Maya Dhir: Reclaiming Your Power

Join us in The BreakLine Arena as we share tech industry insights, hear from industry titans and celebrate the stories of our amazing alumni community. In this episode we have the opportunity to hear from BreakLine alum, Maya Dhir.

For Maya, life’s unexpected twists and turns ultimately inspired her to reclaim her power.

Born of Indian descent, Maya was raised an expatriate in Kuwait after her family relocated in search of economic opportunity. Although the societal narratives of the time placed strict limitations on many young women, Maya, with the blessing of her parents, left home to study engineering in Australia at the age of 15.

Armed with a deep sense of empowerment and the courage to step into the unknown, Maya vigorously pursued her dreams. She earned a Masters of Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and pursued a Doctorate in Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, before ultimately landing a role as a trader on Wall Street.

After getting married and starting a family, Maya’s life suddenly took an unexpected turn when her husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She found herself in a new city with no friends, no family, two children under the age of two, and a husband in desperate need of her care. Her career would have to ultimately be placed on hold for several years.

When asked about this chapter of life, Maya articulated the struggle so many of us find between unconditionally supporting our family and pursuing our individual sense of purpose through our careers.

In spite of unforeseen challenges and the uncertainty of time, Maya’s family persevered and she reclaimed her power. Her husband returned to health, both of her sons attended top academic institutions, and she ultimately achieved a lifelong dream of attending the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

When the time came to embark upon her the next exciting chapter of her career, Maya knew she wanted to find a company with a compelling mission and vision. She was introduced to Blend during her BreakLine Education programming, and with the support of champions like Jasmine Essalat recently began her new role on the Business Development and Partnerships team!

If you are inspired by what you've heard, please like, subscribe, or review our show. To learn more about BreakLine Education, check us out at breakline.org.