Coming from a country where abject poverty is an overwhelming part of your daily life, it is difficult not to realize the privilege of having a family with stable financial means. This disheartening reality imbibed a sense of responsibility toward restoring some sort of parity. I truly believe that education has the power to break intergenerational cycles of poverty; it empowers individuals, promotes healthier lives, and boosts economic growth. I thus volunteered as a Mathematics teacher for children between the ages of 7-12 at the Center for Social Action (an organization in Christ University) during my undergraduate studies. I believe I have the resources to unleash my potential, and thus it has been my goal to leverage my education and knowledge for the benefit of others. Being at the forefront of the digital revolution, it is exciting that I get to use technology for social welfare, to analyze and develop policies that efficiently provide the destitute section of our society the means to lead a better life.

During the winter fest organized by the Center for Social Action in December 2018, I met Shveta Raina, who founded Talerang, a career training company working towards creating a work-ready India. Talerang’s formal research began when Shveta was a student at Harvard Business School. Her analysis of India’s best colleges found that under 60% of students felt ready to take on a job, and less than 50% of students had mentors they could seek out, this was flagged as a work-readiness crisis, and the company set out to tackle the issue. I joined Talerang as a Web Design Intern and redesigned Talerang’s Online Portal by restructuring content while understanding User Experience principles which improved content engagement by 7%. I enjoyed meeting with the students mentored by Talerang and conducting their flagship Future CEOs program. Additionally, I was appointed as President of the Bangalore City Chapter, as a result of which I hosted multiple career fairs where I honed my leadership skills and connected with people from different backgrounds. This experience helped me recognize and appreciate the vital impact of today’s youth while constantly engaging with the community.

During my time as a Chapter President, I was left with a feeling of immense satisfaction at the end of every day. It gave my life a more defined purpose, and I woke up with a rush of excitement to do better. I acknowledge that bringing about change and making a social impact takes compounded effort and commitment along with time, and the wins are few and far between. I found the small steps we took rewarding, and I will keep pushing for them as the only way to rise above.