ACK Smart is thrilled to welcome our first intern to the team: Shirin Vora!
Born and raised in Ahmedabad, India, Shirin completed her undergrad and decided to travel to the United States for the first time with the aspiration of completing a masters degree in energy systems. Currently enrolled at Northeastern University, she is studying in the College of Engineering.
“My program is Energy Systems. I basically wanted to get into renewable energy and this is one of the closest things. I’ve always known that I wanted to do this, ever since I was young,” she said. “I remember once my father cut down a tree in our backyard and I cried for a whole day.”
An interest of hers from a young age, Shirin’s decision to pursue sustainability and energy studies through advanced education was motivated by the natural passion she has for the cause.
“I think the one thing that truly bothers me is how so many people that are insensitive to climate change,” she said. “There are people who don’t actually believe in it. I have heard people say ‘This isn’t going to be our problem, by the time it is a real problem, we’re going to be dead.’ I feel that’s not nice outlook to have. One part of being human is caring, and as a society this is what people do, you try and make a better society for the coming generation. As a child, I feel you believe that the beliefs you have is what everyone else thinks too because. But then you grow up and realize not everyone thinks that too. I feel being environmentally conscious, that social media has kind of made it a joke. Even if you want to talk about it people don’t really want to listen. That’s the kind of thing that bothers me. I thought because of my program and university, I would find a lot of like-minded people but it hasn’t been that.”
Looking for an opportunity to find just that, Shirin began searching for an internship that would provide fresh experiences with like-minded, similarly impassioned people. It wasn’t until she was searching through a student employment portal that she came across a posting from ACK Smart. Her interest was so great, she couldn’t wait to hear back, and emailed the team directly. After chatting with the us, it was clear she was the missing link.
"What I’m most excited about with ACK Smart is trying to get to work with real life projects,” she said. “I love how Tim likes to keep me involved. Like, I’m not just doing some stuff for him and I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m really involved in a project. That’s something I really like and something I was looking for in an internship; to work for such a company that there’s this transparency.”
Shirin had only been in America six months before COVID-19 significantly limited her travel aspirations. She was able to spend a bit of last summer in California, but the majority of her American adventure has been limited to the northeast.
“Boston is nice, I like it,” she said. "I am used to really hot weather because back in India, my city goes as high as 40 degree celsius.”
Although she has yet to travel to Nantucket, she is looking forward to a time this summer where she can learn more about island life.
“I am a beach baby, I love the ocean. I heard that no matter where you are [on Nantucket] you are very close to the ocean,” she said. “I’ve also heard about the food scene. I love going to restaurants and trying new foods so that is something I’m looking forward to.”
We have a feeling that once Shirin experiences a Something Natural sandwich during a summer afternoon at Steps Beach, she’ll understand even more about ACK Smart.
After all, it’s all about a work/play balance, right?
Welcome Shirin, we are thrilled to have you!