Hello and welcome to invisability, my personal blog and initiative to empower working professionals with invisible disabilities, i.e. conditions that are not visible or discernable to others, but still impact our lives.
My name is Arjun Devgan. I grew up in India before moving to the Bay Area in 1997 to attend Menlo College in Atherton, CA. In my freshman year in college, I suffered a devastating eye injury that left me blind in one eye and legally blind in the other.
If coping with all this as a 17-year old thousands of miles away from family wasn’t enough, I risked not being able to pursue a career of my choosing. But I managed to beat the odds and build a successful career which now spans 20-years.
I haven’t fully thought this project out, but I know I can help others by telling my story. While I pride myself at having navigated the challenges posed by my condition in order to build a successful career, I have learned a lot along the way. I was also fortunate to find supportive companies and people along the journey, and the opportunity to live in a progressive part of the world. Not everyone struggling to build a career while dealing with one of these invisible conditions is so fortunate. But for those that are in “tech”, I know that there are many steps these individuals can take early in their career (I’m looking at you new college grad) to ensure they avoid creating the obstacles I created for myself along the way.
For now, I just want to share my story and create awareness of invisible disabilities, and how they impact working professionals. I also want to make myself available to anyone working in the fast-paced world of tech and coping with an invisability.
Longer-term I hope to create a space and a community that helps connect people with invisible disabilities with resources to help have a successful career, notably in the place I know best (Silicon Valley). I ask for your support and encouragement as I embark on this journey.
