Sukrit Srisakulchawla, DMSB'18, a third year finance major at Northeastern University, recently took over the D'Amore-McKim Instagram (@damoremckim) account to show us life as a business student. Originally from Bangkok, Thailand, Srisakulchawla shared with us his love of travel, finding the right place to study, and reflections from his first co-op at an investment management firm. He says, “Finance was the perfect mix between mathematics, logic, and systematic calculation and creative problem solving, and the chaos of dealing with the unknown.” Read more about him below and don't miss his photos from the takeover.
Q:How do your interests and personality show through in your photography?
I think like most people, I tend to take photographs for the purpose of capturing moments in my life. I don't necessarily consider myself a professional photographer, as in I don't do this for a living. The pictures I take, whether or not I share them online typically tend to truly represent moments in my life, whether it's the places I am at, the people I am with, the meals I am having, or the feelings I am going through. It is very much like a journal for me. I guess, anyone who looks at my photographs, can very easily make out who I am, and what I like.
Q:At what point did you realize that your Instagram following had taken off? Does having a bigger audience influence your photography?
Personally, I had three major turning points when it comes to Instagram. The first time was probably around February of 2014, during my freshman year, when I decided to start my own YouTube channel, and develop my online presence. At the time, I decided to start Vlogging (Video Blogging) as a personal project to develop my skills in verbal communication, as well as to remain creatively active. Although I wasn't focusing on Instagram specifically, I still shifted my perspective in moving away from being a private user, sharing posts with just family and friends, to being more public with my pictures. My second turning point was around last March, when I attended my first Insta-meet with @IGBoston on WorldWide Instameet 11. This was the first time I had ever attended an Instagram meet, and it really opened up my eyes to how community oriented the platform really is. Seeing everyone that day, doing all different things for a living, but photographing the same subjects in the same city and yet producing completely unique results inspired me to focus a lot more Instagram. A few months later, after going through this mentality change and after getting to connect with more people in the local/ Boston Instagram community, somehow I was noticed by Instagram, and was put on their suggested user list. This was when my following was actually boosted from around 850 followers to over thirty thousand. Even though it happened 7 months ago, it still feels very surreal to me. In a way, yes, having a bigger audience has influenced the pictures I share or in some cases, hold back from sharing. Although I strongly believe in sharing all aspects of my life, the good and the bad, since that's what makes us human, there are certain things now that I have to keep in mind in order to avoid any misconception, something that could easily happen when you're reaching out to so many people. I guess, having a large following has also just been another reason for me to keep striving to improve myself.
Q:What is your favorite subject and/or location to shoot and why?
I still can't decide whether I like shooting portraits more or shooting food subjects more. I really enjoy portraits, especially when they are my close friends or family members because it will, for me, bring back a memory of the time shared with them and that was how I was introduced to photography. Shooting family pictures on our vacations. On the other hand, I am a huge foodie, and nothing pleases me more than seeing delicious food being presented in an aesthetically pleasing manner. So when it comes to shooting food, I guess it's more than just the result but the process of composition, and styling as well as sometimes cooking the food that just wins me over.
Q:Where do you to get your inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from a lot of places. My parents and grandparents have always been my number one inspiration. Though what they do professionally has little to do with creativity nor are visually artistic, their continuous hard work, effort, and commitment has always inspired me to keep going. Creatively, however, I've considered Connor Franta, a Youtube/internet personality/entrepreneur to be one of my biggest inspirations. When it comes to Instagram, I look up to a lot of people, but just to list some: @stevenfingar, @joethommas, @acupofkeen, @kevinwonka, and @cholpak are probably some of my favorite people to follow.
Q:Why did you choose to study business at Northeastern? Has (or how has) your experience as a student so far influenced what you plan on doing after graduation?
Out of all my college acceptances, Northeastern just stood out to be the best choice for me. My experience, however limited it may be in just two and half years, has made it clearer to why I chose to study Finance in the first place. For me, Finance was the perfect mix between mathematics, logic, and systematic calculation and creative problem solving, and the chaos of dealing with the unknown. As each day passes, I fall more and more in love with the subject and my time at my first co-op at MFS Investment Management has also helped to strengthen my interest and passion for the subject. I came in to college knowing that I am expected to return home and join in on the family business and that still remains true today. The only difference now is that I am more excited to take back the experience and learning, both from inside and out of classroom settings, and to see it's applications in reality.
Instagram Takeover #DAmoreMcKimxSukrit
Day 1: Hello D'Amore-McKim!
Day 2: Embark on a journey into the unknown
Day 3: A little overwhelming
Day 4: Favorite place to study
Day 5: Looking ahead to spring break
Day 6: Reflections on co-op