Ankur Warikoo left for the US with a Rs 55,000 loan to chase his NASA dream. But he dropped out. 20 years later, his university called him back

Ankur Warikoo's journey to the US began with a borrowed Rs 55,000, a one-way ticket and a childhood dream of becoming a space scientist at NASA. But the path he had imagined did not last. He eventually realised that although he was good at what he was studying, he did not love it and chose to drop out. Two decades later, the same university that marked a major turning point in his life invited him back as a speaker.

Ankur Warikoo's US journey began with a Rs 55,000 loan

Warikoo recalled that on August 27, 2002, he took the first flight of his life to the US. The journey came with a major financial sacrifice for his family. According to Warikoo, his father had taken a Rs 55,000 loan to pay for his one-way ticket. His entire family came to see him off. He remembered that everyone was crying, including him. But alongside the emotion was excitement because he was finally pursuing something he had dreamed about for years.

Warikoo wanted to become a space scientist, join NASA and eventually land on Mars.

He realised he was good at it, but did not love it

The dream, however, changed once he was actually on that path. Warikoo said that midway through the journey, he realised something important. He was good at what he was doing, but it was not something he loved. That realisation led him to make a decision that felt devastating at the time. He dropped out.

Looking back, Warikoo described that moment bluntly, saying “it felt like my world had ended.” For someone who had left India with a clear dream and his family's financial support behind him, abandoning that path could easily have felt like failure.

20 years later, Michigan State called him back

What happened next was something Warikoo could not have imagined when he left for the US. On August 27, 2022, exactly 20 years after his departure for Michigan State, the university confirmed him as a speaker for its alumni speaker series. The irony was not lost on him.

The university he had once left after dropping out was now inviting him back to address its students. Warikoo imagined what someone might have told his 2002 self: two decades later, more than 17 million people would follow him online, he would write bestselling books and the university he was leaving would eventually invite him back to speak.

His younger self, he joked, would probably have thought the prediction was so unbelievable that he would have told the person to “get a CT scan.”

‘I did not give up on myself’

For Warikoo, the most important part of the story is not the eventual success or the invitation from Michigan State. He said he was not living his current life because he was “the smartest” or “the most hard working person” he knew. Instead, he attributed it to something much more personal: “I did not give up on myself.”

That perspective changes the way his dropout story can be viewed. What initially felt like the end of his carefully planned future eventually became a turning point that led him somewhere he had not anticipated.

His message for people facing unexpected setbacks

Warikoo connected his experience with the situations many people encounter in their own lives. He pointed to changes involving a new job, city, career or relationship, acknowledging that these experiences may not always turn out as expected. But he urged people not to mistake an unexpected outcome for the end of their journey. His message was that “that's not the end”, because life continues to offer possibilities long after a particular plan falls apart.

Warikoo's own story illustrates that a dream ending does not necessarily mean the end of ambition. Sometimes, the path changes completely before its significance becomes clear. His 2002 decision to leave Michigan State once felt like his world had ended. 20 years later, he was returning to the same university, not as the student he had once hoped to become, but as someone invited to share his experiences with its students.