Things to do to make it big in college

1. Network. Network with alumni, network with guest lecturers, network with guests — network as much you can when you can — you don’t know who can help you down the line and how.

I connected with Mr. Ankit Desai through Personal Interviews for the new batch. I stayed in touch with him and got on a call when I began my career search in my second year. Sir gave great insights and getting on a call with him gave me a boost of confidence about cold calling. I got in touch with Mr. Yoheswaran (Yogi) Gnanavel when we conducted a Canva Designing Workshop for Technatics — I connected with him on Linkedin and landed a brief internship at WhiteHat Jr. through his network.

2. Explore — clubs, activities, and sports. Even if you know what you want to do, be open to opportunities of every kind and even if it interests you in the slightest — go for it — you never know what will take you where.

When I entered college, I only wanted to get into debating having won district-level debating competitions during school. But during my first year, I got involved in graphic designing, which lead to becoming part of the college magazine and ending up being part of the social media team of the institute — all this has been a huge aid in me landing creative internships throughout college.

3. Say yes — so what if you haven’t done it before? So what if it’s daunting? different? Step out of your comfort zone. There’s a first time for everything. Maybe you need to say one uncomfortable “yes” for all the good things to happen to you.

In my first year, I got into model united nations, gave my first workshop on writing and graphic designing, did volunteer work with an international NGO, and earned my first Rs. 10,000 — all these were because I said “yes” to doing things I had not done before. All of this is what paved the way for me to be the only second-year student as head of the club and more.

Bonus Tip: Don’t take anything personally — Rejections from leadership positions, and internship offers are stepping stones — take them as such. Learn and use them as motivation to do better and be better!

All the best.