Kavindra H.

Originally from Guyana, South America, Kavindra lives in New York City and attends CUNY Queens College, studying economics. His hopes for the future? In the short term, it’s to get his degree, maybe even a master’s. “The college degree is really important these days,” he says. “Not even just a regular college degree — sometimes you need a master’s. [For] anything, at this point, you need higher education.”

Once his degree is in hand, Kavindra’s long-term goal is to go into investment banking or asset management. His first priority is to reduce the financial burden weighing on him and his family.

Kavindra brings this determined, selfless mindset not only to school and family but to how he spends his time outside of school. “As you go about [your day],” he explains, “just [make] that little conscious action of thinking, ‘How can my actions benefit [others]?’ instead of thinking…‘How can it benefit me?’ all the time.” For Kavindra, this means being a regular volunteer with the RIVER FUND NY and also tutoring other students. Both of these community service activities are high earning PIPs actions and made him a natural for the P4S Scholars program.

Besides service to others, the PIPs program got Kavindra biking again. “Before the [PIPs Program],” Kavindra shares, “I hadn’t ridden a bike for about four or five years…so it was definitely a great opportunity to get back on [one] and ride around.” It may seem like a small thing, but biking — like walking — is good exercise, and if one chooses to commute to work or school by bike, on foot, or via public transit, it’s also better for the environment. Whether it’s biking, recycling, or tutoring others, as Kavindra so wisely explains, “When you become conscious of what you’re doing, the impact it has, it kind of motivates you to keep on doing it.”

Profile prepared by Mikayla Zeitlin
Communications & Marketing Manager, PIPs Rewards LLC
May 25, 2022