Image courtesy – Anupam Goel
1)Tell us more about your role & responsibilities at your college
I’m currently the president of both the Economics department and the Entrepreneurship cell of Deshbandhu college and I feel with this role comes great responsibility. Being in this role demands great focus and determination to take both the economics department and the entrepreneurship cell to great heights. The first and foremost responsibility I feel is working at more than full potential because here we aim at organizing various events which include guest lectures, panel discussions and the annual fests of both the departments.
The second responsibility I have is of managing the student members of both departments and I currently have approximately 40 students working under me. So, managing the activities of each and every member and assigning tasks and getting the work done through them is one of the major works that I do here. Also, my responsibilities including giving timely reports to the teachers in charge and to the college administration about the activities of the departments and make sure they travel the upward path on the growth trajectory.
2)What's it like to juggle between a leadership role and normal college life?
Actually, it’s fun because I personally am more inclined to the posts I’m handling and the responsibilities I have with those posts. I have fun working my ass off with all the events and the projects that we work on. It always feels like I am doing the right thing and also the thing I love doing. When the normal college life comes into question I feel that is going pretty well and I don’t have to do much work to create a balance between the leadership roles and the normal college life cause it automatically balances itself for me and I feel grateful for it because it’s due to the people I’m around with in college.
I feel that their understanding of my roles and responsibilities also helps to create a balance between both the leadership role and college life. As far as my studies are concerned, I think that just require a dedicated time of the day and I am sure I give it that.
3)What have been some of your biggest challenges and learnings from what you do?
The greatest human desire I read is of appreciation and recognition and this is true both at the individual and community level. Thus, my biggest challenge I feel is creating an identity for the economics department and entrepreneurship cell and make it recognized and appreciated at the university level. Planning and doing things that take me where I want to be with both the departments, I feel is very challenging, tough and also very adventurous.
It feels like a roller coaster ride of many ups and downs. With these challenges at every step, there has been a lot that I have learnt through the course of two years, first as a member, then as vice president and finally as president. The most important thing that I have learnt is that when things are not going the way you want them to be, you got to double the hours of work you put in the things you are doing and that has definitely paid me off.
Another thing that I have learnt is that you always don’t need everyone to work for you and the way you want them to, because they don’t. So, this taught me how to work alone with no support or say when there is not even a single kind of help. I personally feel grateful for such learning at the college level.
4)What are the top skills that you have learnt with what you do?
The top skills that I have learnt with what I do are:
- Event management skills
- Optimum utilization of resources specially finances for it has been a problem for us at entrepreneurship cell.
- I have developed a positive perspective on both life and work.
- Farsightedness
5)What are your career goals and how is what you are doing going to help you with that?
One of the major career goals I have is completing CFA and getting into investment banking. I know pretty well that investment banking is a job that requires long working hours and a huge amount of dedication and focus along with it, so working here at the economic department and the entrepreneurship cell I believe is preparing me for the same. I also feel that managing resources including people and finances and also creating a work-life balance i.e. the balance between all these leadership roles, my normal college life and my personal life is also what I have learnt. But my career goals just don’t stop at being an investment banker, they definitely go beyond that.
6)What's your message to encourage students to do internships and attend conferences?
Internships are a great opportunity to learn. They provide the skills at an early stage that are really important at almost every stage in life. I believe that conferences also help in building a personality that one aspires to become. The learning that internships and conferences provide is something that cannot be defined in words. I recommend all my juniors and my peers to do as many internships as they possibly can and also attend various conferences on leadership, management and entrepreneurship development cause there’s a lot of learning hidden in them and they definitely help in building a strong personality.
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