Swapnil Shevate moved to Snohomish and is now raising a family.
Courtesy
SNOHOMISH — Residents of Snohomish are proud of their town; they can balance the feeling of history in downtown, and festivals help continue its small-town feel.
It’s what drew Swapnil Shevate to Snohomish to raise a family and pursue the American Dream.
Shevate came to the U.S. in 2012 from Pune, India, the country’s ninth-most populated city with about 3.1 million people. The city is known for its education, arts and crafts, theaters and lush parks.
However, culturally and genetically, everyone there is Indian. Any localized genetics research there would only show variations in Indian genetics with some trace markers of cultures found on the Asian continent.
While studying for his degree in biotechnology, he came across the Human Genome Project and opportunities in human genome sequencing.
“That’s when I realized, anytime we used to… study the samples, it was always from the United States,” Shevate said. “With diversity, you have so much in the genetic pool.”
He explained that the reason the U.S. can host an extensive human genome sequencing auto project isn’t only because of funding.
“Something like that on that scale in the United States makes much more sense because you have a collection, a readily available source,” Shevate said.
With that knowledge, Shevate focused on learning English for two years. He explained that in India, students are required to be proficient in the language in which classes are being taught. His culture values knowledge and education, so they do not want to waste opportunities.
From India to Indiana, and from vegetarian to omnivore
Shevate was first immersed in American culture while at the university in Indianapolis, starting with affording higher education.
One mixed blessing he shared with U.S. college students nationwide is receiving an internship and scholarships but being unable to afford food consistently and frequently skipping meals. However, most colleges, IUPUI being no exception, will often have free cheese and pepperoni pizza during student events.
Although Shevate’s English was excellent for school, some aspects of Western culture were missing, and he received a crash course. The vegetarian’s lesson from that pizza was that pepperoni was meat, and he liked it.
“My friend told me it was made from pork; I’m like, ‘What’s pork?’” Shevate said.
His friend explained what pork was and that Shevate was eating meat. Unphased, he finished his pizza and continues to enjoy pepperoni pizza to this day.
Another lesson that turned to love was the term “cheeseburger.” Most people across Western cultures and in places familiar with Western media and products know what a hamburger and a cheeseburger are. But when you remove yourself and dissect the words, a vegetarian culture might think since there’s a chicken burger made from chicken and a veggie burger made from vegetables, a cheeseburger must be made from cheese.
“I lifted the bread to see what was inside, and I thought it was like a bean patty of some sort,” Shevate explained. “I’m not a vegetarian anymore; I eat everything.”
The capstone to his introduction to America was attending the 2012 Super Bowl at Indianapolis’ stadium featuring the New York Giants versus the New England Patriots. But that wasn’t the peak; that would be about 10 years later after moving to Seattle.
Although genetics still fascinates him, he found the fast pace of working with computer information far more rewarding, so he changed his career focus to computer data.
When he and his wife decided to start a new life, they fell in love with Snohomish, where they bought their home and welcomed their first child.
“I want to be American, not an immigrant,” Shevate explained. “You can’t do that living in a neighborhood with only immigrants.”
Shevate explained that he wants to learn how to be an American from Americans with different points of view. He wanted his son to have the small-town American Dream our country is famous for and to contribute to that dream.
“Whenever I’m stressed with work, I can just open my window and look outside, all that stress goes away,” Shevate said. “I love Snohomish.”
