Understanding Priyasha: World Traveler/ PR Enthusiast/ Ms. Independent
I was born and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal, but I’ve grown up collecting pieces of myself all over the world. My parents raised me with a strong sense of independence, adaptability, and self-confidence, which became especially important when I moved away from home at sixteen to finish the last two years of high school in a small village called Duino in Northern Italy. It was surreal — a young Nepali girl living in Italy, overlooking the Adriatic Sea after class every day.
After that, I attended Lake Forest College, a small liberal arts school outside Chicago. That’s where my interest in communication, public relations, and marketing really started to make sense. I graduated with a degree in Business and Communication, with a specialization in Marketing, and moved to Chicago – a city that taught me how to be an adult. It was where I learned financial independence, built my own community, and figured out who I was when no one else was responsible for me.
I worked in sales at a media and marketing company, which was humbling in the best way. I chased clients relentlessly, heard “no” more times than I can count, and learned quickly that rejection isn’t personal. Ten no’s usually just mean a yes is closer than you think.
When my work visa ended, I moved back to Kathmandu — home, but different this time. Living there as an adult made me realize how deeply the city has shaped me. Kathmandu is intense, chaotic, and deeply cultural, and it demands resilience. No matter how far I go, it’s a place I carry with me. It’s made me strong, idealistic, spiritual, and just delusional enough to dream big.
That delusion is what pushed me to apply to my dream school. I’m now pursuing Public Relations and Advertising at USC, in a city I always promised myself I’d live in. I don’t fit neatly into one place, and I don’t really want to. I care about storytelling, people, culture, and building connections that actually mean something.