In 2004, Rupa landed at LAX with big dreams and no safety net.

She didn’t know a single soul in Los Angeles. She’d never been outside Kathmandu—not even to Pokhara. Yet here she was, half a world away, holding on to a visa her dad never wanted her to get.

“My dad literally loaned our house to send me here,” she says. “There was no backup plan. If I failed, we’d lose everything.”

No pressure, right?

First Impressions of the US: Alone, Broke, but Hopeful

LA was… overwhelming. The palm trees, wide roads, and sprawling city felt like a movie set. But reality hit fast.

“I was living in a tiny living room space. Rent was $400. I had $390 in my account. I couldn’t even cover my first month.”

Rupa walked the streets of LA for weeks, asking for jobs in hundreds of stores. No one would hire her.

Then, by sheer luck, she met a Nepali man managing an Indian-owned store. He gave her her first job in the US.

“That job literally saved me. I’ll never forget it. That’s why even now, whenever I meet Nepalis abroad, I make it a point to help if I can.”

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School Days: Confused, Lost, and Figuring It Out

With rent secured, Rupa started college. But she had no idea what she wanted to study.

“I took random classes—dance, theater—and failed English. I grew up speaking English in Nepal, but basic grammar? Nope. I kept failing ESL.”

She laughs now, but back then it wasn’t funny.

“I was working 14-hour shifts five days a week and going to school two days. I was broke, exhausted, and had zero clue about my future.”

Making friends didn’t come easy either.

“I didn’t know how to make friends. I felt so out of place.”

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A Hustler’s Mindset

But Rupa’s never been one to sit still. She picked up side gigs—hosting shows, doing MC work for concerts—to survive.

“I was always thinking about the next big thing. First, it was Fair & Lovely. Then Kantipur TV. Then America. And now… what’s next?”

She also learned early on the power of asking for help.

“One day, a Warner Brothers exec came to speak in class. I raised my hand and said, ‘I want to work for you. How can I make that happen?’”

That bold move got her an internship three semesters later—her first step into Hollywood.

The Lesson: No Net, No Fear

When asked how she found the courage to keep going, Rupa shrugs.

“You don’t think about fear when there’s no net under you. You just keep moving. You keep hustling.”

The girl who once couldn’t pay her rent now leads global AI initiatives at MIT.

And her advice for anyone starting over in a new country?

“Don’t wait to feel ready. Just show up. Do the thing scared if you have to. That’s how you grow.”

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