Sreenath Sreenivasan, the young and tireless cofounder of the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA), seems to have found more than 24 hours in the day.  Only 36, he simultaneously built up careers as a successful Technology Reporter and as a Journalism Professor at Columbia University, all while growing SAJA from a casual meet-up with 18 members to a powerful  institution that brings together over 1000 South Asian journalists from across the US and Canada.

Sreenivasan, or Sree as he is popularly known, is Dean of Student Affairs at Columbia, interacting with over 400 students throughout their life cycle at the University and leading a team to guide them and oversee their journey from admissions to career services.  He previously worked as Dean of Students, from 2005-2007, and served for 10 years as the faculty advisor to Columbia’s Society of Professional Journalists.  In 2004, he was named by Newsweek magazine as one of the 20 most influential South Asians in America.   In 2007, India Abroad named him one of the 50 most influential Indians in America.

While he considers himself a “print guy”, who subscribes to two newspapers and five magazines, Sree is established as an expert in New Media.  In addition to teaching classes on the use of New Media/Web publishing, Sree regularly covers technology and gadgets for WNBC and freelances for a variety of newspapers and magazines on new media issues.  New media was a natural way, says Sree, “to combine my loves of written, video, text, audio, all of that stuff.”

Sreenivasan’s affable manner and easy smile work well on camera, and he counts his ability to speak about these topics in “English, rather than “technologese’” with helping the audience connect with him.    Perhaps his audience relates to his love of print as well;  Sreenivasan speaks  reverentially of the “magic of the print byline” and loves both reading and being published in print publications.  That someone who sees the magic in newspapers can feel so much enthusiasm for the newest technologies gives hope to Luddite viewers that these technologies may be accessible and useful to their lives as well.

Sreenivasan’s love of technology is shared by his wife as well; Roopa Unnikrishnan, a strategy consultant and Rhodes scholar, is the author of a blog documenting “a working mom’s food adventure’s in and out of the kitchen.”  His two young twins, Durga and Krishna, are likely to join the virtual world one day as well.

Sreenivasan knew early that he wanted to be a journalist, but his parents fought him because “no Indian parent wants their child to be a journalist”.  Even today, he often, “2 or 3 times a month”, counsels Indian parents of future journalists on why this is a worthy career, and appeals to them that it’s “okay for your kid to want to be a journalist.”

A child of a diplomat, Sreenivasan spent his youth hopping from continent to continent.  His father was in the Indian Foreign Service and took his family all around the world, spending time in Moscow, Tokyo, Fiji, Bhutan and the United States.  Sreenivasan’s decision to pursue an undergraduate degree in India was a means of creating some distance from his family, of forging his own path and pursuing journalism wholeheartedly.  Sreenivasan speaks fondly of his time there; he “really enjoyed it, it was great to be in India.”

Sreenivasan always wanted to go to Columbia’s School of Journalism for a Master’s degree, although he had some success as a neophyte journalist in India, writing for major Indian newspapers.   “My plan was, if I didn’t get in to Columbia, I would keep working.  Somehow, I got in.”

He moved to New York City and never left.  After receiving his Master’s in journalism, he stepped right into the faculty.  Sreenivasan has spent 15 years at Columbia, in “the same job, with the same email address and the same phone number.”  While “fidgety” by nature, his youth spent jumping from nation to nation had exhausted his wanderlust, and Sreenivasan was ready and delighted to plant roots in New York City.

While Sreenivasan’s email address may have remained the same, the world around him has transformed dramatically since 1993, and his job has grown and adapted.  From the massive changes in communication fashioned by the internet boom, to India’s growing status as an emerging world power, to the entrance into the US work force of millions of second generation Indians with dreams very different from their immigrant parents, Sreenivasan has been eagerly and enthusiastically embracing the changing world.  He is always thrilled to find new uses for the new technologies, to closely monitor India’s progress and subsequent representation in the mainstream news media, and to connect and mentor the newest generation of working Indian Americans.

For Sreenivasan, there is no such thing as a typical day.   “Every day is so different” he says enthusiastically, and a quick glance at his frenetic online calendar, mashed with seemingly overlapping meetings, phone calls and broadcasts, verifies the controlled chaos.  “I love that everyday is so different.  It’s part of the reason that I stayed in the same job for 15 years.”

For example, on a day in early April, Sreenivasan woke at 4:30am to be at WNBC at 6:20am for his technology broadcast.  After some meetings and debriefings there, he came home and took advantage of his brief respite to spend quality time with his young twins, Durga and Krishna.  The next few hours consisted of meeting after meeting at Columbia, with Sreenivasan still settling into the varied responsibilities of his new position as Dean of Student Affairs.   Somewhere in there, he found time to post several items to SAJAforum, a blog that posts tidbits of news and media related to South Asians, with room for endless comments.  In the afternoon, he administered a “Virtual Open House” for students admitted to Columbia’s School of Journalism who couldn’t make it to New York to attend the recent Open House weekend.

The “Virtual Open House” is a quintessential Sreenivasan creation; he has harnessed the power of the internet to create on opportunity for people who would otherwise have missed out.  Sreenivasan thrives on using technology to expand opportunities.  He is always looking for ways to “use technology to reach out to people, to expand what they can do, and to bring people together. Instead of having an event for 40 people, I’d rather use technology to take that event to a global scale.”

Sreenivasan’s expertise of all things virtual and technological came about organically; he always loved writing letters, and a transition from the familiar blue Indian aerogrmas (in which the letter is its own envelope and stamp, “an amazing technology!” he gushes ) to email felt seamless and natural.  When SAJA began in 1995, well before most people were regularly using the internet, Sreenivasan comfortably created a website and liberally used email to spread the word.

With SAJA now in the hands of “a great SAJA team”, Sreenivasan is able to enjoy watching it grow and can pick and choose his role there.  Sreenivasan stays involved in fundraising activities, continues passing on his knowledge through frequent seminars and workshops, and writes and edits the blog SAJAforum.

Sreenivasan is an inspiration to stay engaged and to keep moving.   His many roles and multitude of jobs seem to energize him, rather than drain him, and he professes deep appreciation for his current life. “I just love what I do.”  Says Sreenivasan.  “I’m excited to wake up in the morning.”

Originally published in The Indian American, May-June 2008