Unlike many peers in geoscience research, my career has taken unexpected turns. I was born in 1996 in the small village of Ghansawangi, District Jalna, Maharashtra, India. I spent most of my childhood there and completed my primary and secondary education (up to 2007) locally. As a small village, our school lacked even basic facilities—there were no toilets—and the education did little to nurture independent thinking. Yet my parents, Mrs. Sakina Pathan and Mr. Nayyum Pathan, always strove to provide the best for me. My mother found and hired an excellent mathematics teacher for me and my sister, Alisha; that is when my thirst for science and mathematics began.

In 2008, my parents moved our family to Aurangabad, Maharashtra, for better schooling and coaching. By 2010, I completed my 10th grade with Marathi as my first language (including Science and Mathematics). At that time, for many families in rural India, the only respected career choices were medicine or engineering. I enjoyed biology but disliked the rote memorization required by exams, and my love for mathematics led me to choose engineering.

After clearing JEE (Main and Advanced) in 2014, I joined Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, to study Civil Engineering. There, I was introduced to computers and coding and bought my first personal computer. While many classmates followed routine practice, I focused on optimizing workflows and using software to reduce manual labor in our coursework. However, my fascination with computers had a downside: I became absorbed in video games (especially DOTA 2), which caused backlogs and delayed my graduation. I completed my B.Tech. in 2020. With construction hiring stalled during COVID-19, I was left without a clear path and felt adrift.

I then qualified GATE 2020 and joined the M.Tech. program in Earth Sciences at IIT Kanpur. During online coursework and early exploration of Earth science, my love for science was renewed. With no prior background in geology, I approached the field with a clean slate. While working on my M.Tech. thesis, I decided to continue to a Ph.D., inspired by my growing passion and the mentorship of Dr. Rabiul Haque Biswas.

From rural schooling to a Ph.D. at a world-renowned institute, my journey has given me a broad perspective on technology, education, people, and communities across India. It has made me a dynamic and adaptable researcher. I am excited to see what the future holds.