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1. Tell us more about your role and responsibilities at your college.
My last 3 years at college can be summed up by calling it a roller coaster ride. There have been days when I’ve stayed back in college till 7 in the evening for event preparations and there have been sleepless nights studying for exams & worrying about event turnouts.
Needless to say, it has been an overwhelming & fulfilling journey and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve been involved in over 7-8 societies & clubs in these 3 years and have gained tremendously from each experience. I have headed finance & organising operations for Department of Commerce, raised funds for TEDxJMC, been a founding member of Project Iffat as part of the Enactus Team and most importantly co-founded NEEV: The Training & Development Centre of JMC.
2. How can we encourage more young students such as yourself to take up leadership roles?
I feel the only way to know if one can take up a leadership role is to try it. Without stepping in the shoes of a leader I don’t think it is possible to experience the role. We come from colleges where there are endless opportunities designed specifically for honing these management & leadership skills and it comes down to the individuals to try their hands on it.
We are all here to uplift each other and make this journey fun & productive at the same time!
3. What have been your biggest challenges and learning from what you do?
One thing that I’ve experienced throughout these 3 years is Uncertainty. Be it a college event, council elections or even a society seminar, the thing I’ve learnt is that situations can be uncontrollable & uncertain at various points.
Your session speaker may not turn up on time, it may rain on the day of your annual event or you may even lose elections for a position you’ve always dreamt of, the key learning from all such situations is acceptance. As long as you graciously accept circumstances that you can not control, life becomes ten times easier. Over the course of numerous unpredictable situations, I have learnt to accept and tackle them with the best of my abilities.
4. What are your career goals and how is what you are doing going to help you with that?
A. As a fresher right out of school, I had little clarity of the path I wanted to pursue. B.Com Hons in itself provides you with a plethora of opportunities which can actually lead to confusion in deciding one’s career path. I have always been a firm believer of putting my 100% in whatever I do. Hence I focused on getting myself enrolled in diverse clubs/societies. Eventually I discovered my inclination towards the field of Finance (this happened after internships, extra courses & studying over 10 subjects in college).
I soon realised that the extra curricular work I was involved in would not directly enhance my Finance aptitude. However I took a decision to pursue both simultaneously as these activities at college helped me mould into a better co-worker, team player & leader and additional courses enhanced my financial inclination.
My motto is to seek what sets your soul on fire, always!
5. What's your message to encourage students to do internships and attend conferences?
There is no doubt about the benefits involved in pursuing internships or attending conferences, workshops, etc. The real challenge is to find the right one for yourself but I’ve come to realise that the only way to know about an internship is to apply & enroll in one!
Start with a basic 4 week program and it’s sure to teach you so much. You may not learn much about the profile you’re working in, but you’ll learn the importance of time management, adhering to deadlines, working in a team and this will ultimately help you realise your potential. On the other hand conferences, workshops & sessions teach you varied skills and impart knowledge based on your academics and/or life skills.
6. Tell us about NEEV and the founding process of it?
NEEV was a result of past years of deliberations and planning to establish a cell for placement & internship opportunities for students of Department of Commerce. As one of the founders & the first President, little did I know its true potential. In only a matter of 12 months, NEEV has secured its place in the college as The Training & Development Centre.
Though the only main aim was to secure better placement opportunities initially, we ended up doing a lot more than that. With 18 hard working & committed girls to form the dream team, NEEV helped students of various departments secure fruitful internships and get an insight into all that’s important before landing a job. Sure there have been obstacles in reaching out to students and resistance from few stakeholders of the college but as I look back at what we have achieved in this one year, it all seems worth it.
- Shubhangi Aggarwal
Interviewed by- Priyanshi Arora
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