Tell us more about your role & responsibilities at your college.
The past two years of my college, all together have been a perfect blend of ups and downs that one can ever imagine. I would rather call it as a roller coaster ride filled with an abundance of learning, great opportunities to meet amazingly talented individuals and a lot of fun and excitement to accompany my journey throughout its way. Talking about my roles and responsibilities in college, I happen to live a very busy yet an idle college life. By having got an opportunity to serve as the President of the Entrepreneurship-Cell of my college, my major roles and responsibilities include conducting meetings for the members of the society, brainstorming ideas for various events throughout the session & a lot of official work pertaining to seeking permission and funds from the college authorities.
Another important task for me is to set up coordination between all three departments of our society (Namely Marketing, Operations and Sponsorship). Though being a leader of any student-run community comes with a big responsibility of managing your team in the most effective manner yet I choose to take up the democratic/laissez-faire style of leadership to give maximum autonomy to my team with utmost flexibility of operations. I take pride in being able to get recognized for all the roles that have been allotted to me and my biggest responsibilities among all are that I shall give my best without letting anyone down for entrusting me with whatever I hold today.
How did you rise to your position and how can a student aspiring the same, approach it?
According to me, rising up to any leadership role isn't a very phenomenal idea but instead, it is a justice that you get for all the hard work that you do without anticipating any such rewards. Hard work and dedication are something which everyone possesses in their life. To rise up to any position, all one needs is the right motivation to deliver his/her best and finally, it is worth all the hard work that you put in for all this time.
Talking about my experience of securing the post of President, my ability to take initiative to complete any allotted tasks on deadline played a very crucial role in making me reach where I stand today. Besides, my exemplary skills of designing coupled with my ability to be a team player also helped me to climb up to this valuable post. Moreover, my fascination towards entrepreneurship and a zeal to establish my own start-up was the biggest factor that fetched me the post of the President of the Entrepreneurship Cell of my college.
What's it like to juggle between a leadership role and normal college life?
Every student leader chooses his/her own methods to set up a balance between normal college life and the leadership role they've been entrusted with. It might sound a bit weird to call these methods as a matter of priority that these student leaders set to make decisions at the time when there's a conflict between the two. For me, my normal college life is nothing else but a lot of work related to the entrepreneurship cell of my college.
I often get stuck into situations wherein it gets tough to choose one over the other. But then again, I rely upon my instincts and try my best to take a calculative decision so that none of it sees a face-off. Agreed that it often gets difficult at times to manage all these roles single handily but this is what college leadership roles are all about, a lot of hustle and learning walking hand in hand all the time.
What have been some of your biggest challenges and learnings from what you do?
My habit of procrastinating things is something that has always challenged me throughout my journey. Moreover, I personally feel that leadership titles help students to evolve their overall personality by not just being an effective leader but more importantly a better human being. The amount of learning that you get while working in a team and leading it at the same time is incomparable to any other opportunity one might get.
Seeing you in power, a lot of people would often criticise you and doubt your capabilities and this is where the real challenge of being a leader comes. All you have to do is not to lose your calm and keep giving your best until you reach your goals. Let no one distract you and you'll achieve what all you want in your life.
What's your message to encourage students to do internships and attend conferences?
Internships and conferences are always the biggest boons for the career of students like us. They are the best way to get us an insight into the practical world filled with abundant challenges and problems that lie ahead of our monotonous study curriculum. Talking from my personal experience of completing a summer internship from one of the big 4 firms around the globe (KPMG India), the amount of experience that you get while doing an internship is commendable. Nothing can prepare you better than an internship to let you step on the path of your career with a mind full of confidence coupled with a sense of self-actualization.
Conferences too play a very crucial role in shaping the charisma of students among their peers and help them to meet the most amazingly talented minds around the globe. Having said that, I'd like to reiterate upon the fact that how vital role do these internships play to help you rise up to any leadership role in your college life.
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