Today is the last day of my journey at Inside IIM, and it has been an amazing journey. It all started a year ago. Writing had always been a passion for me and I was always looking for opportunities to make the most of any writing opportunity that came my way.
I joined the Media Cell at XLRI as I thought it would be an opportunity to interact with various media channels, and I knew it would involve a lot of writing and editing. While I was working as a Junior Executive member of the Media Cell, I came across several platforms which were helping Aspirants Bridge the gap. One such platform was Inside IIM.
When I received a mail asking interested students to apply for the student team of Inside IIM, it seemed like a natural progression to what I was doing. After a rigorous selection process, I was glad to know that I was a part of the student team 3.0
Firstly, being a student reporter involves a lot of writing, and contributing articles is no mean feat. The content has to be relevant to the audience and I wanted every reader to walk away with something, and in order for the reader to do so, I had to be completely honest with myself and my readers as well.
While talking to a friend, I realised that she did not know that I had taken a year’s gap. While I tried explaining why I took it, I found that the argument was not convincing and so I contemplated my own decision and came up with my story of the gap year. It was honest, and I tried sharing as much as possible.
The response was overwhelming and continues to be so till date. There have been several readers who have asked me questions on how to tackle interview questions related to gap-year. I was glad that my article helped people know that there were others like them who made it.
The Summer Saga was another opportunity to share a true picture of what happened during my internship. While I was actively asking my batch-mates to share their stories, I myself was inspired to share my Summer Internship experience. It was humbling to know that I was one of the winners of the contest.
My experience as a Student Team member also led me to interact with people from my batch, seniors, and peers from other colleges. For instance, while covering one of my start-ups that a senior of mine had started, I came to know several things which I otherwise would not have. I also witnessed the amazing writing skills of my peers from other colleges while getting to know what happened in their institutes.
Also, there was a lot of research done by talking to faculty and fellow classmates before writing an article, conducting a Live-Chat or answering a question on the community page. This was a great opportunity to help students like me who are going through a transitional phase right now and whose heads are filled with doubts like mine are. The platform enables them to connect with anyone from any of the colleges bridging the gap. Also, it helps to hear from people who have been in your shoes not so long ago.
It brings forth a spirit of competition as you represent not just yourself, but your B-School as well.