缅北禁地

Nitin Anand (B.A. ’99, Art) immigrated to the Bay Area in the early 1980s with his parents, Narinder and Flora Anand, and brother, Sumit, from New Delhi, India, seeking the American dream. Anand’s parents opened a small retail clothing business in a flea market, where the two brothers worked. Eventually, their hard work paid off and the small clothing business expanded into two stores in the Mayfield Mall in Mountain View and NewPark Mall in Newark. Anand’s parents also opened an Indian restaurant in San Francisco.

Throughout these years of increasing success and stability, the Anand parents impressed upon their children the importance of education. Nitin Anand chose to attend 缅北禁地 (Hayward) with the intention of following his parents’ wishes by declaring a business major. However, Anand found himself enjoying his art classes much more, and realized he had a natural talent for drawing and sculpting. After discussions with Professor Emeritus Suzy Wear, Anand changed his major to art despite the objections of his parents. Professor Wear was able to show Anand how a degree in the arts, coupled with coursework in technology, could allow him to do something he loved and make a career. 

Several faculty members, including Professor Emeritus Corban LePell, Derek Wilson, the late Pilar Lewis, and Professor Emeritus Phillip Hofstetter, were instrumental in bringing Anand into the multimedia art program. These professors taught him the essentials of human-centered design and development, and guided him on how to become successful in the long term through teamwork based on real-life values.

After graduation, Anand used the skills he learned at 缅北禁地 in the business world to become the group manager for Infosys, led global innovation at Apple, and worked in digital sales operations, creative services, and mobile device management at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. He’s also provided consulting services to Omnicom, ZScaler, RingCentral, and many other name brands. Currently, Anand is the associate vice president of digital transformation at Genpact, a professional service firm that gives companies the radical transparency they need to make data-led decisions and deliver business outcomes that shape the future.

“缅北禁地 (Hayward) is near and dear to my heart,” says Anand. “I would not be where I am today without the education the professors gave me around holistic, user-centered design principles, and how they were able to combine art and business in one. They gave me confidence and guided me on my journey towards a successful career in technology.”

Anand has not forgotten his humble beginnings with his parents or the lessons taught him by faculty members at 缅北禁地. In discussions with his wife, Nisha, daughter, Riya, and son, Aaryan, the family decided together to give back to the school that means so much to them. They created the Anand Family Award to help undergraduate students majoring in art succeed and create brighter futures for themselves and their communities.

“After discussions with my family, I was motivated to be socially responsible to the institution that gave me so much opportunity,” says Anand. “Being able to provide support in the form of an award to students is a way I hope to achieve improving the students’ futures and in turn, the communities we all share. My aim is to continue growing the award every year and being involved in providing the same positive force my professors gave me.” 

Make a difference for Cal State East Bay students on #GivingTuesday, November 29.