Author: Ankit Agarawal
My First Rendezvous (2009-12)
I still remember that hot summer day of 2009, when I entered SICSR for my BBA interview. Talking to other candidates made me even more nervous. Unlike others, I hadn’t been taking any classes for SET. It was the first interview of my life. And then finally my turn came, Rajashree Ma’am and Minal Ma’am got me at ease by starting with simple questions and then just asking about my career goals etc. Within a few days I got the offer letter to join SICSR.
After joining BBA-IT course, I was amazed that compared to school, college life at SICSR was not strict. Curriculum was more open and gave me the opportunity to understand business terms and with entrepreneurship cell, I got the opportunity to work on my business ideas. 50 rupees game organized by e-cell got me a real life experience to selling products to real customers. At Bhimtadi Fest, where SICSR was participating as volunteer, I interacted with women entrepreneurs from nearby villages who combined their efforts and worked together; which was women empowerment at the grass root level.
Overall my first innings at SICSR was all about discovering my passion and understanding the world around me.
Second innings at my alma mater (2015-17)
Unlike my BBA days, when I was a shy and reserved person, I started my MBA journey with a lot more vigor and participation. In the very first month of joining the college, I joined Entrepreneurship-cell, Sharing Care cell (CSR) and placement cell. And soon enough I was given the responsibility of heading various events for these cells.
Savali Visit
My first experience of organizing an event was to arrange a day out of volunteering at Savali School. SAVALI is a registered charitable trust working for the mentally challenged and Cerebral Palsy children and adults. It is a non-profitable and non-governmental organization. SICSR celebrated its founder’s day with these special kids. A success of this event brought a special pride and satisfaction to me.
2016 – A 2-day Entrepreneurship Extravaganza
Chrysalis, was the biggest event, I was involved with. It all started 30 days before the event, when National Entrepreneurship Network shared its E-week’s theme “Innovative Ideas for a Better World”. We had setup our war-room on 3rd floor of the building and got our core team in place. Then came the difficult part, raising capital (sponsorship) and creating awareness across the city for the event. After hours of strategizing in war room, we made teams for online and offline marketing and sent students to various colleges to get participants and interact with start-ups to celebrate in our startup recruitment drive. After initial disappointments, by the 3rd week, we hit the jackpot when we got 500 participants and 40 start-ups to enroll in our fest.
This 2 day event was a resounding success and SICSR’s students got an opportunity to set up various stalls and sell their products and services. This gave them a real life exposure which no book can give. Icing on the cake for us, organizers, besides a learning experience, was winning that year’s NEN E-Week award at national level.
Final Thoughts
SICSR transformed my life in two installments, while in BBA days I discovered my passion and strengths, as MBA student, I reached used my strengths to scale new heights. Today I can say that it was the place which defined my existence.
CURSOR 5.0 | VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2020
