AIESEC    

1) My journey

                      -Badavath Sony   

 I'm Badavath Soni, D/O Badavath Laxman and Vijaya. We are 5 children and I'm the  eldest. I have completed my SSC in z.p.h.s Manchippa with 90%  and my intermidiate in Women's College Nizamabad.
 In my inter second year our principal refunded my fee for being college topper in first year. Then after my cousin joined me in Tribal welfare residential degree College Nizamabad. I have no idea, what  is next after my graduation. But I believed that what ever opportunity comes to me I'm giving my best to it. Gurukulam is full of opportunities and I took part of each and everything. I'm the one who is always curious to know and learn New things. I was selected for super student, super Nova and Rock climbing.

And also for paragliding in Sikkim. The most memorable experience is my Internship in Egypt through AIESEC. After coming to Gurukulam I have decided to do a job and look after my family. I'm from a poor family where we even don't have own house. But I have strong urge to change my family position. That made me to work hard and study. I'm one of the topper in my class.

In Lockdown our college conducted a online test to  select student from 22 colleges for CAT coaching. Among nearly 7000 students 25 were selected I'm fortunate that I'm the one from that 25. Gurukulam provided 2 months coaching with the coordination of T.I.M.E Institute. That was online mode coaching classes. I felt very low after listening the first class..but I have strong desire to get admission in reputed IIM in india. That motivated me to work hard. I remembered that I got 2 Mark's out of 30 in my first test. But after few days it went to 24/30 . My parents are always there motivate me. They are not educated but they know the value of it. They want their children to be independent. I'm proud of them.

I found very differently in coaching time..but I never gave up. I have remembered our 10 commandments. I gave my cat exam on 29th November 2020. I got 42.29 percentile. And I was selected for interview round. I appeared that interview.

On April 27th results are out. Out of 8 IIM in India I got offer letters from 7. And I was also selected for IIM Visakhapatnam. That made me immense happy. I'm on cloud nine at that moment. Yeah I got so many offers letters but my family financial position can't offer 20 lakhs of fee. But we hope one day I'll change it. But for that I need financial support. Our Gurukulam gave me 1 lakh. And our honorable Minister Mam (Miss. Satyavathi Rathod) announced to give laptop and 1 lakh.

Now I took admission in IIM Trichy (Tamilnadu) which is one of the prestigious IIM in India. I'm very much thankful to my parents, Telangana government, Dr. R S. Praveen Kumar sir and whole Gurukulam.

AIESEC SELECTION

         AIESEC is an organization whose aim is to exchange students and eliminate the cultural barrier between countries. For the program, one student from each college is selected through an exam and interview from all 22 Gurukulam degree colleges and I’m glad, I’m one of the fortunate ones. My first interview in my life was for this program. Coming from a Telugu-medium background, I was very scared to face the interview in English. The Mirror-project, E-plus club, JAM, and debate sessions helped me overcome my fear of English and improve my communication skills. Finally, I faced the interview with confidence and succeed in the interview.

HOW I FELT

When they informed me that I was selected to go to Egypt, I was on cloud nine. I told this to my parents with so much excitement. They were proud of me. Their happiness gave me immense joy. My teachers and friends appreciated me. That was one of the most memorable moments in my life. 

THANK YOU, SIR

              Dr. R.S. Praveen Kumar Sir, IPS is our Gurukulam secretary and I feel very blessed to get a chance to meet him. He is a great person, I fall short of words to describe his personality. He is the reason behind the smiles of numerous tribal students. I will ever be thankful to him for his innovative initiatives. 

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

             Everything seemed as if it were a dream. The VISA was stamped, the tickets were confirmed. I was to travel along with four other fellow students. We packed all the essentials for a 45-day stay. Traveling by flight was one of my dreams and it came true because of Gurukulam and Praveen Kumar Sir. I have seen flights flying over our villages but I  never thought that one day I would fly too. It was a marvelous day in my life. I received a memorable sendoff from my faculty and friends at the college. My journey with my parents to the airport was amazing. The satisfaction in their eyes made me feel accomplished. My siblings gazed at me with their admiring looks.

            My first flight to Bahrain was on March 4^th at 4 am. My family and a faculty from my college gave me a send-off at 2:00 am. I entered the airport, as if, into a portal to a new world.
I took my boarding pass and I boarded the flight. It was an amazing, wonderful, and pleasant journey that I can never forget. I was ecstatic that I got a window seat on my very first flight. The buildings appeared tiny, the clouds appeared nearer.

We traveled from Bahrain to Cairo (capital of Egypt). AIESECs at Egypt received us with a warm welcome. They introduced us to their culture, traditions, and lifestyle. It was overwhelming.

THE PROJECT:

We were assigned a project titled "No Poverty". The initial days were a bit of a struggle because of the language barrier. Most Egyptians don’t understand English but speak Arabic.

EGYPT

Egypt has a rich history. It is one of the world's earliest civilizations. Egypt has many amazing natural, historical and cultural attractions. The Giza pyramid is one of the seven wonders.

I have observed that the cost of living is higher in Egypt when compared to India. People there love celebrations and they respect their visitors. In the time that I spent there, I shared with them the rich culture and heritage of our country to the enthusiastic people there.

Though we spent only 15 days in Egypt and had to return to India, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I can say, I enjoyed my short stay over there and wish it had lasted longer.

Finally, I can say that our study will shine us. Hailing from Telugu medium background, I cracked the interview in English. My trip to Egypt has taught me how very important the global language is, for us to survive in other countries. And now, I’m even more focussed on improving my language and communication skills.

