User:Arnabdas/Arnab Das

Arnab Das (born 12 May, 1980) is a Bengali-American analyst, writer and commentator on various issues.

Early Life
Das was born at Northshore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY as the son of father Pranab Das and mother Ila Das (nee Kanjilal). He initially lived in the neighborhood of Elmhurst in the borough of Queens in New York City. Das came from a middle class family who would later move to the upper middle class throughout his life. Both of his parents were immigrants from India who immigrated to the United States to pursue education goals. Both were of Bengali descent, having family origins mostly in the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh. Pranab was the 2nd of four sons and came from a family of entrepreneurs in India while his mother, Ila, was the 1st of 5 children of a former Indian diplomat. Both of Das' parents were well educated. After receiving his undergrad from Jadavpur University in Calcutta, India, Pranab Das went to the US to receive his masters degrees from Long Island University in mathematics and business. Ila graduated from Presidency College in Calcutta before immigrating to pursue her masters initially at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before finally transferring to and graduating from New York University with masters in journalism. Pranab would eventually pursue a career with Block Drug, Inc. for nearly two decades before finishing his career as an employee with the City of New York's Human Resource Administration. Ila never pursued a career in journalism, but held various employment including jobs with the City of New York as well before retiring for health reasons.

After a year and half of living Elmhurst, Das moved with his parents to Edison, NJ prior to it being known for having a high concentration of people of South Asian descent. Das primarily grew up in Edison from 1982-1994, although he spent 1991 abroad in Calcutta where he attended Calcutta International School. Das' family at the time contemplated a move to India, but Das returned to the US in 1992 and attended Herbert Hoover Middle School a year after then budding actress Brittany Murphy had left. Das enrolled at Edison High School for a week while he waited for results of his entrance examination to Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. As a result of Stuyvesant's residency requirement and the residency requirement of his mother's job at the time, Das and his family moved back to New York City in 1994, initially to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn for a year before ultimately moving to the Grymes Hill section Staten Island. Das graduated in 1998 along with his classmates who would go on to become actors Malcolm Barrett and Telly Leung.

Early Adult Life 1998-2005
Das pursued his undergraduate studies at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA in 1998. Das initially majored in aerospace engineering before he changed his major to industrial engineering. Das later took classes from the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and picked up another major in international affairs. He would graduate with both degrees in 2004.

After graduating, Das returned to New York City. His first full time job was as an industrial engineer with Sunrise Bakery, a privately owned regional bakery specializing in bread.

Military Service
While at Georgia Tech, Das joined the Army ROTC program. Although he was enrolled as a cadet in the program, shortly after the Attacks of September 11th Das was released from the program from not being able to pass the Army physical fitness test at the time. After his graduation in 2004, Das planned to enter the work force to earn income before returning to graduate school and pursuing an Army career from there.

Das was a vocal support of the War on Terror and felt he was not doing his part for the conflict he believed in. He felt he had to make an impact then and decided to enlist with the United States Army in military intelligence. Das still wanted to pursue his civilian career, which prompted him to join the 27th Infantry Brigade of the New York Army National Guard. Das would commute almost every month from New York City to Syracuse, NY where his unit was located.

Das did not deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. Das's unit, the 27th Infantry Brigade of the New York Army National Guard had just committed a rotation in Afghanistan when he finished his initial entry training. In early 2012, Das was ruled ineligible to deploy due to sleep apnea.

A few months prior to the deployment, Das would meet his future wife, Lina Saha.

Department of Correction (2005 - 2013)
After the company downsized, Das followed his parents' footsteps to the City of New York's municipal government where he started a job with the New York City Department of Correction's Financial and Operational Analysis unit. Das would serve as an analyst for the unit from December 2005 until August 2013.

Department of Homeless Services (2013 - 2016)
In August 2013, Das would take a position with the New York City Department of Homeless Services as a Special Assistant to the Chief Information Officer. Das would also enroll in Columbia University at this time to pursue his Executive Masters of Public Administration. In 2015, Das would start transitioning over to a business analyst role where he would stay until June of 2016.

Administration for Children's Services (2016 - present)
In late June of 2016, Das joined the New York City Administration for Children's Services as a Supervising Budget Analyst. Das came in and documented issues regarding the operational flow of the unit and suggested systems to help increase productivity.

Category:1980 births Category:Stuyvesant High School alumni Category:Georgia Institute of Technology alumni Category:Bengali Hindus Category:American Hindus Category:American people of Indian descent Category:People from Edison, New Jersey Category:People from Staten Island Category:People from Long Island City Category:People from Queens