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I was part of the Economics Association of Gargi College- Ecomantra in the capacity of the creative head heading a team of around five people. As a society we conducted the annual economics departmental fest. It is a major college event, in which students from various colleges of Delhi University are invited to participate in various events and seminars. It is a very prestigious event. The principal of the college and heads of departments of the college are also present. The preparation for this fest start around December for the fest to be held in the second week of march. The first event, that inaugurates the fest is the guest lecture that is to be held. A highly respectable guest is called to talk on a current economic matter or issue. There had been seen a certain reluctance on the part of students even of the very own department to attend the lecture, and the audience used to remain really less. We planned for certain incentives this year, and made it compulsory for each and every student, atleast of the economics department to attend the lecture. The lecture was supposed be conducted in the morning at around 8.30 am. When the guest lecturer had arrived, only the team was present, that too only a few members. This situation could have been considered as disinterest or offensive towards the guest, and hence needed to be resolved.As part of few of the people who had already reached, we called all the teachers and asked them to come as soon as possible. We also asked each and every group, to reach out to people they know nearby college and asked them to come to the seminar. We also, listed a message stating that any gargi college student attending the lecture would get certain food coupons on entry. We went out of the auditorium, and called any girl standing there and requested them to attend the lecture if they were free in that slot. The result was that we had a decent amount of people with us at the end, and it really made the event a success. Obviously, the situation could have been better, but the department was saved from a major embarrassment.I was able to learn the value of being extra careful and plan out all the possibilities and have a backup in case of contingency.
Although we go through a number of experiences in our life time, few leave a deeper impact. The first one was during 2008. My Family faced a lot of financial constraints due to which we had to cut down on our normal lives. This really has had a deep impact on my mind and heart. I have seen the importance of having true friends and family in life. Faced with so many problems, a large part of them were only present to berate certain decisions or give us false sympathy. A major change in myself was I was inspired to work even harder so as not to let this situation repeat again. That whichever path I chose, I would have to work harder and harder to stay ahead and successful in life. It also taught me the patience and leadership. Sometimes, we must have patience, and let our decisions play out. There is no point in stressing over things not under our control.
In my locality, my mother and some other few ladies have formed Akhil Bhartiya Sansthan under which they are working towards social causes and projects like Tree plantations drives, Women empowerment sessions, supporting women in their careers and building a strongs and sustainable and dependable community which can help each other and the people outside this circle too. While starting will environment causes, they wanted a sustainable model, wherein they could collect biodegradable waste, convert it into compost, market it and sell this. Side by side, a self sustaining model for tree plantation which can bring about actual change in the number of tress and the level of pollution.I suggested to them to recruit under-privelged women or women from household having lower income. Dividing them into groups and leading them to collect biodegradable waste from designated households everyday. Household giving away this , were given a predetermined quantity of compost that would be made from this free of charge and a sapling along with this. Now, the Akhil Bhartiya Sansthan ladies would market this manure among their contacts and circles and sell it, resulting revenue of which would be divided among the under-priveleged ladies too. This model has been working successfully for quite some time now. I feel this worked because this model was self-sustaining, inclusive and provided incentives to each stakeholder to do or perform their duty in the best possible way. The underprivileged women were able to earn a respectful livelihood and contribute towards a better environment. The household being gifted a sapling also took care of it, and this led to a large increase in the number of plants in the locality.I have many learnings from this experience especially, the power of perseverance.My greatest achievement till date has been performing well in CAT and getting admission into Indian Institute of Management, Indore. This has been my most significant achievement because it was a decision that I had taken on my own. It involved considerable degree of risk. I had forgone a number of opportunities to focus my attentions and efforts towards this. I believe the major learning from achievement of this task was firstly hard work. I believe no mean task can be achieved without putting in the requisite amount of hard work, efforts and work. I started my preparation around one year back, and throughout this time I have kept on working harder and harder to make myself better and better at it.Another learning, I would say was my consistency. Putting in efforts and work just for a day or a week or a month, would not have gotten me where I am today. Consistently working towards my goal, without fail has been one of the reasons.
In the short run, I want to do my MBA in finance and get a job role in investment banking devision of a Finance Services company. This will help me get raw knowledge and experience in the field that I am interested in. This industry gives you the opportunity to benefit from structured training and development opportunities which have been tried and tested throughout the banks' long history. It will be a challenging environment, motivating me to do better.My ambition is to have a significant impact in a fast-paced, ever-changing market and the industry, as well as to help my organisation to further improve and develop.In the medium run I wish to grow within my organization not just in terms of positions, but expertise, knowledge and experience. In the long run, I wish to start my own venture/ business. This has always been my dream. There are a number of reason I would want to pursue my own business idea in the long run. Following your dreams is exciting, and I will be in control of my own success. The day-to-day vitality of any business depends on the owner, so you'll be driven to make each day as productive as you can. You'll know that your own hard work and drive will help you reap the rewards, and that'll keep the fire burning in your belly to make each day count. I can opt to support nonprofits, charities, or community efforts with your profits. Or alternatively can set up my business to solve a problem in our community or in the world at large whatever my passion takes me. I can be creative and explore broad range of a skillset.Part of running your own business is learning to wear a lot of different hats, especially early on. I will have to pick up a lot of new skills, from HR decisions to inventory management to customer service. You'll soon become an expert in your own industry, as well as an expert at a variety of new skills you'll learn on the job. As my business develops, I will continue to pick up new knowledge and abilities. Its so fascinating to know how every tiny aspect of your operation works. You cant get that kind of experience anywhere else.
