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1)Tell us more about your role & responsibilities at your college.
Before joining Jesus and Mary college, I had been part of the same school for fourteen years, I had a well established way of life, wherein I knew everyone around me and leaving school after 12th felt like leaving my comfort zone. As I entered college I felt a little lost for the first couple of months but I made sure that I kept my mind set positive and I applied, got through and was part of 4 societies in my first year- Enactus, Entrepreneurship cell, NSS, Global youth. I didn’t just want to join any society for the sake of it, I wanted to contribute towards each society to the best of my ability and grow as a human being.
I was an active member of Enactus and was the founding member of Project IFFAT, it was one of the top 12 projects shortlisted for the Worlds Water Race in 2018. Under Project Iffat we employed women affected by HIV and helped them upcycle the slightly used soap bars & sold these in areas that face sanitation issues, thereby eliminating waste, improving hygiene and creating new jobs.
I was also the Organising head of Entrepreneurship cell in my second year and through my grit and determination I became the President.
The Entrepreneurship Cell of JMC aims at manifesting the latent entrepreneurial spirit of the young students. With the vision of seeding entrepreneurship among young entrepreneurs, we wish to inculcate in them core competencies and a network to connect with like minded individuals. We also organise 2 annual events which comprise of many interesting innovative games , speaker sessions further startup’s also get an opportunity to put up stalls and show case their products.
We also have a successful running venture where we design and sell our own notebooks/ diaries.
As the President, I have to overlook everything from getting sponsors, speakers, work on new marketing techniques like online campaigns, get permissions from the principals office to execute our plans, sit with members and solve their grievances. Basically my responsibility is to make sure that everything pertaining to my society goes smoothly.
Balancing this with academics, as I’m in my final year of BA Political science honours and also trying to squeeze in quality time with my friends and family is definitely a task.
But in a short while only I feel I’ve adjusted and made a well planned routine for myself so this year I’m also helping organise the Political science department fest in my college.
Personally, doing the bare minimal and being average are my biggest fears, so I always give my best to every opportunity that comes my way.
2) What's it like to juggle between a leadership role and normal college life?
It’s challenging but a very enriching experience as well. But I’m used to this as I was the President of the Dramatics society of my school, so even back then I was juggling between academics, organising cultural events at school, going for inter school competition and most importantly having a good time with my friends like any other normal teenager. So I know how to tackle these different aspects of my life.
But I do believe that one needs to have good planning and organising skills to juggle all this. I try to take every challenge head on. From my experiences I have learnt that one should make small achievable goals in every aspect of life and work hard to achieve them but also let go sometimes and appreciate what one has at present and make most of it. Basically calm down, sit back and chill!
I do plan things well in advance, you would always find a planner in my hand where I jot down all my important points and issues at hand, mark the important dates like my society meetings, assignment submissions, a habit I feel I’ve inherited from my father.
Looking back I feel ever since I became the President of Ecell, things have been a lot different as there have been many situations where I’ve had to make tough choices and prioritise my responsibilities towards my society, even if they sometimes clash with my personal commitments. Here, I feel am blessed to have such understanding and supportive family and friends. Further by being an active member in so many societies I have come across like minded peers who have well aligned goals in their life and having such a positive atmosphere further motivates me to do more.
3)Do you enjoy the kind of influence you hold at such a young age?
I treat the influence that I have as a duty, not as a privilege. As the President of a society, my job is not only to get work done but also to maintain an open, inclusive and healthy environment where everyone can flourish.
If we are unable to execute as a team, I ensure that we learn; move on and do not repeat the same mistakes again. I try my best to keep the teams morale high as in that particular instance we need to deal with the issue at hand and not waste time and regret the mistakes we have committed in the past.
Ecell is one of the biggest societies at JMC and it stands for promoting entrepreneurial outlook among students but me with the the entire team have made sure that we do much limit ourselves to the predefined norms set out for us and make full use of this platform.
We’ve in the past started an online campaign called #JMCKiAwaaz which addressed the intolerance against social norms where people have shared their own stories about sexism, body shaming, bulling or any kind of social pressure put on them and voiced their opinion. We further incorporated this social theme with our annual event, Start-o- sphere and held an open mic where we called in writers, musicians and anyone who wanted to be heard and breakaway from the right constructs of society.
In my opinion one of the best ways to influence people is to make them feel important and I try to listen to everyone’s view points and ideas and incorporate them as much as I can.
I try to be the best version of myself by working hard and putting in the required hours and inspire others ( even in the slightest way) to do more and become more than what they are today.
4)Do you have a message for parents to allow their kids to do things besides academics?
Personally my parents have not just been supportive but extremely encouraging in whatever I’ve decided to do in my life. They made sure that I enrolled in extracurricular activities and ever since I was a little girl I was doing a lot of different things from playing chess to going for my dance and theatre lessons.
I also played tennis for seven years but no I did not pursue it further and I did not grow up to become a professional athlete but the takeaway I have from all these experiences and playing a sport is much more than anything I’ve ever learnt in any classroom.
In the same manner, being the part of a society and working alongside different kinds of people with different personality traits teaches you a lot, it teaches you so much about teamwork and unity, and most importantly about when to take lead and when to sit back.
But this does not mean that academics should be neglected in favour of extracurricular activities, rather they should go hand in hand for all rounded development of student.
Theoretical knowledge is important but to have the practical know- how about how to deal with pressure and real problems is necessary in the real world.
More than anything parents need to understand that each child is different and not everyone wants aspired to become an engineer, doctor or do anything related to academics at all. They might have different talents.
Anyways if we all start following the same path, won’t life get a bit too predictable and monotonous.
So I urge all parents to let their children pave their own path and excel in their chosen field, if they chose to do something unconventional, the support of a parents will be needed even more.
5)What did you do in your current role that makes you feel really proud of yourself?
It isn’t the norm to see someone from an humanities background, doing Political science honours leading an Entrepreneurship cell. It is usually perceived to be a more commerce dominant field and I take pride in breaking the mold. I hope to have inspired other students in my college from diverse backgrounds (courses) to experiment and do the same.
From being a society member in first year and doing tasks assigned to me diligently , to becoming a core team member- Organising head in my second year and heading an entire department to finally becoming the President, this entire journey is something I cherish and take pride in.
My role today is different than anything I’ve ever done before, from leading an entire society, selecting team members, dividing work, making sure every department works smoothly, getting sponsors, stalls, working on different campaigns and always keeping things fresh and fun for the team is a great commitment in itself.
But the fact that as a twenty year old millennial, I am able to organise such big events so professionally alongside such talented girls is nothing less than extraordinary.
6)What's your message to encourage students to do internships and attend conferences?
I think that internships and conferences are an integral part of ones college life. Internships are like a stepping stone into the world. One goes out of the comfort zone of their college during internships. Even students who don’t want to venture into corporate jobs should intern as internships provide a sense of independence to the student and contribute to their personal growth. For students who want to go out and make a name for themselves in the corporate world internships are part of the trials and tribulations one has to go through.
I myself interned at Geometry Global Encompass which is one the most renounced event management companies. Also through interning with NGO’s one can also give back to the society. I also interned with Earth Saviour Foundation which is affiliated to UNESCO, they provide shelter to mentally, physically challenged citizens and also operates as an old age home for the homeless.
Conferences are also an integral part of college life and we often gain insight into diverse issues and the speakers ( who are often eminent personalities of their respective fields) helps us to see the world through a different lens.
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