“A lot of us don’t even know what is happening with our society. It’s important to first mingle with all kind of people around, understand the problems with them and try to help them solve such problems. That is when we actually give meaning to the word ‘Citizenship’ ” says Chaitra DM, a third year engineering student from BMS College of engineering.

Chaitra’s views to involve in the issues of the society started, when she happened to be a part of  i3, a platform that connects youngsters to achievers through conferences and also help them work on social projects which in turn helps improve their skills and abilities. Chaitra was guided to enroll at i3 by her mentor Mr. Prashant Yag, an individual who believes in youth empowerment and has been the reason to change thousands of lives, from across the country. Now, Chaitra got an opportunity to connect to more people of her age, who were like-minded, along with which she got connected to more mentors too. Today, she stands as a proven model for a lot of youngsters who are in need of the right direction.

She carries such a positive aura, that a lot of students connect to her and wish to learn from her, to keep themselves positive. “Involving in the issues of my society, not only made me a better person, but also enhanced my skills to communicate and interact well with others. Today, I can connect to people of all ages and in their own way. It has improved my ability to take decisions and think independently” she says. While a lot of people asked if she is a social worker, her only answer to them was, “I don’t sacrifice my life like the great social workers. I only contribute my bit to the society in the best way it is possible for me”.

Before we know more about her achievements and how she gained such maturity in life, let us see where the characters and attitudes to learn, came from. As a child, Chaitra was a very quiet girl who wouldn’t talk to many, but, only observed what happened around her. Her parents were of a great support in all that she wanted to do. She reminisces, “My father inspired me to work hard. My mom was and shall always be my inspiration too. I still remember the incident when she had to teach me subjects which I had to study in the course of my education. She never knew how to read and write English. So, she always used to sit with my teachers after class, ask the pronunciation of each English word and write it in the regional language on top of those words and then come back home, sit with me and teach me. These efforts made by her during my childhood days, are the reason for whatever I am today”. Chaitra happened to study in a different school, St. John's high school from 6^th grade, where the syllabus was different and difficult when compared to her previous school. It was hard for her to adjust to the new environment, learn subjects which were harder. A lot of people laughed at her for her way of speaking English, pronunciations, and grammatical errors. She would take it as a challenge, and continued to cope up. She continued to speak better English, started writing articles for her school magazine, speak to people around which helped her to become more confident. Remember, you read that she was a quiet child earlier. The whole of the crowd that laughed at her one day, was shocked to see her perform so well and she passed out of her 10th grade with a score of 88 percent.

Now, was a different experience with different rules, a different environment and teachers, for two years in a different institution, CMR National Junior College, where she happened to complete her 12^th grade with a first class. Chaitra wanted to become a doctor and serve a lot of people, but she missed her rank with a very few marks in the Common Entrance Test, but her rank was still good enough for her to choose to study engineering in the best college of the city. College days began and she happened to meet a lot of new friends, out of which Ishani became her best friend, with whom she believed she could share everything. During her second semester, Chaitra happened to connect to Mr. Prashant, who is her mentor, through a platform where she happened to learn a lot from him. “He was one of the reasons for the maturity and nourishment in me today. He has taught me ethics and values of life. Definitely, the most inspiring after my parents and another pillar to my life” she says. Prashant took equal responsibility in choosing the right path for Chaitra to walk towards. He ensured to mentor her in the best way possible, which led him, connect her to the platform of i3. Chaitra impacted, not less than 5000 people through the social projects she executed-meal donation campaigns, awareness campaigns, sports equipment procurement campaign, to name a few, along with her internship at Metro. She also happened to execute cleanliness campaign where she involved the government to help clean different areas of the city. Not just execute projects, Chaitra got a chance to meet entrepreneurs from various industries, from whom she learned, “Always ASK to explore, 4Ds for success(Dedication, determination, desire, discipline), Temporary pain for permanent happiness” and many more such lessons which helped gain the maturity she carries today. She is currently chosen to be one of the very few ambassadors of i3, who believe in sharing about the vision of i3 to more youth who need direction in their life.

Today, a lot of students including her friends at college, are inspired by her work and she believes to become an inspirational speaker, having started her journey to reach this dream. She has been invited to various colleges to cast the spell of inspiration amongst the students. It doesn’t matter of how much you know, if you are open to learn from everything around you. Chaitra, who only wanted to learn more, grabbed every opportunity that came her way and is today an inspiration for a lot of youth who need the guidance to choose the right path in their life. Our belief in youth only increases when we see such responsible citizens of the country!