For the first few months after arriving in Australia in 2007, Sandeep Chhikara would stand at a public payphone every day with a calling card in his hand, waiting to hear his mother’s voice.
He was 24, the first time he was away from home, and some 10,000+ km away from his close-knit family.
“At first Mum told me not to call so often because she thought the calls were far too expensive,” Sandeep says with a smile.
“So, I did what I was told and waited ten days before the next call. She was beside herself with worry and said, ‘No Sandeep. Call me every two days, even for five minutes, so I know you are ok.’”
Originally from Delhi, he had completed his undergraduate degree in India before a friend encouraged him to consider studying for a Master’s degree in human resources in Australia.
“No one in my family or even my relatives had really moved away from where they were born,” he says. “There wasn’t a roadmap for me, so I was pretty unsure whether that was the path I wanted.
“My friend kept telling me about Australia. He told me it would be challenging, but exciting too. There would be opportunities for me.”
So, Sandeep took a chance.
What began as a move for study slowly became something much bigger: a new life, new routines, new friendships and eventually, a family of his own.
During a trip home for a friend’s wedding, Sandeep met the woman he describes as the love of his life.
“We’d been talking before I travelled back to India, but once we met in person, everything fell into place very quickly,” he smiles. “We were married and back living in Australia a month later!”
Today, Sandeep and his wife (along with their five-year-old son) call Sydney home. On weekends, family life revolves around swimming lessons, football and finding time to get outdoors. He enjoys camping, riding his motorbike, and travelling across Australia and beyond, but these days, much of his energy goes into keeping up with a busy little boy.
“You realise pretty quickly you need to look after yourself if you want to keep up,” he says with a laugh.
That thinking has shaped other parts of his life, too. After years of putting exercise aside while balancing work and family, Sandeep made a conscious decision to focus more on his wellbeing.
“When you feel better in yourself, everything else improves too,” he says. “You sleep better, you think more clearly, and you have much more energy to give to others.”
That quiet, thoughtful approach is also what drew him to a career in human resources.
“I’ve always been someone who listens more than I talk,” he says. “I can stay calm under pressure, and I like understanding people.”
Over the years, his career has taken him across retail, public health and public transport before joining OCS Australia as HR Manager in 2017.
Australia may now feel like home, but India still shapes daily life inside his own household. While English has become the young family’s everyday language, Sandeep and his wife are teaching their son Hindi, so he grows up connected to both cultures.
“It’s important he understands where his family comes from,” Sandeep says. “That’s part of who he is.”
He sees similar connections across OCS, where colleagues come from many different backgrounds and experiences.
“When you move countries, you never forget how important it is to feel welcomed,” he says. “That’s one of the good things about working in a diverse business. People support each other, respect each other and learn from each other.”
For the young man who arrived in Australia alone nearly 20 years ago, that sense of belonging still means everything.
