Priyanka Chopra Jonas turns emotional at Harvard Business School; calls students 'the India I imagined'

Actor and global icon Priyanka Chopra Jonas turned emotional while addressing students during an India Week session at Harvard Business School. She was invited to deliver a fireside keynote alongside her close friend and business partner, Anjula Acharia. The theme of the session was “The India We Imagine.”

Priyanka later shared her experience on social media, writing, "So, this is how my day started. I was supposed to give a fireside keynote address with one of my closest friends and business partners, Anjula Acharia, to conclude India Week at the prestigious Harvard Business School. The topic was 'The India we imagine'... no big deal, I thought. You can do this, Priyanka."

Seeing students in traditional wear changed everything

The actress said her emotions shifted the moment she saw the audience dressed in sarees and kurtas, "But looking out into the audience today, I only had one thought, you are the India I imagined. Let me explain."

Priyanka told the crowd that she felt immense pride seeing so many young Indian students and Desi allies filling the auditorium. She said the sight reminded her of how representation and belonging have evolved.

Expressing her pride further, she added, "To see an auditorium full of students, dressed in sarees and kurtas, at the campus of HBS (@harvard) in Boston, Massachusetts, where I grew up... to see so many people from my community at one of the best schools in the world, made my heart burst with pride. You are the future."



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Reflecting on her teen years in the US

Speaking at the event, Priyanka recalled studying in the US as a teenager in the 1990s. She described feeling isolated due to a lack of diversity.

Priyanka said, "When my 12-year-old self landed in a high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and subsequently at Newton North High School in Massachusetts in the mid-90s, there were not many who looked like me."

Priyanka told students that addressing them at Harvard was something she could never have imagined back then. She shared, "I would have never imagined in 30-something years, I would be speaking to you, the future of our culture, our world, on this stage, in this iconic chamber, where so many incredible people have not only spoken, but where so many leaders of the world as we know it were born. The audience was packed... and we were Desi... and Desi allies."

Why the moment moved her to tears

Priyanka admitted she felt like crying because her teenage years looked nothing like the diverse, confident room of students in front of her. She said, "It made me want to cry, because this is not what my teenage experience looked like. But I'm so happy that you get to have it. We all stand on the shoulders of the generations before us. I'm so excited that my daughter will have all of you to look up to."

Priyanka concluded her note by thanking the students for their warmth. She also expressed gratitude to her husband, Nick Jonas, and daughter, Malti Marie, calling them her "forever Valentines."

On the professional front, Priyanka Chopra has the much-awaited 'Varanasi' in the pipeline.




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