Discovering Purpose And Passion: How Serving As A Class Representative At IIM Nagpur Taught Me To Overcome Self-Doubt And Empower Others

After enrolling in IIM Nagpur, I knew one thing for sure; life would never be the same again. In the first few days of college, we spent all of our time getting to know one another; the first three days were spent acclimating to the university, our surroundings, and primarily the people. After that, our batch was split into four sections of 65 students each and given our section-wise allocation.

After a few days, we learned that class representatives would be chosen through an election procedure. Absurd as it may sound, I never imagined that I would end up contesting as the class representative of my section. My friends motivated me to think I was highly fit for the position. Let me tell you, self-doubt is an evil friend of yours. I struggled with self-doubt, but I was primarily sure of one thing: Why? The justification for my desire to serve as a representative for my class. The straightforward response came straight out of my mind and aligned with one of the core values that I always like to empower others. This comes from a sense of responsibility for the people around me; this inner feeling that I can help others and help them not only on the professional front but on the personal front never leaves me.

After the results were announced for the election, I was grateful that my classmates considered me for the position. The rollercoaster ride started after that. As class representatives at IIM Nagpur, we facilitated communication between the program office and faculty while handling issues specific to your class.

Taking care of yourself, your classmates and many other things became essential duties that should have been mentioned in a CR's job description. Even yet, I was grateful it was there since it gave me many valuable lessons, including how to set priorities, multitask, and control emotions.

After becoming a CR, the first month was quite stressful, although it never felt terrible, mainly because that’s what I was there for: to help others and to assist people in my class.

After being chosen as a class representative at IIM Nagpur, there was a persistent concern that I could fall short of what my fellow students had expected of me. It's at moments like this that I know for a fact that I will never be able to live up to everyone's expectations; all I can do is do all in my power to assist them as much as I can and deal with any issues that may arise at a moment's notice.

This is a personal story of how I found my purpose as a class representative (CR) at IIM Nagpur. This experience taught me the importance of multitasking, controlling emotions while handling stress, and, most importantly—determining what to prioritize and how to prioritize. I also developed fresh perspectives on managing stress and taking responsibility. Being a CR at IIM Nagpur helped me grow and shape my personality for the better.

Several lessons that I've learned on my journey as Class Representative:

1.      Every role and opportunity brings so much learning and helps a person grow in a way they might not have thought about.

2.       Be clear with your purpose: why you want to do anything or want to be in a particular role. It may be a little thing, but it matters a lot because your actions will be aligned with your purpose and act as fuel.

3.      Don’t shy away from taking responsibility: always be eager to participate in different things, engage with people around you and learn from your past mistakes.

Finally leaving off with one of my favorite quotes by Simon Sinek:

"Purpose is the reason you journey. Responsibility is the vehicle you travel in."

Abhishek Bhadoriya is a PGP 1 student and a class representative for Section B at IIM Nagpur. He has 34 months of work experience as a Risk Investigator at Amazon. He holds a degree in computer science and has a passion for reading a wide variety of books. Abhishek is determined to make his career in the Product Management domain.