CATEGORIES
Leadership and Networking | People We Admire | Social Impact“Sometimes your best memories are about the lives you’ve touched.”⠀
I believe that you must grab on to each and every opportunity that affords you an outlet to put some good out into the world. For me, this opportunity came in the form of a fellowship.⠀
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There was a kid in my class whose learning disability was never diagnosed. Regretfully, these students are often declared “stupid” or “slow”. However, over my time with my class, I discovered that these children were brilliant, but their extraordinary potential was not being channelized appropriately. In fact, it broke my heart that it was going to waste. I was saddened to see that my class of young individuals convinced themselves that nobody cared about their capabilities or who they were as people.⠀
The thought of their individual talents remaining unrecognized and them spending their lives not reaching their true potential made me very uncomfortable. The image of their dark future actually consumed my mind and haunted me for several months. I made up my mind to change that. It was now my life’s mission to enable conditions to nurture unique talents and skillsets of these children and many more.⠀
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In particular, one student was a powerhouse of positivity and energy. His optimism was infectious. After two years of mentoring, toiling over admission essays, and preparing for interviews, he was accepted by a prestigious college in Germany on a full scholarship!⠀
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A little bit of kindness and belief goes a long way. Positive energy and encouragement are the gifts that keep giving. I love these kids as my own. People often ask me why I continued doing this. My answer was simple: I just wanted to do some good in world. I am passionate and determined to bring about positive change from within our education system. Our curriculum must focus more on teaching values and life skills that better equips our children for life rather than a job. A dream of a system that doesn’t just train engineers or doctors but one that molds curious, imaginative and honest leaders of tomorrow. Involving all stakeholders to enable this vision remains a lifelong goal, something that drives me to do all that I set my heart to today.
