The People Who Teach Us How to See

Guru Purnima is traditionally a day to express gratitude to our teachers and mentors.

But when I thought about the people who have shaped my journey, my mind did not go to a classroom. It went back to the people, projects, conversations, opportunities, disagreements, and responsibilities that changed the way I work and think.

Not all teachers formally carry the title of “teacher.” Some open a door. Some create a team that feels like family. Some show us what a high standard really looks like. Some trust us before we are ready. And some challenge us so strongly that the relationship eventually becomes something neither person could have predicted.

The Coffee That Changed the Direction of My Career

I was in the last semester of my studies at the University of California, Merced, when I was called to interview with Webcor Builders for the UC Merced 2020 Project.

Derek Nagle was the person who interviewed me.

I still remember walking into Webcor’s Merced office entirely clueless. Derek took me to a nearby Starbucks. We had coffee, talked for a while, exchanged greetings, and went our separate ways.

I then started my journey back to Illinois.

Before my plane landed in Chicago, I had an offer letter from Webcor.

That opportunity became my first job in the United States. It also became the beginning of an important chapter in my life. Derek did more than conduct an interview that day. He opened a door that changed the direction of my career.

The Person Who Made a Project Feel Like a Family

Mr. Greg Chauhan has been a constant inspiration for me. He did not inspire only me. He inspired the entire UC Merced team.

Greg was one of the people who turned that team into the UC Merced family.

It was not just another project. Everyone was proud to be part of it, and everyone gave it everything they had.

I still remember meetings where the team had been working through a problem for hours. Everyone would be banging their heads, trying to find a solution.

Greg would sometimes walk into the meeting midway. He would sit quietly, grasp what was happening for a few minutes, stand up, and share his insight.

Suddenly, the problem that had seemed impossible would become clear.

Watching him taught me that leadership is not about speaking first or speaking the most. It is about understanding the real problem, seeing what others may have missed, and helping the team move forward.

High Standards Also Mean Taking Care of People

Wade Holden was the first project manager I worked with.

He trusted me with everything, and he shaped the standards I continue to carry in my work today.

Wade never compromised on quality. But his approach was not only about the work product. He also believed in taking care of the people under your responsibility, whether they were subcontractors, other trades, or anyone else contributing to the project.

That combination stayed with me.

High standards are important, but leadership is incomplete if those standards come at the cost of the people doing the work.

Wade taught me, largely through the way he worked, that quality and care are not competing priorities. Strong leaders are responsible for both.

The Responsibilities I Was Not Ready For

Later, Walter Ramirez became my manager, and I was promoted.

Walter gave me significant responsibilities. Many of them were responsibilities I did not feel ready to handle.

At the time, that stretch was uncomfortable. Looking back, it was exactly what I needed.

If Walter had waited until I felt completely prepared, I may have waited much longer to discover what I was capable of doing.

His trust pushed me beyond the limits I had set for myself. It forced me to make decisions, take ownership, and grow into the role instead of waiting for confidence to arrive first.

Sometimes mentorship does not look like giving someone an answer.

Sometimes it looks like giving them responsibility and allowing them to grow into it.

From Arch-Nemesis to Business Partner

Mr. Mark Souza and I were the so-called arch-nemeses of the UC Merced Project.

Mark was one of the highest-performing individuals in his organization, and I brought the same intensity to mine. Both of us were trying to protect the interests of our companies and deliver the best possible result.

Naturally, that caused a lot of clashes between us.

I still remember some of the things we fought about, and I can laugh about them now.

Those disagreements challenged my assumptions. They forced me to defend my position, understand another perspective, and recognise that two people can disagree strongly while still caring deeply about the same outcome.

Years later, when I moved back to India, Mark was the person who reached out to me.

The person who had once been my arch-nemesis became my business partner.

It has been a great journey since then, and it remains one of the best reminders that a difficult professional relationship can evolve when there is mutual respect beneath the disagreement.

What These Five People Taught Me

None of these lessons arrived in the same way.

Derek Nagle opened the first door.

Mr. Greg Chauhan showed me how insight and presence can bring an entire team together.

Wade Holden taught me to maintain high standards without losing sight of the people responsible for meeting them.

Walter Ramirez trusted me with responsibilities that stretched my limits.

Mr. Mark Souza challenged my thinking and eventually showed me how professional rivalry can grow into partnership.

Together, they shaped the person and professional I continue to become.

Gratitude Must Be Practised

On this Guru Purnima, I am grateful to all five of them, and to everyone else who has guided, challenged, trusted, corrected, and supported me throughout my journey.

The most meaningful way to honour our teachers is not simply to remember what they taught us.

It is to practise those lessons, improve upon them, and pass them forward.

For me, that means opening doors for others, helping teams feel like families, maintaining standards while caring for people, trusting someone before they feel completely ready, and staying open to the possibility that today’s disagreement may become tomorrow’s partnership.

Because the real legacy of a teacher is not the number of people who continue to follow them.

It is the number of people who learn to find their own way and then help others find theirs.