The school launched its first career fest on February 13, which will continue till February 17. Trustees of The Tribune Justice SS Sodhi and Gurbachan Jagat, along with members of the school management committee Chand Nehru, Daman Duggal and Anuradha Dua, inaugurated the event, which was open for parents and students of Classes IX and X.
Principal Vandana Saxena, in her keynote address, spoke on the importance and role of counselling sessions provided at the school. Students Leisha and Shivam gave information on projects that the school counselling cell had initiated — Anti-Tobacco Project, Anti-Bullying Programme, Kindness Wall, POCSO and Sex Education, Menstrual Hygiene and Personality Development. Chand Nehru spoke about how the institution had evolved over the years with regard to infrastructure and extracurricular activities like yoga, art, music, sports and counselling. She said these activities played an important role in shaping the overall personality of students. Aadi Garg (inset), a career counsellor and the resource person for the day, guided students on building their strengths. He spoke on the importance of knowing one's interests and aptitude for choosing the right career option. He made the students aware of various career fields and emerging trends. He encouraged the students to identify their strengths and spoke on various techniques that they could adopt to become a better version of themselves. Thereafter, he answered queries put up by students and parents.
The Day II of the first career fest being held at the school was attended by Chand Nehru, member of the management committee, the School Head, Vandana Saxena and Jeesu Jaskanwar Singh, Coordinator, Department of Education, Panjab University, a zoologist, educator and wildlife photographer. Chand Nehru shared key points with the parents and the students present at the venue. She emphasised the importance of discipline and holistic development of children and shared tips for better parenting. She encouraged students to make the best out of the Career Fest and also engaged the students in mindfulness activities. Jessu Jaskanwar Singh addressed the gathering on 'Reflecting Uniqueness' through career choices, where he spoke about identifying uniqueness in oneself and aiming towards 'Self-Actualisation'. Students were fascinated with his unique and captivating lifestyle, where he shared his personal experiences in being associated with the Indian Army and Indian Navy. He also shared a few books on inspiration with the students to inculcate motivation among them. The highlight of the session was the new-age career options and the path which lead to them. Jessu ended the session by talking about the importance and role of true friendship in one's life. Thanking both the speakers the school Principal Vandana Saxena encouraged the children to look for inspiration to take them towards achieving higher goals.
The Career Fest at the Tribune School continued to flourish as the day 3 of the fest with the resource person, Mrs. Riya Saxena, Senior Associate with the RMI India team, saw a huge success and created a deep impact on the students on ‘Building Sustainability’ through career choices. Mrs. Riya's unique way of interacting with the children, from explaining the essentials of sustainability to creating an impact left a deep mark on each student attending the session. She talked about the ways on infusing sustainability in different careers to overcome environmental hazards like global warming and coal consumption. She also made the students understand the necessities of entrepreneurship and also motivated the students to join their fields for an internship to gain first-hand exposure early in life. She also shared her personal experiences and the challenges she had to face to balance being a businesswoman and creating social impact. Mrs.Riya also shared different entrepreneurship programs and sustainability-focused projects to look up to and be a part of, like the United Nations Development Programmes and its mission and the sustainable development goals that it provides, envisioning a path for the students.
The session ended with her one on one interaction with the students and their reflection on the said topic. Mrs.Chand Nehru, the esteemed member of the School Management Committee and Mrs. Vandana Saxena, the School Head thanked Mrs. Riya for the motivating and inspiring session.
An entry and exit behavior were observed before and after the session, where students shared their perspectives on the understanding of the term ‘Sustainability’. A few entry behaviors before the session as noted by the students were ‘To reserve natural resources for future generations’, ‘To use resources carefully and to follow Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
After the session, the exit behavior of the students was recorded, which included, ‘Sustainability can be implemented in every career and profession with the right understanding’, ‘Individuals should first include sustainability within themselves by focus, discipline, communication skills and the right attitude’ to quote a few.
Day 4 of the Tribune School’s Career Fest was as enriching and successful as the previous days. The resource person, Dr. Neetu Narula, MBBS, MD, radiologist and aesthetic physician interacted with grade 7 and 8 students, where she talked about ‘Balancing the Head and the Heart’ through career choices. Dr. Narula talked about various new-age career choices and emphasized the importance of finding balance in life through the right career choice and learning and valuing our interests which can also lead us to bloom careers.
She also focused on the need and importance of girl child education and equality of gender in our mindset to break any restricting chains on our way to success.
Dr. Narula also shared her inspiring journey from being an average student in junior school to becoming a top achiever and fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor, which thoroughly motivated the students. Her diversity of interests ranges from modeling, swimming, entrepreneurship and more. The students enthusiastically participated in the question and answer round where Dr. Neetu patiently answered all the queries of the students regarding overall balance in academics, extracurriculars and personal life. The session was ended by Mrs. Vandana Saxena, the School Head thanking her for her inspiring and motivating session.
