Parth Singh describes his younger self as a serious student from a strict immigrant family who didn’t have any prior experience with community service before YPI. “Studying was very important in my household… When I heard about community service and YPI, I thought it would be a way to get out of the house and develop myself socially.” Parth quickly realized that service work suited him. “[YPI Director] Adam was the first person to see my passion for service work as something to be developed.” 

Parth reflects on his growth in the program: “YPI provided me with a lot of personal development opportunities. The lessons on servant leadership and social entrepreneurship were particularly impactful and made me think about philanthropy and leadership in a different way.”

“YPI helped me understand how to organize a diverse group and mobilize towards a cause… It also showed me the importance of ‘giving back.’ I became fascinated by the courage of young people and ordinary citizens who wanted to make a difference in their communities.”

“I remember doing a photo shoot - we were trying to be professional and get more people to take us seriously as adults and listen to our research [from the Unmask project]. The photo shoot was a particularly memorable experience because I grew up trying to assimilate myself into American culture, and had to fit a norm that I thought was acceptable. The photo shoot was the first time I was seeing myself through the lens of other people – someone who mattered and had value to give to the world. It made me feel like I had worth.”

Parth recalls that YPI had a strong influence on his long-term career trajectory: “I initially thought I wanted to go into law because I wanted to create systematic change in the world. YPI showed me that there was an alternative path. Law is reactive – by the time something gets to court the event has already happened. YPI showed that I could be proactive in pushing social movement forward by organizing, building capacity, bringing people together, and utilizing skill sets. YPI gave me this lens. A lightbulb went on in my head that we can do things in a way that is sustainable, self-empowering – we don’t have to rely on the existing system.”

Parth immediately put these ideas into action upon entering college. Together with a few peers, he created a social enterprise called Beyond Bounds. “The idea was to create intentional spaces where students could reflect on their passions and find tangible ways to bring their personal values to their career,” he recalls. “At the time, we as students were at the intersection of a lot of different movements like Black Lives Matter; schools of thought for fields like social entrepreneurship and development were in flux. Lots of people were unsure what they wanted to pursue in their careers. I organized Beyond Bounds with a few of my friends who were also troubled by these social dynamics…”

“We worked with the education, business and social work departments at the University of Michigan to develop a curriculum. We were able to get funding from a few sources. Ultimately it resulted in the creation of a summer developmental program for rising sophomores that is still being used at the University.”

“YPI taught me the tactical methods of how to organize around a cause. Purpose-Method-Outcome, fans on three, facilitating meetings and making sure everyone’s voices are heard – these were all skills that I developed in high school that I relied on when developing Beyond Bounds.”

Upon graduation, Parth took a position as a business analyst with a for-profit tech company. “I had a lot of ideas of what I wanted to do, but also felt a lot of pressure to get a well-paying job to cover student debt,” he recalls. “I managed sales and operations planning for a multimillion dollar portfolio. Also, I didn’t see daylight. It was the grind and it was tough. I lost all my hair. I was becoming someone that I didn’t recognize because of the pressure and the stress. Now having distance from it I can appreciate it as a big learning experience for me.”

According to Parth, he entered a period of “soul searching.” He was very concerned about societal trends he was observing in the US and his home country of India. “I applied for jobs in India and ultimately got hired with the World Bank to work on an agricultural project. I utilized my program management skills and social work degree to implement a financial literacy program in rural areas, so that agricultural workers could improve their financial skills. I organized around 300 different volunteer groups across the country. This ultimately culminated in reaching 10 million people.”

Following his experience with the World Bank, Parth has gone on to pursue a dynamic career in disaster response, crisis intervention and community development, working in various positions in the US and abroad, in organizations such as PeaceCorps and AmeriCorps. Most recently, he contributed to the establishment of an India-based organization called Voluntary Action for Social Transformation (VAST). According to Parth, VAST focuses on community organizing, mutual aid, advocacy and education work in rural communities in northern India.

Looking back, Parth reflects on how YPI shaped his life trajectory: “YPI introduced me to a world of service and helped me discover capacities in myself that I never knew I had. This was critical in building my confidence as a change agent.”

“YPI helped me engage with the world in a way that is the perfect combination of courage and humility. To engage with the world, and not step away from difficult truths… It was instrumental in helping me understand that our generation will ultimately not be judged by our technology, design or intellect but instead by the character of our society - how we treat each other, the poor, the discriminated and the marginalized.”