Three unforgettable days that changed my life forever

Right from my childhood, I liked to tinker with toys and remote controlled cars. I was curious to know how things worked. This curiosity landed me into numerous problems as a kid. I used to break open my toys to see what’s inside them. Most often, this damaged the toy and invited a good thrashing from my parents.

Though I became more careful as I grew up, but the curiosity in me never died. This curiosity led me to one of the finest engineering colleges in our state and I was finally excited to learn my favourite subject – Electronics. I expected to get my nirvana. Finally I was close all those answers in search of which I was forced to break open one toy after another. But things did not turn out the way I had thought. Instead of getting my answers, I was dumped in a bunch of mathematical formulas, thick books, hectic academics, scary exams and poor grades.

We have all lived extremely happy days. I am sure you have had such days. Days that are really special and changed the course of your fate. 2014 was the year that shaped me into who I am today. Coincidentally, it was also the last year in my graduate engineering studies. This year brought me not one or two but three special days. I am writing this blog  after 5 years, but the memories run vividly in my memory as if they happened yesterday!

Ok let me break the suspense and come to the stories.

DAY 1: Science & Tech Expo

I was never a competitive student. Right from my school days, I never felt the urge to score high marks or compete with the best. My college Gandhi Institute of Engineering & Technology, Gunupur (which is now GIET University) used to organize an annual event called The Science and Tech Expo. It was a competition where students displayed their capacity for innovation and built tools and machines that could solve real life problems. In the run-up to this event, I felt something different. There were butterflies in my stomach. It was a strange experience because I never felt that way even while appearing for my board exams or semesters. I was working hard on a project. We had to present the model in a group. My group consisted of my best friend Sonu along with 2 other friends. Apart from participating in the competition, we were also developing 2 LED boards that were displayed in the event entrance. We were literally spending our whole day in the labs. Finally, I was working on what I had dreamt of. The college authorities were very supportive and allowed us to stay in the labs till late night. Below you can see some photos of the LED board.

Several delegates visited the expo and many people applauded the project. The doctor of the local Government hospital even enquired if we could build similar device for them. Some regional newspapers also posted the project idea.

Are you curious to know what project we had built? Lets keep it for some other day. But what is of more important is that this day played a vital role in building my self-esteem and confidence.

DAY 2: PCB Design Workshop

I was literally just wasting my days and waiting for college to finish. But, the Science and Tech Expo had instilled in me self-confidence and an urgent need to succeed, to make my mark. Then came the second chance to make a mark. Our then department HOD Prof R R Sabat and senior faculty Prof Manoj Swain were always helpful and willing to provide a platform to students to explore their practical knowledge.

They offered me and Sonu to conduct a practical workshop on PCB Design and Circuit Fabrication for our juniors. I was facing one of my biggest demons – Public Speaking. Though, I had enough experience and knowledge on building PCBs, I was overwhelmed by the though of speaking in front of over 100 juniors. But, those days my confidence was at it’s peak and with some motivation from Sonu, I agreed to the challenge.

Come the first day of the 3-day training program, I had a familiar feeling that I felt some days back. I was again experiencing butterflies in my stomach. I went to the podium somehow, but I was nervous. I began to feel like I had forgotten everything that I had prepared. But 5 minutes into the class, all the butterflies had settled down. I was delighted. I had conquered over another of my fears.

Today, I speak for hours in front of 400-500 students on electronics even without much of preparation. I have also done sessions and addressed corporates and startups. But the foundation of the speaker that I am today was laid on this day.

DAY 3: Placement

Ask any engineering student, what they see before deciding to join in an Engineering college. Placement; will come the unanimous answer. I am sure you had the same expectation when you joined your college. I was no different. I come from a very basic middle class family. My family and I dreamt of placement in a reputed company and a secure future. But halfway into engineering my dreams had changed. I was just starting to understand entrepreneurship and research. I had decided to shape my career as an entrepreneur.

So, when companies started visiting our campus for recruitment, it did not bother me much. I was seeing some friends getting all worked up and tensed about not getting placed or not cracking interviews. I was surprised by the disappointed faces when they did not succeed in an interview. I used to console some of them that things will get better and they can get placed in some other companies. Our college provided ample opportunity for placement. So not getting placed in one company did not mean the end of the world.

However, things were different back home. Some of my relatives had started circulating fantasy stories that I was incapable of getting placed in any company. Though, I was not the one who was facing all this, but my family was at the receiving end of such stories. Our final exams were over and I had returned home. One evening, I received an email that a very reputed IT company was visiting our college for campus recruitment. I decided to attend the interview. I reached college and saw those familiar tensed faces of my friends but I was chilled out as it was my first interview and I had no pressure of getting the job. I cleared the written exam and also cleared both the interview rounds. I was happy! Not because I finally got a job with a good salary package (I was not accepting the job offer any way), but because I had proved the power of confidence and following your dreams.

This is the story of a not so brilliant student who came out from college, faced the world and has made a small but distinct mark in the field of electronics training. This is my story. When I see my name on the top of Google as “India’s Best Electronics Trainer“, I feel a sense of achievement. A joy that I am living life like a roller coaster ride. I am sure life will bring numerous other happy days in the future. But these days will always remain special to me. What’s your story? Let me know in the comments.