Senior Consultant Shares Experience at Clarkston and What AAPI Heritage Month Means

Prema, senior consultant at Clarkston, shared with us her career story and beautiful words about what AAPI Heritage Month means to her during this May. Read below to hear about one of her role models that she’s inspired by and had the pleasure of meeting.

AAPI Heritage Month 2024

What does AAPI heritage month mean to you? 

Celebrating and recognizing AAPI heritage month brings about the awareness of unity in diversity, draws the commonality in culture across the globe and unites people in celebrating culture, traditions, and heritage. It also helps us realize the similarity of values across the cultures.

Who is someone in the Asian / AAPI community that you look up to or are inspired by? 

Sudha Murty is my role model in the Asian community. She is an entrepreneur, activist, social reformer, passionate volunteer, literary, an electrical engineer woman in STEM who was the first engineer to be hired by TELCO, India’s largest auto manufacturer. She is also the recipient of the Padma Bhushan (2023) and Padma Shri (2006) Awards (one of the highest awards conferred by Govt.of India). She is an epitome of brilliance, intelligence, charisma, elegance, strength, courage, modesty and humility – and is not bashful of draping the traditional Indian attire, a sari, decked up with flowers in her hair. I was very fortunate to meet her in person at a book signing event and told her that she is my role model. It was amazing!

Prema’s Career Story

How long have you been with Clarkston?

I have been with Clarkston for a total of five years.

What is your role at Clarkston?

I am a Senior FICO SAP Consultant.

Tell us about a new skill you’ve developed recently.

I have developed effective time-management that is needed in a work-from-home model.​

If you had to choose, which of Clarkston’s core values do you feel resonates with you the most?

Brilliant Client Service is my favorite of Clarkston’s core values.

What advice would you give to someone starting at Clarkston?

Clarkston is one of the best places to work, where each steward is valued, respected, and accepted for who they are. As a consultant, integrity, sincerity, hard work, team spirit, and personal accountability goes a very long way at Clarkston. Clarkston fosters a very congenial working environment and is a great place to learn, grow and contribute at a professional level.

Can you share some advice that someone at Clarkston has given you during your time here?

The best advice I’ve received from one of my colleagues at Clarkston was to “focus on what one can do rather than fretting about what one cannot do.”

Tell us about a memorable experience you’ve had while working with a client.

Every project has been a very memorable experience. However, there was one experience that I had on my very first project in Janesville/Madison, WI, that is etched in my memory. Nature’s wrath was expressed as an ice storm, which progressively got worse as we were enjoying the weekly team dinner. When dinner was done and I stepped out in the parking lot, I was shocked to see my car enveloped with nearly half an inch of ice. To my surprise, the Senior most Clarkston manager on-site that day, tapped me on my shoulder, asked me to start the car and sit in the car, while he and few other colleagues scraped the ice off the windshield so I could drive safely to my hotel. An experience in human values that I will always cherish.

Learn how you can develop your career at Clarkston here.