My Story

Hi I’m Smith and I’ve made 3 mistakes in my life. 

First, I was good with studies. 

Second, I was really good at maths. 

Third, I did engineering. 

I spent 4 years studying about machines with some of the brightest minds of my times from one of the premier institutes in the country. I ended up getting placed in a manufacturing company in Jaipur.

But one year later  I decided to quit.

Why did I leave engineering?

One fine morning, I asked myself in the mirror, do I like what I am doing? I did this exercise multiple times in that month. I realised I was neither interested in what I was doing nor was I any good at it. I wasn’t really being true to who I was. But I didn’t really know what that meant. I decided to take a leap of faith and explore other career fields.

Being clueless

I worked as a content writer for a startup. I realised that I was good with words. But then sitting in front of a computer for 8 straight hours was taking a toll on my eyes and my back. So, I quit again. 

I got an opportunity to be a part of the ‘Teach India’ program as one of their trainers. I underwent a training program that enabled me to teach communication skills to college students.

I did enjoy my time there. But then I knew I wanted more from life and education was one way to get it. Unlike most of my peers, I wasn’t inclined to do an MBA. So I did something exactly opposite- Liberal Arts.

Why liberal arts?

While scrolling through fellowship programs on the internet, I came across Young India Fellowship offered by Ashoka University. Until then, I had no idea what liberal arts meant. I thought it had to do something with sketching, and painting. But my perception changed completely when I read about it.

What blew me off my feet was the opportunity to study economics, history, Shakespeare, philosophy, physics, statistics, writing, business,  cinema in one program. To say that it is a delicious khichdi wouldn’t be entirely wrong. And I sincerely wish I could keep eating this khichdi for the rest of my life. Liberal Arts taught me how to view the situation from multiple lenses. And then I realised, Steve Jobs had done the same thing!

Back to Teaching  

Shortly after my fellowship, I started working with an edtech startup to help them design engaging educational content and also conduct sessions for school students. This was during the time when all the learning was happening online due to the pandemic. Since then, my focus has remained education. I also work with post graduate students to help them think and write clearly.