A New Yorker’s Story: Michael Udayakumar

Heritage: Southeast Asian | TV Producer | Go-Getter 

My mom (born in Cambodia) was watching the movie that Angelina Jolie directed called: First They Killed My Father. She went through that as a kid , that whole genocide. I don’t take life for granted everyday because the fact that my mom could’ve died there I could not be here today. She was about 10 or 12 [when that happened]. It definitely affected her life obviously, it affects her everyday. She’ll wake up with nightmares because she did see a lot of bad [things], dead bodies, her father died. When I first found out I was a kid and you don’t really understand but [you do] as you get older. Everyday I live my life to the most, specially now with COVID you never know what could happen.

I work in TV Production and after college it was a real struggle trying to find work. It made me really doubt myself: Did i even go to school for the right thing? Is this what I’m supposed to be doing? It really put me in a bad place mentally. What am i doing with my life? Sort of speak.

And just recently about two years ago I got a full time job at WWE. I guess getting that job, a full time  job in the field that I went to school for, that I picked up as a hobby as a kid making little dance videos. It really validated me. If you just work hard, if you keep looking, if you keep grinding, everything falls into place. You are going to eventually get there you just can’t give up on yourself.

“If you just work hard, if you keep looking, if you keep grinding, everything falls into place. You are going to eventually get there you just can’t give up on yourself.”

What do you strive to become in the future? 

Right now I work in the entertaining field, I work in TV and as much as I would love to be the head huncho, TV producer or even some sort of  on-camera talent . Honestly, and this is a very general answer, I just want to be happy. And I feel happy now. Everyday work is tough but at the end of the day I feel satisfied. If I can keep that going and if I could be happy knowing I made it doing what I wanted to do  and what I love to do then that’s all I could really ask for. 

-as told by Michael Udayakumar-