Neha Aggarwal is a Y18 graduating student from the Department of Civil Engineering. In this edition, she talks about how she got to IITK, her struggles here and the bonds she made.
Disclaimer:- The views presented below are the author’s own and are not in any manner representative of the views of Vox Populi as a body or IIT Kanpur in general. This is an informal account of the author’s experiences at IIT-K.
Hi everyone!
“Not all those who wander are lost.” My life has been exactly like this, both in my school and college days. I explored, chose between staying or not staying and then iterated it. I had no fixed abode and had a nomadic lifestyle, but still, I was never without purpose. In this As We Leave, I want to talk about how I explored different things and the choices I made corresponding to these things. The article may not be super fun to read, but I will try to make it a fun read and connect with as many of you as possible. It is difficult to pen down the whole journey in a small article, but I will do it and live the journey again in my thoughts. From this write-up, my batchmates can take away nostalgia, and juniors can take away some gyaan.
Speaking briefly about the situation before coming to IITK, I come from a small town in Haryana. As a result, my parents knew nothing about IIT, what IIT could give me or why I should join it. Even I didn’t know much. I only had one thing in my mind: to become independent. I had to fight with my parents to get into the coaching classes. I had to justify why I needed coaching. That seems silly now, but I had to choose whether to take a stand or just go for other ordinary things. I decided to convince them. Even after I joined coaching, they never thought that I could ever get admission. They felt I was stubborn and would return home without good results, just like many others who tried. It always hurt me but never mind, they felt good after the result, and so did I.
After coming to IITK, things changed. I had to decide everything by myself. My friends and seniors were the greatest support system, but eventually, you must determine what is good for you. When we came to IITK, our parents were told that you are leaving a child here, and you will get a man back after four years. At that time, I didn’t realize the transformation they were talking about, but now I can clearly see it in my batchmates and feel it within myself.
I remember the days when preparations for Freshers Night were going on. I gave trials for many clubs, including dance, ELS and Hindi Sahitya Sabha. I remember returning from the dramatics club room door after seeing other people’s trials going on (LOL). I found that Hindi Sahitya Sabha best suited me, and I continued with it. My CPA was athletics. I started going there regularly for practice, but it became unmanageable to go for practice for almost 2 hours and come back tired. I decided to drop the idea of going there regularly.
Then came the SnT clubs and teams recruitments. The SnT teams looked fancy to me as a fresher, and I wanted to join one. I gave the test and interview for one team but couldn’t get into that. Then the only option left with me was the Aero-modelling club. I attended their workshops and then gave an interview for a winter project which I passed. Then I gave their secretary interviews and got selected.
Meanwhile, I got into the Aerial Robotics team. It was exciting because I always wanted to join a SnT team, and I got the chance here. I tried my level best to do good there. I was always on time and spent the whole summer term on the team. I even left the Aero-modelling summer project for the team’s work. Eventually, I wasn’t given the secretary post in the Aero-modelling club. Even after giving so much to the team, I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing there. I couldn’t mingle with them. One of the reasons was my late joining. Still, that can’t be a reason big enough not to feel cherished about a task you genuinely wanted to do. It’s not like I didn’t learn anything there, but the things I learned were much less than the time I gave to the team. Eventually, I realized that it wasn’t worth it, and as the time passed, I became disconnected. I never told them I was leaving, but I left silently.
I didn’t fill the secretary nominations for Hindi Sahitya Sabha because I thought it would become unmanageable along with the Aerial Robotics and Aero-modelling club. But as I mentioned earlier, I left the two after the summer term. So I entered my 2nd year leaving everything behind that I did in my 1st year. I had no plans and nothing in my hand to carry forward apart from academics.
Then came SPO’s company coordinator’s nominations. I filled out that form, prepared a few things for the interview, and joined the placement office. After that, I felt a little satisfied. I enjoyed the work there and liked the company of the people there. I could easily manage it with my academics. Later on, I also became Assistant Placement Coordinator in my third year. I got the guidance of seniors there for almost everything I needed. They were there in my ups and downs (mainly in the downs) to guide me till the end. I am very grateful to each of them for everything they have done for me. Sadly I couldn’t meet them personally later due to COVID.
Coming back to my 2nd-year things, I started searching for projects under the guidance of professors. I got three projects for my 2nd-year summer term. But I did two of them. Meanwhile, Covid came, and we were all locked in our houses. I did a little preparation for the internship season; as I said, it was just a little. Not enough to get me an internship through SPO. I did the projects well and spent most of the time on them. I made a good resume but lacked other skills needed for internship tests and interviews.
My third year started with the internship season at the door. I was in SPO, so I also had their work. Along with that, I was also worried about my internship. I was not shortlisted for interviews in any company on Day1. Then later, a few shortlists came, but I couldn’t pass the interviews. I didn’t know what was going on in my academics. Thanks to my department homies who rescued me there in the online semester. During those online semesters, I became friends with many people from my department and touchwood, we share a very strong bond.
I was apprehensive and disheartened because I couldn’t get an internship through SPO. I had a fear in my mind about what if this gets repeated in the placement season. Many depressing thoughts came to my mind, including how I would face myself if I couldn’t get anything out of IITK, which has provided a sack full of opportunities, and I couldn’t take the benefits. Instead of remaining in this sad zone, I prepared well for the placements. I started my placement preparation after mid sems of my 6th semester (around the last week of March). Yeah, I know it’s pretty early according to some people, but for me, it was beneficial. Then in April, I came across an internship opportunity, gave the interview, and cracked it. Finally, I had an internship in my hand. It sorted my summers. I decided just to do the internship and prepare well for the placements leaving other things for later.
After all the hard work, I was able to get placed on Day 1 at Zomato as a Product Engineer.
“Though the road’s been rocky, it surely felt good to me.”
I was more grateful than happy. I had people who were indeed a blessing in my life. They created a positive and helpful environment and guided me toward success. My people were standing beside me all that time even though they had to leave their things for mine.
After the placements, came the most memorable phase of the entire four years. Those parties, outings, bulla sessions, midnight walks, OAT vibes, photos, farewell and what not. It was the most beautiful time of my life, which will always remain in my memories. I hope I can relive it once again. Here are a few lines to all my near and dear ones at IITK –
Meri Zindagi Sawari
Mujhko Gale Laga Ke
Betha Diya Falak Pe
Mujhe Khaak Se Uthake
Yaara Teri Yaari Ko…
Mene toh khuda mana
Yaad karegi duniya
Tera Mera afsana..
Here at IITK, I got my most precious experiences in life. In the end, I extend my heartfelt thanks to IITK (the place, the people, the vibe… everything…).
Written by: Neha Aggarwal
Edited by: Tanya Soni, Bhavya Sikarwar
