Rajeev Ragjavan was born in Corning, New York in March 1979, six years after his parents initially moved there from India during the “brain drain,” a migration wave in the 1970s when scientists and professionals were in demand in the US. When he was four, he and his brother moved back to India to stay with their grandparents for 2.5 years, which was an important time for Rajeev to reconnect with his ancestral roots, the Tamil language and the culture. After that, they moved to Richmond, IN, where they were the only Indian family in town; and later Ohio, which was slightly more diverse, was the place where Rajeeve spent the most of his childhood before moving to Houston. Rajeev was brought up with Hinduism as the family’s spiritual belief. Similar to many other children who grow up in multiple cultures, he felt shy and slightly embarrassed of his Indian culture at first, not knowing how to deal with things such as curious stares on his mom’s sari costume.
Rajeev is passionate about music, especially cello, which was initially his pursuit in career until second year in college, when his caring and kind personality traits geared him towards medicine. He is part of the Texas Medical Center Orchestra today. Rajeev is now Associate Professor in Medicine, specializing in Nephrology, in Baylor College of Medicine, and a Medical Doctor in Internal Medicine - Nephrology. He is also a world expert on policies on treating undocumented patients with kidney diseases.
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