Student Leader Interview - Aditya Bhushan from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College


Want to become a writer at Eat My News? Here is an opportunity to join the Board of Young Leaders Program by Eat My News. Click here to know more: ​ bit.ly/boardofyoungleaders


1. Tell us about your role and responsibilities at your college?

I have been elected and currently working as the General Secretary of Net Impact Delhi University which is a student run NPO, a part of the global organisation Net Impact which has it’s base in San Francisco. We mobilize the next-gen leaders to use their skills and careers to make a positive impact on the world. We strive towards creating a more just and sustainable world by solving the challenges that pose a threat to society.


Our vision involves encouraging students and professionals to use their business skills to support various social and environmental causes. It is an umbrella society with students from more than 20 colleges of Delhi University who are working together to create a positive impact on the society and this year we are further planning to increase our member base.

As the General Secretary, my role includes-


  • Planning future activities and events and discussing it with my team.

  • Direct and oversee the work of members. I believe in “lead by example” theory so I always try to guide my team to the best of my knowledge and always encourage them to brainstorm new ideas.

  • Contacting and inviting speakers for seminars and webinars. 

  • Organising various events and team building activities.

  • Collaborating and working along with other societies.

  • Managing and gathering resources for the society.

  • Sharing knowledge and expertise with everyone.


2. How can we encourage more young students such as yourself to take up leadership role?


Leadership is not something you are born with. It’s something that you learn through experiences. Leadership is a key skill that is required in all spheres of life and in every profession in today’s dynamic world. Leadership starts with your own self.The first step towards being a leader is handling the steering of your own life.


If you want to do something big in life, bring about a change in society, then it’s very important that you first become the leader of your own self and gradually develop good leadership skills. It is not a finite process, there is no “perfect” leader on earth. It’s a lifelong process, you need to continuously improve yourself everyday and be a lifelong learner.


I feel that the college societies and activities are the best medium through which one can enhance leadership skills at an early age. It gives a platform to explore and try out new things. It gives an opportunity to work with different types of people and get a taste of professionalism. It also gives plenty of opportunities to communicate with the outside world (for collaborations, sponsorships,etc) which in turn improves the communication skills and confidence level. I feel that the best advice I can give to my juniors is to join some good and active societies and learn to work in a team and get exposure.


A good leader always has a greater purpose in life (should be more than money, something that will lead to betterment of the society and people) which always keeps them going in difficult times. Apart from these things, there are a lot of other factors too which leads to overall development of an individual working in societies. Motivating members to take initiatives and planning events will definitely enhance their leadership skills and make them a good leader.


3. What has been your biggest challenges and learnings from what you do?


I see challenges as an ‘opportunity’ to improve myself. If there would have been no challenges in life, everything would have become stagnant and there would have been no learning. So, rather than running away from them, we should always see the opportunity to improve yourself. One of the challenges that I faced during my school days was my stage fear and weak communication skills.


I was a shy kid during my middle school and that hampered my development in various spheres to a greater extent and I soon realised that the cost I am paying is way too much and I had to work on it. So, gradually I started working on it one step at a time and consciously tried to be less self critical. I started participating in more and more activities in school which provided me with the platform to express myself and today, I think that I have come a long way but there is a lot still undiscovered and left to be improved upon on which I am working continuously.


A lot of people don’t like to accept their shortcomings. The first and foremost thing to improve yourself is to accept that you need to work on something and then work towards overcoming that weakness. You will definitely be proud of yourself one day for taking a small step today!


4.What are your career goals and how is what you are doing is going to help you with that?


I want to become an entrepreneur and contribute to society. For that I need to be a good manager and a team leader. I am currently the General Secretary of Net Impact Delhi University and also I am working on a startup project as the Co-Founder along with my batchmates.


All these experiences of planning and leading the organisation would further increase my skills and thinking horizon and I will get to communicate with a lot more people and certainly I can learn something good and new from each one of my teammates. Therefore I think that all the things that I am doing currently will definitely carve me into a better human being and will give me a boost in the professional life.


5. What’s your message to encourage students to do internships and attend conferences?


Internships and conferences are a very important aspect of college education. These things bridge the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge. It gives you a platform to learn a thing and then do it on your own. Internships open up a lot of opportunities for you.


You get the taste of the professional world, get to know the practical application of the knowledge you have gained in college and school, it helps to build your personality and gives you a lot of exposure along with the opportunity to explore new things.


They can provide you with useful insights about the corporate world and one of the perks is that you tend to build a good corporate network. So I would recommend everyone to look forward to these opportunities and make best use of your time in your college days.


- Aditya Bhushan


Interviewed by- Gurleen Kaur