Profiles of Roothbert: Nithyaa Venkataramani

"When I graduated college, I felt a lot of pressure to professionalize," commented Nithyaa Venkataramani, a Roothbert Fellow from 2021. "Back in 2017, I needed my own restart and to reconnect to my own purpose." Despite her culture’s emphasis on pushing through difficulty, especially in the context of unfulfillment, Nithyaa took a pause.

"I did the Camino de Santiago in 2018. 35 days straight of walking. I just focused on the task of 

getting from one place to the other each day." The contrast between the rhythm of walking the 

Camino de Santiago, the people encountered along the journey, and the new perspectives Nithyaa was able to gain prompted her to continue reevaluating what is important in life. 

"I took more time off, and I moved to India for two years." Gaining experience in social work and 

training as an expressive arts therapist, Nithyaa reconnected to her place of birth. "I'm originally from India. I grew up in Massachusetts," shared Nithyaa. "I was just born there, but we've always had a strong connection to India. It was a personal thing for me to get to live with my grandfather, collect a lot of our family stories, and experience life as an adult in India." 

Following the onset of the pandemic, Nithyaa returned to the United States and enrolled in a graduate program in Social Work at Columbia University. "I was seeking another like-minded community here to continue growing. The Roothbert Fund stuck out to me because of its emphasis on the spiritual development of its fellows." Within the Roothbert community. Nithyaa found a common sense of curiosity about life and other people. 

"I remember my interview very vividly. I remember walking out and thinking, 'no matter what happens with this scholarship, I had a really generative and provocative conversation. Normally, interviews are superficial or transactional, but these were people who really wanted to understand one another, and there were questions related to my purpose and my commitment to access for individuals with differential needs that I'm still reflecting on today." 

Why social work? "I would say I grew up with a social work ethos of how important it is to work with your neighbors, your community, to help those who are suffering. Social workers have long been my role models and have shown me a path to the type of human I want to be in the world" Whether through her mother's volunteer work or community organizing during her undergraduate years, Nithyaa saw social work as a means to balance her work and her humanity.

"I'm a clinical social worker, and I'm in my last year of graduate school. My main focus is in dialectical behavior therapy. I work with children, their parents, and adult clients who, generally speaking, are struggling with suicidal behavior or self-harming behavior. This involves intense emotional dysregulation and I help people find tools for coping." Nithyaa currently works at an outpatient agency, primarily as a therapist. Previously, Nithyaa centered more in the family care coordination aspect of helping families and facilitating access to social service resources: shelter, housing, food, disability resources, etc. 

Whether discovering green spaces in New York City, spending time with her brother Shyam, or searching for tamarind (without success) during her travels, Nithyaa hopes to shape a life for herself that gets closer and closer to her values. "I want a life that nourishes me in the work that I do. I want to make small, intentional choices everyday towards this."

Pursuing a career in social work as a licensed therapist represents a significant step towards this philosophy. "As an immigrant, I faced a lot of pressure to achieve certain things in my life, and I always felt like my passion for social work was sometimes at odds with that. I see that really differently now. I would say this is because of a lot of work on radical acceptance." 

"I chose myself. I decided to move to India. I made a decision to invest in pursuing a career for myself. I think a lot of people don't end up going full force in determining what they want out of their career path, and having the courage to do this is a proud moment for myself."