ALL ABOARD SURYA’S TRAIN
Prospective member Surya Ambati recently gave us an insight into his life in India and Australia, and only once mentioned that he is looking to further serve the community by becoming a Councillor at the City of Melville.
It was pretty clear from his presentation that he is already serving our community in many different ways.
But first, let’s head back to India, a country where Rotary is a BIG THING, where some Clubs have a three year waiting list of people wanting to join their club.
Surya’s grandparents belonged to the Banda culture in the Onukudelli region of Andhra Pradesh, and they made and sold cooking oil. As is common in many countries, the family home had several generations living under the one roof.
Surya's father was one of 8 children, and the first to go to university where he studied Electrical Engineering. His career was spent working on a Hydroelectricity project.
Surya also went to university to become a civil engineer, and found a job with Indian Railways, working with the company for 20 years until 2007, mainly in construction. One day he received a telegram with just two words “Come Immediately”. It was from his father and it was the start of the ritual of an arranged marriage. His parents took him to meet with girl, whose parents had invited 50 relatives to give Surya the once-over. They married in 1990, and have lived happily ever after.
After several years and now with two sons, he found a job with GHD and the family migrated to Western Australia. He has also worked with Roy Hill and Calibre Global. Their two sons have done well for themselves — one is a neurologist and the other is an engineer. Meanwhile Surya completed an MBA at UWA and the Harvard Programme for Leadership Development, as well as honing his public speaking skills with Melville Toastmasters. He also used his construction skills to oversee the building of Australia's first Indian Community Centre, in Willetton. He is a Board member of Advocare, championing accessible and ageing-in-place support for seniors, and donates blood on a regular basis (50+ times so far!).
No wonder he received the Outstanding Individual Achievement Award at the WA Muticultural Awards in 2023.
I think Surya will be a great addition to Applecross Rotary, and I’m sure fellow engineer Chris Whelan has already got a job for him at Applecross Rotary's JacFest 2025.