One of my foremost strengths is my hardworking nature. I am ready to put in the required labour, time and hard work that is required for me to achieve my goals. During my undergrad second year, I was preparing for my CAT examination. It was my foremost priority. But, I did not want to compromise on my college exams or my other co and extracurricular activities. Because directly or indirectly they were related to my goal of making to a top B-School in this country. So, I decided to come up with a plan, a plan that requires me to work hard almost every single hour of every day. I come from a middle-class family, where due to some unforeseen circumstances, we had to face immediate financial crunches. I had to get to college every day, finish with my CAT preparation and also manage my extracurriculars. All this while supporting my family, both financially and mentally. I tried to support my family, by providing economics coaching to students. It was a time that was tough on me, but I feel it was mine and my family's hard work and luck that helped us escape this situation. After this, I have been fairly confident that my hard work is my strength and will always help me overcome any task. Even if at that moment, I am not able to solve a problem, I can put in those extra hours, and find a solution one way or another. The next one is that I am a person who is able to work under stress and pressure. This is a strength I recognized a little later in life, but it is something that has helped me throughout. A sudden decision, or a sudden setback or such things, extreme deadlines, make me work better and more efficiently. To site an example, as a junior consultant with 180 degrees consulting Gargi, I was part of a team preparing a report. We had divided the work and were expected to finish our parts by the end of 4 days. Three out of 5 , informed us on the day of the deadline , that they had not started, because of their lack of awareness of the methodology and kind of research required. A majority of the organization criticized and blamed them for not informing the team before. Me and one of my colleagues decided, that this was not going to help us in any way. We set up a meeting and explained to the best of our capability the doubts and clarifications. Worked on their part, in tandem with them and were able to deliver on time. I think, the major learning out of it was, whatever had happened had already done. But even under pressure, I was able to think clearly and find a way out.
Integrity: This is the baseline of any progress that I want to make. It is my belief that the success which is not based on integral and honest means is simply unsustainable in the long run. As a future manager, only if my team and people around me can trust my honesty, integrity and commitment would they be willing to give me the same from their side. Integrity based on judgement, and not just what is defined to be integral. I try to exercise my judgment in deciding what is the best path forward.
Pragmatic Optimism: A can-do optimism has always had a special place in my life. But, this does not mean, applying this in situations that don't seem realistic. I feel assessing the current situation and providing practical solutions with a hint of optimism is what makes a person a great manager. I always believe in covering all my bases, and after all, that is to be done, leaving a tiny part to optimism. Because, no situation is too perfect, and there is always some chance of failure.
I was part of the Vishalakshi Foundation in the capacity of Public and Media Relations Head. This organization is one moving towards zero hunger goal in India, and thus conducts regular food drives where it feeds people free of cost. Few months before lockdown, another new project was released by this organization- Dream Slum. Under this, the NGO adopted one slum at a time and started developing it from ground zero. A dream school is also developed under this, where the volunteers come and teach anything they wish to. Apart from this food drives were still conducted and efforts were made to provide sustainable livelihoods to the parents of children from dream slum. As lockdown happened, in the beginning, the working of this NGO shifted online, except for our founder who kept on working on the ground. The volunteers were from various parts of India, who used to be able to work because of studying at Delhi University. But now, they were back in their respective hometowns. We tried putting forth online fundraising campaigns, competitions in Delhi University to raise funds, Sponsorships from brands etc. But gradually we realised, this pandemic was not going to recede anytime soon. It became more and more difficult to keep working online. The motivation and morale to work in the online mode were also very less. We all were facing this moral conflict, either to go out from our homes in between a pandemic or let the people suffer because of shortage of food and opportunities. I chose to stay at home at the time. I felt that if I could not ensure my own safety, how could I possibly imagine working for others. Obviously, a lot of volunteers followed the same path. Our on ground presence reduced and due to rains and inundation, the dream school was completely damaged. Although our founder was trying to still go there and help, but it was not possible. People there did not have access to healthy and nutritious food at the time. Also there trust in the organization was reduced because we were not able to help them when they needed it most because of our own reasons.it was really taxing, but we gradually started working again.