Pooja Meena is an undergraduate in the Department of Civil Engineering from the Y15 batch. Let’s hear out her journey at this beautiful place as she leaves.
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It’s difficult to believe that it’s already been four years at IITK. These four years were just like a roller coaster ride for me- many ups and downs and a lot of beautiful memories. Getting through those late night bulla sessions and trying to stay awake till the next day for early morning lectures and a lot more- just a part of a never-ending list. It was not long before I came to this campus that I found myself with absolutely no idea of what I would do with my life. I remember an incident from my orientation days when I realised the grave mistake I had made after seeing the expressions of a senior whom I had called ‘bhaiya’. Being taught to address elders in a similar fashion since childhood, this would sound strange to people outside IITK. But, isn’t that just the beginning of the roller coaster ride that’s yet to come?
In the beginning, I was extremely introverted and resultantly didn’t explore things like all my other batchmates were doing. It wasn’t because I was busy studying, but simply because I was not interested. I did not start my academics with flying colors either. In fact, I was barely able to pass courses in my first semester which further made me think as to how these four years will pass for me. But today, here I am, going down those tracks of the roller coaster ride again, recalling as much as I can. Truly said, nothing lasts forever and you can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep reading the last one. So, here’s a final read.
I have walked down a long path from living a comfortable life of doing nothing at home to doing everything on my own. Trying to spot a girl to sit with me during my first semester to attending most of the classes in my last year was as difficult as finding a female batchmate in Civil Engineering. Initially, I didn’t know much about civil engineering, but for some reason during counselling, I had filled all my choices to be Civil in different IITs. It’s an era of rapid technological development where everyone wants to pursue their degrees in computer science, and it’s not common for students to like their stream they get through counselling, but call it luck or something else, I really liked what I got. I started studying these courses, not for the sake of grades but to gain knowledge and to make the most out of the opportunities given by this institution. Attending classes and tutorials helped me and I could see a lot of improvement in myself. Of course, maintaining that kind of discipline for an entire semester isn’t easy and there were times when I got frustrated, but my friends helped me a lot. With time, I began to develop an interest in structural mechanics.
Working as a Senior Executive of Techkriti in my second year was one of the best decisions I ever made. It pulled me out of my shell, helped me gain confidence as well manage my time. I have met some awesome people in these four years, who’ve become just like family to me and leaving this campus is definitely not the end with them. When I look back at this time, I realize that the present version of me is a lot more mature, confident and sorted about what to do with my life. Somehow, this experience of transformation reminds me of a line I read somewhere- ‘’A wise woman is made of ideas and not of atoms.’’
The third year was full of surprises- so many courses, labs and of course, the most difficult of all- lab reports. You all might have seen people around the academic area trying to figure out something using a yellow ‘’camera’’. People used to ask us what we did with that. Well, it’s not a camera. It’s an instrument used to measure angles, distances and is certainly one of my favorite lab courses. Besides doing the courses, I had to look for an internship too just like other students. But, getting a core internship in good companies is tougher than getting placed. SPO asked for a master resume and a one page resume but I did not have much to write in either of these. I spent my time at home studying the departmental courses in order to make my concepts clear.
People around me were not sure of why I was registering for the placements if I was not ready to work for the non core sector, but I had those one or two core companies in mind, for the interviews of which I always wanted to appear. I finally got the chance. It was a test of all I had studied these years and I finally got selected. “Why did you choose civil engineering and why do you want to join the core sector?” was the first question of that 45 minutes long interview. I was not expecting this question as it was supposed to be a technical interview, but I did not need a prepared answer for it. I spoke clearly what was on my mind all these years. I was always sure of not following the herd if I was not interested. I might have started from the bottom but the graph of learning and improving was an increasing one constantly and that’s all that matters.
As I leave, I’d want to say that IITK alone gives you umpteen opportunities to explore. Be eager to learn and do what you like, because this kind of opportunity doesn’t come back again. This life is yours, so the choice should be yours too. There will be hard times, you may make mistakes, but all you need is a bit of patience and your will to keep going. Life is a long journey with problems to solve, lessons to learn, but most of all experiences to enjoy. Cheers!
Written by Pooja Meena
Edited by Aditya Sonthalia
