Category: Tiruja Vatsal Naik

 

Activity	Component	Duration	Learning Outcomes
A day spent with Special children	Creativity, Service	12-12-16 to 12-12-16	2,4,6,7
Plantation activity	Service, action	24-07-16 to 24-07-16	2,5,6
Trip to Naggar	Action	12-26-15 to 1-2-16	1,2,5,6
Anchoring for RWP	Creativity, service	4-3-16 to 4-3-16	1,2,4,5,6
WPMUN	Creativity	13-09-16 to 14-09-16	1,2,4,5,6
Zumba Fest	Creativity, service, action	20-12-16 to 20-12-16	1,2,3,4,5,7
Surat Student Parliament	Creativity	13-11-16 to 13-11-16	1,4,5,6
Monologue Competition	Creativity	2-08-17 to 2-08-17	1,2,4
Chairing IMUN	Creativity, service	2-2-17 to 2-2-17	2,3,5,6

This was my first time chairing a MUN instead of being a delegate. This was much different than my other MUN experiences because I learned how a committee is handled and judged. I was invited to chair the Inferno Model United Nation to chair the United Nations Security Council. It was also great to understand and take in the perspectives of all the delegates. The learning outcomes that I achieved are as follows:

L2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken developing new skills: As a delegate, I only had to research about the particular country assigned to me but as the chair, I had to learn about every country and have a neutral point of view.

L3- initiate and plan a CAS experience: For this event I was a part of the Executive board which automatically made me responsible to make sure that the event was smooth and successful. I tried my best to make sure that all the delegates get a good experience and learn about the world.

L5- Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively: A lot of the delegates were new and were participating for the first time so as the chair I had the take the responsibility to help them out to progress the committee.

L6-engagement with issues of global significance: The agenda of the committee was to discuss situations that the actual United Nations deal with and propose solutions for the same.

The Surat student parliament was an initiative taken by a group of college students from Ahmedabad. This was a simulation of how the  Indian parliament works to give a student an opportunity to understand its functions and importance. I was a part of the media managers and my responsibility was to cover the happenings of the event.The learning outcomes that I achieved are:

L1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth: I found out that noting down the information as to what was happening during the event was my strong suite, however, I realized that I could improve my writing skills to clearly express what I learned.

L4-commitment to and perseverance: I sat through all the committee sessions, listening to them carefully and making sure to add every important detail of the occurrences.

L5-. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively: I worked with all the other media managers to identify a story and effectively present it.

L6-engagement with issues of global significance: We wrote about current issues going around the country.

 

This was an inter-house monologue competition that our school organized. I participated in the competition and played the character of “Jordan Belfort”. For this monologue, I won first place. I gained a lot of self-confidence through this experience and enhanced my acting and performing skills. The learning outcomes that I achieved are:

L1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth. I did this by practicing in the mirror multiple times to identify my drawback and tried to improve them.

L2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken developing new skills. I understood that taking a script from a movie may not be as effective as other pieces but I took up the challenge because I really thought that I could portray the character efficiently

L4: Commitment to and perseverance. I took the initiative to find my own script, edit it according to the rules of the competition, learn it effectively and practice it until the day of the competition.

 

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I believe that the day that I spent with the special children was a life changing experience. I learned so much about strength, gratitude, and courage. I tried to delve into conversations with the children and what really inspired me about them was the passion that they displayed to learn and the affection that they showcased towards the volunteers and each other.  This was not something that I would have usually chosen to do, but I am so thankful that I was given this opportunity because through those I learned to appreciate even the smallest things in life and face challenges with strength.

The learning outcomes that I achieved through this activity are:

LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills: I did this primarily through trying to effectively communicate with the children. While helping the children learn I had to get them to pay attention and not get easily distracted by the surroundings, for this I had to think of new ways to which they would pay attention to what I was saying.

LO 4 Worked collaboratively with others: The group of volunteers for this activity was huge because of which during the distribution of the responsibilities and other discussions we all had to display cooperation and eventual appreciation for each other.

LO 6 Engage with issues of global significance: Through this activity, I learned to display compassion, empathy, and care towards this special community of people because of which I will become a better global citizen.

LO 7 Consider the ethical implication of the activity: During the activity, I had to be very careful out my actions and the language that I used to make sure that I did not go against ethics and did not offend the children in any way.

 

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This was my first plantation activity. It was physically exhausting but I got to learn the usage of appropriate tools used for plantation and how plantation helps its surrounding areas.This activity was very challenging for me in itself however the struggles increased since it began raining heavily. At the end, it was a great experience being so close to nature and its greenery.

The learning outcomes I achieved through this activity are:

LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills: Before this, I had never participated in agricultural activities, so this was new to me. The major challenges I faced were The use of the heavy tools and the pouring rain made it more difficult.

LO 5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively: I learned new skills of farming and worked with the volunteers and tried to follow their instructions as effectively as I could.

LO 6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance: The plantation activity that I did acted as my contribution to making the world greener and promoting environment conservation.

The trip to Naggar was one of the most cherished trips I have had with my friends. The journey to Naggar was long but enjoyable. I made so many new friendships on that trip and learned many new things about my peers. I am not the one for adventurous trips that involve trekking and exploring, but I thought it would be a new fun experience so joined it with my friends. We stayed at the Naggar castle which was home to the King and Queen but is now furnished into a hotel. We learned a lot about the history of Naggar which was interesting to know.We went for morning treks. For me, it was very exhaustive but serene. The surroundings were very beautiful.

Through this the learning outcomes that I achieved are:

LO 1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth: I realized that I developed a new interest towards hiking and realized that it wasn’t as exhausting as it looked but instead was very calming and relaxing. I realized that I did have enough capacity and stamina in me to complete a trek however the one thing I needed to improve on was the speed at which I hiked. 

LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills: One day we went for snow adventures where we did skiing. It was a new experience for me and I had a lot of fun doing it.I had never done yoga before but we had 2 yoga sessions during the trip. All in all the trip was very informative and opened me to take up new challenges and gain new experiences.
LO 5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively: There times when while trekking some of us got left behind and needed more help and motivation and in such times everyone else stopped and helped that person and tried to get them to reach the end of the trail. This trip made me understand how supportive and understanding my batch mates are. 

LO 6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance: We learnt a lot about how people living in hill stations got their income and how differently the houses were built there to avoid dangers for natural calamities. We also learned about how the global warming affects the temperature and climate there. 

 

Three of my peers decided to organize a cycling event called “Ride with Pride”. They initiated this  to spread awareness about breast cancer. The event was on 6th March, 2016 which is also two days before Women’s Day. This purpose was decided on because even though cancer is very head of, breast cancer is not know of by many people but it is still very common. They asked one of my friends and me to anchor for them because they knew that I had previous experience in hosting events. As the anchor, my job was to tell the participants about the rules and guidelines of the Cyclothon, acknowledge the sponsors, explain the purpose and agenda behind the event and encourage safety and enjoyment.The event was quite successful and the organizers were satisfied. We felt as if our hard work had payed off because the organizers appreciated us and also the participants and members of the crowd congratulated us on how well the event had worked out.

The learning outcomes that I achieved are:

LO 1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth: Through this I recognized that public speaking was my area of interest and that it was my strength as well, because I was able to confidently deliver my lines without too much fumbling and that increased my self esteem.

LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills: At first when I saw the crowd, I was quite nervous to talk on stage but the crowd was very cooperative and enthusiastic which helped me go on and gave me confidence. When I explained the purpose of the event which was to help people understand the dangers of breast cancer and to honor the International Women’s day which was on 8th March, 2016. The crowds gave an appreciative cheer that encouraged the team to put in more efforts.

LO 4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences: Weeks before the event we had intense meetings to discuss the way we were going organize the event, route and duration of the event, other requirements and things that the participants needed to be informed about.I attended every meeting before the event with utter perseverance. The event was publicized throughout the city,  and, therefore, it was on a larger scale and attracted many people. It was a new experience for me.

LO 5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively: I had to work under three of peers and we tried to prevent clashes in opinion and always came to a conclusions that served everyone’s purpose. As they were the organizers, which gave them a higher authority I had to work according to them and try to satisfy their demands. This helped me become cooperative.

LO 6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance: This event was a way to spread awareness about breast cancer which many people don’t know about. 

MUNs have always been my area of interest, I was really keen on attending the first session of Winspiration Model United Nations. It was scheduled on the 13th of August, but we had been allotted our countries and committees much prior. I was given the World women’s council with the country United States and the agenda was “Ways to combat gender inequality against women”. I was thankful for the change, this time, when I did my research I did it with more enthusiasm and interest. I was prepared but at the same time, I was also a little nervous because I had less number of days for my preparation. My research took more time than I had expected. I knew that my research was not going to be enough because the other delegates in my committee had more time than me. However, I was through with whatever preparation I had done.

 

Day one of the conference was the opening ceremony, we were introduced to the Chairs and Vice Chairs of our committees. After that we had a session about the rules of a MUN and how it works. Later, when I met the delegates from my committee; we were discussing how we wanted the committee sessions to function. I realised that all other delegates were quite experienced and smart. To be honest, I felt a little intimidated by them as it was my first major MUN. In the first actual committee session, I volunteered to give the GSL which is an introduction speech which talks about the progress of the allotted country and the steps to work towards the issue. I felt a little more confident after that.

 

I compromised with the other delegates and gave my inputs to form a resolution and came up with plausible solutions together. We discussed the causes of malnutrition which has become a global issue these days and provided feasible solutions about it. I also tried to take the committee in control and made it possible for everybody to make a point. I won the Best Delegate Award for my contributions in this MUN.

 

For my CAS project, I wanted to do something different and fun filled. I decided to organize a Zumba Fest. Zumba is a form of fitness which incorporates latin American dance moves. I came up with this idea because to keep fit I do Zumba weekly and I really enjoyed, therefore I decided to make it a part of my CAS project. Not only that but through this I decided to raise funds for an NGO named “Sad Vidya Vikas Trust”, this NGO works towards providing tuition and extra help that the underprivileged children need and usually don’t get.

 

5 weeks prior the event which was supposed to happen on 20th December, I started spending time with the children at the NGO and taught them a song so that they could perform Zumba on stage. At first, it was very chaotic because the children were new to the concept of learning dance but I was glad to see the enthusiasm they portrayed and it was exciting to watch them try to grasp and get the steps right. The ardour that these children displayed were exceptional. At times like these, I am reminded to be thankful for all the privileges that I get.

 

The problems I faced during the preparations for this event were mainly finding Zumba professionals who would like to be a part of this event. This was also the first time that I had to set and work on a budget. I was very nervous while approaching the sponsors because people rarely thought that fitness was an issue that needed awareness but the element of helping an NGO came across and I was met with their generosity which I am very thankful for. The major challenge I faced was to spread information about this event and attract a crowd because not many people had heard about Zumba so they didn’t show much interest.

 

I faced challenges that I had never faced like approaching sports clubs for ground space, sponsors for funds, publication house to make posters for the event etc. I also learned to show compassion towards others. I thought of an innovative idea for a CAS project and went through the required process. This was the first time that I had a work experience with professionals and I had to adjust according to their schedules and priorities.  
One thing that I realised was that the parents of these children might be conservative and may not appreciate their children dancing on stage instead of studying, therefore, I thought it was important to get their written consent. This experience taught me to take responsibility and work effectively to fulfil them.