Her Story
About Shyla
My journey has been anything but straightforward - it's been filled with struggles, failures, and rejections, but also with perseverance and growth. I started college at the University of Alabama, Birmingham as a pre-med major studying cancer biology, completely set on medicine based on all my high school research and internships in that field. But by the end of my first year, I realized it wasn't something I wanted to pursue full-time as a career. After talking with my dad, I switched to finance, which seemed like a safe route and aligned with his background in sales. I continued at UAB for another year, then transferred back home to Georgia State for my junior year, where I'm currently studying. Getting my real estate license was one of the toughest challenges I've faced - I failed the exam four or five times before finally passing, and each time I had to pay for it again, which made me feel terrible about my parents investing all those resources in me. By the third time, I wanted to give up completely, but the support from my family and friends never let me quit. Now I'm about to start working at Bell Street as a junior advisor, and while I'm still figuring out my niche and what I'm good at in the industry, I'm proud that I never gave up. Throughout my journey, I've always poured myself into extracurriculars and things I knew I could be better at, which led to leadership roles like vice president of my high school class, senior editor of Yearbook, and president of a service organization. Today, I serve as president of the Hindu Yuva chapter at Georgia State, and I also teach and coach swimming at Lifetime, drawing on my years as a competitive swimmer.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shyla
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to never giving up, even when I really wanted to. My journey has been filled with failures and rejections - I failed my real estate exam four or five times, and by the third attempt, I was ready to quit. Each time I had to pay for the exam again, and I felt terrible that my parents were investing all these resources in me without seeing results. But it was really the support from my family and friends that kept me going and never let me give up, even through all those struggles. Looking back now, I'm not just proud of the titles and accomplishments I've achieved, but I'm more proud that I just never really gave up. That perseverance through the hard times, through the failures, through wanting to quit - that's what got me to where I am today.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Within real estate, from what I'm seeing around, a lot of the challenges are obvious and market-based - things like getting sales. But what I'm also seeing, and what I'll probably encounter myself, is working your way up in the industry. I know I'm starting pretty young - most people don't get their license until after college, so while it's a good thing that I got mine while I was still in college, the challenge is finding your place and your niche within the industry and figuring out what you're good at.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In both my work and personal life, I would say definitely respect - respect for yourself. There are certain rules you have to follow in corporate or in any job really, but there's also your own kind of principles that you have to stick to, so I think having a balance within that and knowing what's right for you while also doing what's right for your company or whatever the case is. The other value that's important to me is being genuine - being genuine with yourself and with other people. This is something I've experienced as a leader - not everyone on the team will put their best foot forward or have the same effort as you, which is okay because everyone has different priorities. But one thing I've learned a lot is just being honest and transparent. Things happen, it's life, I get it, but it's about finding a balance and making sure you're at least trying to do what you're supposed to be doing and making it work. So I guess being genuine and having respect are my core values.
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