NIT Trichy Campus Experience

I graduated from NIT Trichy a couple of months ago. I can divide my life into 2 phases – one before NITT and one after. I will not delve into experiences which any college going student would have gone through in his/her best phase of life; rather I will focus on subtle changes that got into me unconsciously in the last 4 years.

• Coming from a conservative background it wasn’t easy for me to gel with people quickly. To top it, I have a very serious face ( as people have constantly told me ) and hence it didn’t make matters easier for others as well to initiate a conversation with me upfront but only do the people in my circle know that I am a comedy from within. 🙂
• Whenever I did try engaging myself in a conversation in a group of relatively new people, 5 mins into the discussion I would feel lost for the point of discussion invariably wouldn’t be my cup of tea. Slowly, I refrained from joining any discussions.
• Coming to acads – it’s wisely said that you should either be really smart or brutally sincere to come up with trumps but never in the middle of the spectrum where you are half baked in both the mentioned facets; unfortunately I belonged to that category. A constant untold fear was deeply rooted within me making me ponder time and again if I would be able to compete with my comrades and if at all I belonged to this place and space.

So bluntly put, this was inferiority complex coupled with introvertedness. When I reflect back, the change in me probably started when I was a sophomore.

• “Clubs and Teams “ – This is one aspect I think NITT stands apart from the rest of the colleges and gives a platform to every student to groom one’s passion. Back then it was equally facilitated by one of the most student friendly Directors – Dr. Srinivasan Sundararajan sir. I was lucky to be a part of both Techno-managerial fest and Cultural fest of NITT.
• Working in a social responsibility vertical of the latter gave me a chance to visit deserted elderly people, orphaned children, poor kids who couldn’t afford to go to school, farmers in the nearby village and so on. These instances gave enormous perspectives and made me realize how blessed I was in life and the smaller things I had been cribbing hitherto seemed completely insignificant. All the memories made along during these visits brought the team closer and I started opening up with my team buddies and also with others.
• Then Pragyan ( techno – managerial fest ) happened. I was in the Guest Lectures and Crossfire team of this fest wherein we had to bring top notch people round the world for a 4 day event in the campus. Rubbing shoulders with eminent personalities while organizing their talks made me understand that people, irrespective of their stature, are fundamentally similar. This exposure in speaking to top level bureaucrats, noble laureates and other pioneers in their respective domains gave me the confidence that I could talk to anyone in the world on any topic under the sun.
• Seniors in NITT play a crucial part in shaping our ideas and it was one such senior who pushed me to lead this team in Pragyan in my final year and I still relish every moment I spent with my juniors and batchmates in making the event a success. It was the guidance of another such senior which helped me to do a fully funded Internship in Germany in my penultimate summer in college.

If you ask me whether I have completely overcome my fears and inhibitions, the answer is no but I have acquired the confidence to back my weaknesses with my strengths and face any situation without fear.

I couldn’t have asked for anything better from NITT. You will always be my first love.