(1) If I can complete CMA fast then I can finally land a good job with high salary package. But if it takes to long then the degree CMA will lose its value & cracking interview will be next to impossible due to cut throat competition here. If I complete CMA I’ll get exemptions of 11 papers from CIMA London & banks in INDIA give educational loans to pursue CIMA from INDIA & LONDON.
(2) I can use Tally software & know taxation jobs as I have one year experience in taxation field from a costing firm & got a few offers for a/c job but the salary is somewhere around 6k p.m only so I declined & if I can’t complete CMA then I’ll remain an accountant forever with salary of maximum 10-15k.pm where now-a-days nothing short of 30-40k p.m is called standard. I might get some experience but I’ll hardly get time for study at home & also getting an a/c job now is very tough .
(3) But ‘web & seo’ knowledge is good both for job & business purpose. Right now what do I do in call center ? I sell web & seo services for my company to customers in USA & CANADA. If I know WEB & SEO myself( OR somebody who knows it helps me & off course I’ll give a share of profit) I can call up clients in USA & CANADA from home using my laptop & Skype during night as a part time business besides a settled job during the day. One global seo is $ 3.5k p.m (Rs. 2.1 lac. p.m) & if I wait till next 19 months or can sell to 19 customers in one month I’ll earn Rs.40 lac.(40lac/60=$ 66,667) & buy my mom a 3 BHK flat here in Kolkata (Obviously nor all the customers would need global seo neither I’ll get such big customers initially, so it’s just a rough idea). I don’t have an office so I don’t have any other expenses. BUT THIS WILL TAKE A YEAR LONG PREPARATION.
(4) If I can be fluent in English then I can get better jobs & also start my own English tutorial here for Bengali/Hindi medium students & TAKE MY WORDS along with quality education if I can use little bit marketing strategy this is a really good & more profitable than any other businesses. YOU MENTIONED A VERY GOOD SITE TO LEARN ENGLISH & I THANK YOU FOR THAT. YOU TOLD ME TO PRACTICE TALKING & READING REGULARLY. WELL I DON’T HAVE ANY ONE AT THE MOMENT ,SO MAY I PRACTICE TALKING TO YOU NOT REGULARLY BUT SAY ON SUNDAYS FOR A FEW HOURS OR MAY BE FOR HALF AN HOUR OR SO ? I HAVE INTERESTS IN SOCIAL, ECONOMICAL & POLITICAL ISSUES. SO MAY I ALSO WRITE ARTICLES ON DIFFERENT ISSUES & SHARE WITH YOU TO IMPROVE MY ENGLISH? LEARNING FROM SOME ONE WHOSE MOTHER TONGUE IS ENGLISH IS THE BEST.
(5) If I try in call centers in USA/UK I’ll need citizenship or to meet other tough formalities & getting a citizenship is impossible otherwise this could have been a good option as money earned in $ or pound is huge when converted in INR(Rs.).
These are the 5 plans I had before your advice reached me.
I’m very confused & sick & tired to see that all these plans are actually very lengthy & there is no short cuts.
I want your valuable comments on all that I shared with you so far.
Finally , I gave my mom a warm hug & mentioned about you . Well she started laughing & asked me to convey her LOVE, CARE & BLESSINGS to you.
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WOW ! ITS GREAT TO KNOW THAT INDIA HAS 36 VIEWERS JUST NEXT TO USA !U WANTED COUNTRY RELATED SPECIFIC ISSUSES ,RIGHT? HERE I HAVE GOT SOMETHING FOR U……I WANT U TO WRITE SOMETHING ON BENGAL & INDIA.
HOK KOLOROB
Being an INDIAN I feel that the best thing about USA is if you stay there you normally in everyday life don’t need to face any sort of petty political issues like in INDIA ,specially in West Bengal & Kolkata .Here politics means pulling the legs of one political party by the others irrespective of its negative effect on the country’s development .
In Kolkata we have one of the best universities in INDIA called JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY (J.U) .Almost 10 months back the TMC(trinamul congress) rulled new govt. in West Bengal appointed the new V.C(vice chancellor) Mr. Abhijit Chakraborty in J.U .The new V.C has once been seen in TMC’s political campaigning & in J.U for a long time there exists CPIM’s(communist party of India) units under apolitical names called JUTA(J.U TEACHERS ASSOCIATION) & FEDSU (the students union).So it goes without saying that JUTA & FEDSU just needed an issue to remove the new V.C by whatever means possible .Just about 8 months back they also got an issue where a student was molested inside the J.U campus and the students & the teachers together started blaming the V.C to fail to take proper action against the perpetrators & so they started militant movement against the V.C including gharao, hunger strike, etc. for almost couple of months .In a major breakthrough finally the V.C resigned with a heavy heart & he marked the day as a “BLACK DAY” in BENGAL’s academic field .
LET ME TELL YOU HERE THE FATHER OF THE VICTIM STUDENT WAS SATISFIED WITH THE INTERVENTION OF THE C.M(CHIEF MINISTER OF WEST BENGAL) MAMATA BANERJEE(A LEGENDARY POLITICIAN OF INDIA & MY IDEAL PERSON) AS HER GOVT. ARRESTED ALL THE PERPETRAITORS .
I am sharing this issue with you & whosoever read this article on your blog just to know WHAT HAPPENS IN UNIVERSITIES OF YOUR COUNTRY ,ABOUT STUDENTS POLITICS & THEIR AFFILIATION WITH THE MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES WHETHER UNDER POLTICAL/APOLITICAL NAME/BANNER .I ALSO WANT TO KNOW FROM YOU WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THE ROLES PLAYED BY JUTA ,FEDSU , THE NEW V.C & THE C.M MAMATA BANERJEE & HER GOVT.
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THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR AMERICANS . STAY AWAY FROM Getting Front Page.
THIS COMPANY IS A RIP OFF, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM! THEY ARE LOOTING THE AMERICANS .JUST GO & TYPE IN Getting Front Page IN IRVINE,CA on yelp.com & U WILL GET TO SEE THE REVIEWS.
IF YOU WANT ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THEM I CAN HELP YOU. THEY ARE LOCATED IN INDIA (KOLKATA). IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE ORIGINAL ADDRESS ,PHONE NO.,OWNER’S NAME & ALSO THE CONTACT INFO. OF KOLKATA POLICE STATION I WILL PROVIDE U WITH ALL.
I DON’T HAVE AN USA ZIP CODE SO I CAN’T SIGN UP & WRITE REVIEW ON YELP.COM
THEY KEEP ON CHANGING THE COMPANY NAME EVERY 3 OR 4 MONTHS WITH LOCATIONS & SINCE THEY ACTUALLY ARE NOT LOCATED IN USA SO THEY DON’T GET CAUGHT & THE UNFORTUNATE CUSTOMERS ARE TRYING TO CATCH THEM.
SO COULD YOU PLEASE TAKE ALL THE INFORMATION FROM ME & SHARE THOSE INFO. WITH THE CUSTOMERS WHOSE NAMES YOU CAN SEE ON THE LIST OF REVIEWS IN YELP.COM? THAT WILL BE HELPFUL FOR THEM.
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