Avani is the second daughter of Indian immigrants who moved to the U.S. in the 1970s. After being born in Pennsylvania, she lived in several different states before moving to Texas when she was 10 years old. She has spent most of her life here and now works at a large research university as a career coach for health professions students. She is passionate about animals, the environment, and helping create a world where there is more open dialogue rather than censoring opinions that may make us uncomfortable. She truly believes there are teachers all around us from the tiniest ant to the largest whale in the ocean.

This interview is split into two parts. You are listening to Part 1 in which you will get to hear about Avani’s journey right until the point where she came out to her mother.

To hear about her mother’s side of the story, please listen to Part 2.