The thing that Tech graduate student Sethu Chidambaram likes most about improv is making connections. For example, a skit that starts with a tree could lead to a backyard, then to a childhood home, to a trophy on a mantel, and then to a story about winning a trophy.
“You could start somewhere and it could lead somewhere completely different,” Chidambaram says. “Everything is done on the spot, all it takes is milliseconds.Seeing those connections being made is what fascinates me.”
Chidambaram, a self-proclaimed introvert, says he never imagined himself enjoying improv workshops—organized by Let’s Try This at DramaTech—or standing up in front of a group of strangers and saying the first thing that comes to his mind. But this new hobby, and the confidence it has given him in his daily interactions, is one of the unexpected lessons he gleaned from his experience in the Student Alumni Association’s Mentor Jackets program.
“I really didn’t go in with any expectations,” says Chidambaram. “I came out with a really different experience and really loved it.”
The Mentor Jackets program matches current Tech students with alumni mentors who can provide guidance on navigating Georgia Tech and the professional world. Chidambaram’s mentor, David Reynolds, IE 01, MBA 11, says as a business consultant, he didn’t have much in the way of field-specific advice for Chidambaram, who is pursuing a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering. But Reynolds found he had a lot of advice to offer Chidambaram about networking, communication and even how to buy a properly tailored suit.
“He had all the big things figured out, but he was still kind of working on how to engage people,” Reynolds says.
Chidambaram, an international student from India, was still getting settled at Tech when he met Reynolds, who suggested that he try something a little unconventional to improve his communication skills and meet new friends. “He encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone, to meet new people that are not from the same background as me,” Chidambaram said. “He helped me slow down the way I speak so that it would make me more understandable to a wider audience.”
Reynolds says he pulled the idea for improv comedy from his own experience. He had tried improv classes to break out of the isolation in his consulting work. “It was really scary to stand in front of people and make up stuff based on what someone said to you two seconds ago,” Reynolds says.
Reynolds also has a unique perspective on the Mentor Jackets program, having experienced it both as a mentor and a mentee. He signed on when he was an MBA student, and had two alumni mentors that helped him tremendously.
“Of all the positive things that have happened in my career in the last five years, 95 percent of that has come directly from people I’ve met through the Mentor Jackets program or connections that have come from it,” Reynolds says. “When I had the opportunity to become a mentor, I wanted to set a goal of being as impactful as my mentors have been for me for some other students.”
Reynolds, who is now a partner in a management consulting firm, says he’s experienced how beneficial it is to nurture connections between Tech alumni. “As you go in your career, it becomes more and more about the relationships you have and the people you know, and expanding that out,” Reynolds says.
Chidambaram is now working as an intern for Intel in California. But he’s still participating in improv workshops and wants to perform when he’s back on campus. “I promised David I would perform. So when I get back, I’m going to invite him,” Chidambaram says.
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