On 2nd August 2016, we had an interactive session with our alumni, Sarthakbhai and Jaybhai, who were part of the first ever batch that graduated from AVM.

The session started with Sarthakbhai talking about his journey through AVM and his later academic career. He shared his idea of aiming high and to practice the recipe of success given by Swamishree. Besides that, he also suggested to make use of the resources we are being provided in the school and be physically active which in turn keeps us mentally active, this combo grows one spiritually. On not being qualified for the IIT, he did not lose hope and got into a private research university where he studied for B. Tech. Nanotechnology. He did some really fascinating research work over there! He also got selected for the Semester Abroad Programme and got a chance to study two semesters at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (the world renowned MIT), on scholarship. Not only did he get a perfect GPA there, he also did some quality research on hybrid solar cells at MIT. He will be leaving shortly for his PhD in Material Science & Engineering at University of Washington, Seattle, on complete scholarship and a fellowship award due to his excellent track record.

In the question-answer phase of the session, Sarthakbhai was asked about the drive in him for continuously outperforming himself in academics! In response, he mentioned that God puts us in situations which don’t let our drive fade away and we can continuously work hard towards achieving excellence. On being asked about the people around him in the university, he gave a simple and a powerful idea of interacting with such people who help us grow in our life.

Jaybhai shared his experiences about how he struggled for the first year in his college. He did not lose faith in God due to being in contact with saints and teachers and that proved to be excellent for him. He came out as one of the finest students of his college. He too is planning to have his further education in the field of Information Security at Northeastern University (U.S.A.).

Some other inspiring words which pulled our attention were that one should not procrastinate his work and always strive to go nearer to his goal. They also mentioned about keeping the company of people who help us grow. Sarthakbhai referred to the thought: “Failures are the stepping stones towards success” and helped us further realise the importance of keeping on trying by taking help of prayers.

The session proved to be extremely inspiring and motivating for all the students. It was an amazing experience to get to know these two alumni, our senior brother who have done wonders so far and continue doing so!

Vaishwik Tank (12 Science)