About Me:
I would describe myself as a positive and enthusiastic person. I am very diligent in my work and do everything to the best of my abilities. This approach along with my self-management skills has helped me excel in life. I have balanced my work, academics, extra-curricular activities and volunteering activities and have done justice to all spheres of my life. Having held positions of responsibilities throughout school, college and at work, taking charge of situations, initiating new ideas and working in a team comes naturally to me.
I completed my schooling from Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram in 2010. My school encouraged me to pursue my interests and provided a platform to excel in them. I was the Secretary of the School Art Club and was responsible for conceptualising and organising inter-school and intra-school art competitions. I actively participated in and won various dance, art and debating competitions and received a gold medal and ‘Abhigyan Puraskar’ for academic excellence through middle school and high school.
After that, I pursued B.Com (H) from Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi. I was among the top 15 students in University of Delhi (South Campus) and secured the 4th position in my college. As a member of the Dance Society, I won various inter-college dance competitions and organised the dance event in the college annual festival. During this time, I also volunteered for an NGO, GuideStar India, and actively contributed in organising the ‘Times of India Social-Impact Awards’ by reaching out to over 1200 NGO leaders.
I worked with Ernst & Young for 16 months after graduation. My proudest moment at EY was when I was awarded the ‘Advisory Excellerator Award’, which was given in recognition of demonstrating excellence in my field of work and standing out as a champion across India.
Currently, I am pursuing PGP at IIM Indore. I have had various opportunities to showcase my business acumen, talent and skills in a variety of activities at IIM-I. In addition to these, I have been successful in completing a live project and writing multiple research papers.
Tell us about your non-academic activities and achievements.
When I was a child I discovered that dance was a way for me to express myself. I love to dance in my free time and have also participated in various competitions since my childhood. It not only helps me convey my emotions but also refreshes me.
My dance performances have always been highly appreciated be it in the Dance-Drama ‘Ramayana in the Modern Context’ organised by my school, or as a member of the Dance Society in college, where I won several prizes in inter-college dance competitions.
Apart from dance, my other interests include drawing and debating, which have helped me develop a holistic personality. My interest in drawing developed when I saw my mother sketching. Right from nursery, I have won many prizes in poster-making, slogan-writing, postcard-making and dress-designing competitions. I was the Secretary of the School Art Club and was responsible for organising various inter-school and inter-section art competitions.
To overcome my stage fright as a child, I was advised to recite poetry on stage. On receiving applause for my recital, I resolved to overcome my stage fear and started debating. Subsequently, I started enjoying it and successfully competed in various competitions.
If you had a magic wand, what is the one problem in India that you would magically wish away? Explain why.
The one problem in India that I would magically wish away is the “chalta hai” attitude that Indians tend to have – instead of trying to solve a problem, we tend to accept things the way they are and gradually get used to it and adjust ourselves accordingly. What India lacks today is young leaders who are willing to step out of their comfort zones and take initiative. I believe that all the problems that India is facing today can be solved if only we are willing to question and challenge what the status quo is. As it is has been said- “If we don’t challenge the way things have always been, we'll never discover the greatest breakthroughs of our future.”
What is the biggest risk that you have taken so far and why?
I was entrusted with the responsibility of executing an Organization Restructuring Project. As I had no background of organisation restructuring, I was slightly nervous as I knew it fairly well that my failure to accomplish this project will not only put my credibility and growth at stake but will also adversely impact the reputations of my seniors. However, I wanted to grab the opportunity of executing the project successfully as it was a very important project for the organization.
The work involved understanding the overall organisation structure of the client company and the roles and responsibilities of different job positions. The project was to be executed in three steps. The first step was to conduct the ‘As-Is Analysis’, that is to find out the actual structure that existed. This required studying the existing structure of the organisation as told by the client along with the detailed roles and responsibilities. Inputs from employees at various levels were to be taken to find out the actual structure and hierarchy which existed. The inputs would then be analysed to figure out the problem areas and gaps. The next step was to suggest a ‘To-Be Structure’ or a new structure which would help overcome the problems that were faced due to the previous organisation structure. The new structure was to be implemented after approval by the senior management of the client. This involved explaining the new structure to their employees and convincing them about the benefits of the new structure.
I put in extra hours and effort to acquire the working knowledge required to execute the project and successfully completed the project under strict deadlines. My determination to excel at this task earned me an extremely positive feedback from the client. My seniors also appreciated the manner in which I handled the project. It made me understand that if we believe in ourselves, the possibilities are endless.