Soumya Dutt is a BMM student of SIES (Nerul) College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Navi Mumbai who has been continuously involved in beyond the classroom activities.
Here, Soumya is sharing her experience being the Chairperson of Frames Film Festival, one of the largest undergraduate Film Festivals in India. Her hard work has the potential to propel her ahead of the curve.
Go ahead and know what her story has to offer so that you can easily find a path of self-growth.
What was your role? Briefly list the responsibilities associated with it.
I was the chairperson of my departmental fest, Frames Film Festival which is India’s Largest Undergraduate Film Festival. I was responsible for leading a team of 150 talented volunteers and to overlook the entire working of the festival.
I had to sort out the permissions required in college as well as fix vendors for the fest. I had 13 committees under me ranging from Marketing, Celeb and Media PR, Logistics and many more.
What’s it like to juggle between leadership roles and academics? Pen down the challenges you faced.
One thing that taking up leadership roles have taught me is multitasking. I struggled at the start trying to juggle academics and my responsibilities but once I understood my priorities, I was able to balance all aspects of my life well.
I am a true believer of the quote “one day at a time” and I started focusing on a particular thing for an entire day and gave my all to it without getting distracted by other responsibilities. This way I could complete each task wholeheartedly.
What are the top learnings, skills and values that you acquired here?
My experience of being the chairperson of Frames has given me immense knowledge on how to deal with stress-inducing situations in a calm and collective manner and yield the best output.
It has also taught me ways to be empathetic of my classmates’ grievances which in turn has sharpened my social skills to a great extent.
During my journey, I have also learnt a great deal of professionalism and delegation.
Do you feel your current role fills you with pride and gratitude? Illustrate how the experience gained will help you going forward?
Yes, being the chairperson of Frames Film Festival was definitely life-changing for me. I believe it gave me an advantage in the ways that while being stern and hard-working like my peers, I also bring to the table my capabilities of being understanding, gentle and being emotionally aware of the needs of my classmates.
I learnt teamwork and dealing with my peers in the most appropriate manner to motivate them to work alongside me. All of this will definitely give me an edge when I step into the corporate world.
As when we talk about leadership we have a whole team with us. How do you persuade others to accept your ideas/ways?
I believe that one should always be open to ideas, and never discriminate against the nature of anyone’s thoughts; for thoughts can never be wrong and to provide equal treatment to every suggestion that comes their way.
This way, when you acknowledge someone’s ideas, they do the same to you. Also, always research well and put your idea in front of your peers confidently.
What is your message to students, aspiring the same or a similar role to do?
My message would be to always take up all the opportunities that come your way. Rather than fearing the future, push yourself to go out of your comfort zone and make sure your abilities and strong points are utilised to the fullest.
Your college days are limited and will never come back so it is necessary to go out there and explore yourself and find out things that even you weren’t aware you could do.
How can we (Friends, Family, YI Fraternity) encourage young students such as yourself to engage with co-curricular or extra-curricular activities?
College is a place where one does not have to restrict themselves to a particular skill or field but experiment with every opportunity that comes their way. Each activity is a learning experience.
You can motivate them by explaining how the skills acquired during their journey can actually help them in the corporate world.
We at Young Influx would take this opportunity to thank Soumya for taking a leap of faith and sharing her impeccable story. We are humbled and grateful, your efforts mean a lot for the youth seeking growth and development.
And hello, dear readers, we welcome you to explore the platform with an open mind. Help yourself gain most out of the experiences and opportunities listed here.
And before you bid us adieu, we would like you to know that you can read more such student stories here.