Though you may feel discouraged because of the people around you, or your financial or societal background, remember that your zeal to learn, and support from people like R.S. Praveen Kumar Garu, can take you to heights and places you might not have even dared to dream of. I will forever be thankful to the Gurukulam society for providing such wonderful opportunities to people like me.

2) The journey of finding my strength

                                                      -Kemsarapu Sandhya

       I am Kemsarapu Sandhya, a girl from a marginalized family. My father and my mother are farmers. I am a student of MZC Final year at TTWRDCW, Nizamabad. I heard the name of AIESEC when I was in my II year. AIESEC is an international youth-run, non-governmental, and non-profitable organization that provides young people with leadership development, cross-cultural internships, and Volunteer Exchange globally. The organization focuses on empowering young people to make a progressive social impact.
I never dreamt that I would be part of AIESEC but I got an opportunity through Gurukulam. Gurukulam conducted 2 screening tests followed by one interview. The activities in our college helped me in cracking the test and interview. I got selected for a 45-day internship in Nepal along with four more co-interns from other colleges.
           For a village girl like me, it is a wonderful opportunity to fly high. My parents, faculty, everyone appreciated me for this but I was a bit tensed because I never traveled alone, never crossed even the district borders. Gurukulam is like a mother who understands the difficulties of a child. They provided a week training session which boosted my confidence.
Jan 4^th, 2019, our flight was scheduled at 4 am. Luckily I got the window seat, felt very happy. From Hyderabad, we reached Delhi at 7 am. We stayed at the Delhi airport for 6hrs to catch the next flight to Kathmandu, which was at 2 pm and reached Nepal by 6 pm.
Nepal AIESEC volunteers received us at the airport and dropped us at Kathmandu Lalitpur Mercy Mission Hostel where our accommodation was arranged. The food was delicious.
The hostel children over there were orphans, but they treated us as their family. The children there were kind and independent. We stayed at the hostel till the winter holidays ended (Jan 15^th) and then joined Mercy Mission Academy school at Lalitpur 16^th.

My day-wise schedule from 17^th Jan to 10^th Feb 2019.

Date	Class visited	Activity
17th Jan	6th grade	Taught them Soft-skills.
18th	7th grade	Papercraft.
19th	-	Chruch visit at Lalitpur.
20th	1st grade	Paper flower preparation.
21st	Lower Kindergarten	Play around.
22nd	Upper Kindergarten	A story about self-confidence.
23rd	2nd grade	Drawing animals.
24th	Upper Kindergarten	Singing.
25th	-	Annual exam preparation.
26th	-	Attended the Global Village Program.
27th Jan to 4th Feb	-	Final examinations for school students.
8th Feb	-	Global Village Program. We met AIESECs from other countries.
10th	-	Visited Barthapura and Pasuapthi temple and some nearby places

         I saw and learned so many things in Nepal. The best I liked, was their transport system. They have separate footpaths to walk and the people cross the road only at a Zebra crossing. They follow the traffic rules sincerely. Women also work as traffic police. There is no corruption in Nepal. They do their duties perfectly. At school, I observed that the Principal and the staff do their work themselves. They prefer self-service and don't depend on others. The Principal himself was lifting benches and was helping in whatever way possible. I saw a sense of positive thinking and responsibility in what they did.

        All the children there have a spirit and zeal to develop their country. They try to be as independent as possible and do not depend on the Government for doing things. Some school students even work part-time and all of them have a very good helping nature. They are spiritual and follow their rituals sincerely.

       I would like to end by saying that I enjoyed the trip a lot. I learned many new things, made new friends, and gained more confidence and positive thinking.  My heartful thanks to the Nepal AIESECs for taking good care of us and providing good accommodation and food.
     Above everything,  I am grateful to Gurukulam, for giving me this wonderful opportunity.

3) From a late entrée to a Super student

- N. Anjali

My name is N. Anjali, I'm currently pursuing my final year graduation in B. Sc (MZC) at TTWRDC(W), Nizamabad. My academic career at TTWRDC (W) took of a bit late compared to the others as I was a late entrée. My other batch mates had already got acquainted to the environment and schedule of the institution and I was a bit nervous about how I would fit-in to the already settled lot. However, the warm welcome from the Principal, faculties and my friends quickly helped me to overcome those insecurities. Our principal Sir was very encouraging. With everyone’s support, I worked hard and scored a CGPA of 9.56 in my first semester exams. This came as a break through as it helped me gain confidence in myself and proved once more that hard work always pays off.

I went on to be selected as the College Captain, an honour I never thought I would receive. Because of this title, I got to attend various trainings which helped me grow as a leader.

I was selected for Super student program, the best platform to show case my teaching skills. I prepared hard for a month as this was a very big challenge for me back then. I prepared power point slides and delivered the lecture on Mana TV channel. Through this program, I got an opportunity to meet Dr. R.S. Praveen Kumar Sir personally and received a cash prize of Rs. 4000 from him. This appreciation reassured me that I can scale any mountain.

I got selected for Life Skills 360 program, a platform where you get to interact with the school students. I was trained for the same and allotted two schools where I interacted with 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade students. I was awarded a certificate for the same.

I also got selected for Bharat Darshan program, which I consider my greatest achievement so far. I personally could never have visited all the places that I got to see through this program. Thanks to Dr. R.S. Praveen Kumar Sir.

I went on to get selected for Special PG coaching at SPARK college, Nagaram, where the best students form all the degree colleges are pooled and given training to crack PG entrance examinations. I feel privileged to have got selected into Gurukulam and thank everyone in the institutions who are working hard to provide all the facilities and opportunities. And now I'm ready and confident enough to face any hurdles to reach my goal.