I was raised in a family where the priority was academics, and I had always excelled in this. However, I realized I also wanted to do something different than others who only ever focused on their schooling.
When I was at the beginning of my second year of college, I saw a LEAD orientation. While I was interested in the projects, what I was really interested in was their social media presence the social media team was spreading messages to so many students and I was interested in forming my identity online.When I joined LEAD, I got involved with many group projects, including a primary education census, old clothes distribution, and the Recognizing the Unrecognized event for IWD. The latter event was very inspiring to me, as one woman who we presented a certificate of appreciation to, a cleaner at a bus stop who had been working for 15 years there, cried tears of joy as no one had ever gave her attention for her work before.
I have also been fortunate to take part in many LEAD programs. I took part in LEAD Prayana 2014, where I was exposed to many successful students whom i learned a lot from and who pushed me to think what is possible beyond Nizamabad. I also got exposure to many inspiring role models, something not common in Nizamabad, and learned to be confident in order to stand up and ask the role models questions. This confidence and their answers have helped me during my leadership journey.
However, the biggest opportunity for me has becoming a Social Media Intern for LEAD. I am able to combine my love and passion for social media and the positive mission of LEAD. As the feedback and reactions are instant, I have worked on my problem solving skills as well as developing long term strategies. I joined the LEAD social media team in 2014, was promoted to a part-time Intern in 2015 and I now currently completing 4 months as a full-time Intern. I am not only following my passion, but adding real work experience to my resume.