Jash Kalyani: A Change Agent in Promoting Culture, Community, and Inclusivity

(July 17, 2023) How many 22-year-olds can claim to have helped implement policy changes in their universities and local communities? For Aurangabad-born Jash Kalyani this is a reality that he embraced early in university career. Now a senior analyst in the product management division at Royal Bank of Canada, Jash continues to further his dream that was born out of a passion for promoting culture, community and a sense of inclusivity. From helping his Canadian alma maters Huron University and Ivey Business School institute policy changes to encourage EDI on campus, to collaborating with the city council for the City of London as a community connector, and publishing case studies on the subject, Jash is intent on being a change agent.

Born in Aurangabad, Jash, an only child, lost his father when he was 9. Raised by his mother and grandparents, the lad found himself wanting to achieve something from an early age. “I was never given a path as such, but my mother and grandparents were confident in my abilities. My mother was convinced that I’d do well in whatever I chose. That worked well in my favour as it boosted my confidence levels,” says Jash, who moved to Dubai after his class X to join his mother. “She was already working in Dubai at the time and I decided to pursue my A levels there.”

Jash Kalyani with his family at his graduation.

By age 17 Jash moved to Canada to pursue his graduation from Huron University College where he studied political science in years 1 and 2. “I’d say Canada shaped my adulthood while India shaped my childhood. Canada is where I got my driver’s licence, got my first car and many other firsts,” he says, adding, “I got a job on my first day of college as a line cook in the university cafeteria. I wanted to build work into my schedule from day 1 and not after I graduate.”

During his time at Huron Jash also founded the Huron Indian Cultural Association (HICA) in 2018. The Association continues to thrive today and is a means for students to celebrate and share Indian culture with the Huron community. Over the last five years, the association has grown to become one of the largest student clubs on campus and at roadshows is the first to be showcased by the university. “I wanted to build a sense of community on campus and that’s how the club came about. Huron is a traditionally Anglican school and with HICA we celebrate Diwali in the chapel and Holi on the campus. The aim is to help students find a community outside of home and has now become one of the first things an Indian student coming here looks for.”

Jash Kalyani during his city council work

In the meanwhile, Jash also began working as a community connector with the municipal committee for City of London. “Here I worked with young and marginalised people. It involved a lot of grassroot work and over the course of three years I’d spoken with as many as 1,500 people,” says Jash. By the time he got to year 3 Jash began to get more involved in the aspects of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). It was also around the time the George Floyd incident occurred. “I was able to hone into EDI around this time and turned my focus towards it. For the first time, I also realised what it really meant to be a South Asian in Canada.”

The youngster also faced racism and used that as a learning experience to pivot his work. “I was sitting at a cafe and eating when a white guy called the cops on me for not wearing a mask. There were plenty of others there without a mask because we were all eating. But he targeted me as a ‘brown person’,” says Jash, adding, “It was scarring.”

The incident prompted Jash to speak to his university about what it was doing to make people feel safer and if it was systemically addressing racism. “That led to me doing an internal review for the school and a case study on Huron in which I got students to participate and suggest strategies.”

Jash Kalyani at his graduation.

As he moved to Ivey Business School, Jash wanted to continue his work in EDI and be a change agent. “I wanted to use educational platforms to talk about EDI and tied up with Ivey to build something into their curriculum. That’s how I ended up publishing an EDI onboarding module for the school with other students. The idea was to make EDI part of the student experience,” he says. He went on to intern with the Royal Bank of Canada, and was eventually hired by them.

Jash Wins Ontario Remembrance Award

In recognition of his contributions Jash was awarded the Ontario Remembrance Scholarship by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities and Western University in 2021. Jash was one of the four students to receive the award which was instituted in the memory of the four Iranian students who lost their lives on board Flight 752.

“Over the years I find myself becoming more interested in pedagogy and how EDI can be built into the curriculum. To this end, I have published two other case studies and also worked with the City of London on what it can do from a civic engagement perspective for people with marginalised identities,” he says. The school also funded him to go to Kenya and teach an entrepreneurship elective at MOI university.

Jash Kalyani in Kenya.

When he graduated business school in 2022, Jash took up his first job with Mondelez which proved to be a great learning experience. He later took up a role as senior analyst with RBC where he works in product management and credit card strategy. “That apart I’m also involved with several non-profits. I continue to publish case studies for the school and am currently designing a digital capstone experience with insendi, a British Educational Consulting Company, meant for students at Ivey for next year,” says the youngster. “I’m also working for a boutique consulting company that works in the EDI space and am going to flying school to become a recreational pilot,” he smiles.

Follow Jash on LinkedIn and Twitter.