If I am asked what IIM Nagpur has given me, apart from the quality education and lifelong memories to cherish, I would feel elated to mention about the platform that IIMN has given me to stand up. From being an introvert to what I am today, IIM Nagpur has given me millions of learnings in the course of my Presidentship for Students’ Affairs Council, without having to lose my core identity.
The day January 24th, 2019 still stays fresh in the memory, which signifies the date, I embarked on my journey as SAC President. It has been a roller coaster ride throughout the to date. The process of getting elected as the SAC President started with an election manifesto submission by every candidate, who has expressed interest to contest for this role, followed by a traditional soapbox and a questionnaire by the batch to the candidate and a questionnaire by the batch to the panel of the contestants. These serve as a basis for the batch to cast votes for the candidates in the election process.
The responsibilities of the President include coordinating between the students and the administration, overseeing the club activities, organizing and reviewing discussions for budgeting of student funds, moderate elections and nurture the new batch while inducting into the IIMN fraternity. Being in a young school, this opportunity has not just offered me to train myself for people management skills but also has posed unique and peculiar challenges going the way forward.
In the initial days, it was tough to cope up with the juggle between the academics and the responsibilities. I should thank my friends and my group mates for helping me to manage this phase. With time passing by, I have been trying to cope with this art of balancing with the help from my friends. Also, the support from my family members, the entire SAC Council, and the student family at IIM Nagpur has been commendable.
As quoted by Satya Nadella, “Empathy, purpose, and culture make things happen”; my trials of implementation of this quote has helped me in an effective way of managing the things that came my way in this journey. One part that I loved the most in doing was listening and talking to the people about the issues as a part of my regular responsibilities. I can firmly say that this has helped me develop more patience and has helped me graduate as an individual. I believe that being empathetic towards the people who approach you for help is the most important characteristic that any individual has to possess. On the contrary side, it was tough to maintain the composure in all the situations, and consequently, personal relations got strained at times.
When it is the purpose that is spoken about, I remember a conversation with my father after I got elected as the President, where he advised me that “Being a President doesn’t mean that you are the boss, you are a representative for a few 100s of voices who have elected you for their voice to be represented.” When you have people around you who remind you of the purpose for which you are there, it keeps you alert and helps in pursuing things in the right way.
The diversity in the culture should promote cultural inclusion rather than cultural differences. Being a part of every celebration happening on the campus has helped me develop cultural sensitivity. It is with the support of the entire fraternity of IIM Nagpur, the journey so far has been encouraging. I have optimistic hope for the few more months left for this responsibility of mine. Finally, I would like to quote a few lines from a good friend of mine, “Your term is successful only if no one thinks that had I been there, I could have done it better.” These lines have created a sense of attentive fear towards the responsibility I have and a continuous hope that the cordial relations with the people here last longer.
Bharath Turlapaty is a second-year PGP student at IIM Nagpur. He is a mechanical engineer, who had worked for Cyient as a Design Engineer in aerospace before joining IIM Nagpur. He loves to cook in his free time."