Are you someone that is passionate about bringing a positive change to the world? Do you want to lead the struggle against pertinent issues like discrimination, climate change, poverty and inequality?
At Harvard Youth Lead the Change (a leadership development program for students in grades 8-12), our students provide real tangible solutions to social causes that they are extremely passionate about. Guided by expert mentors from Harvard, students take on issues such as water scarcity, discrimination, mental health and more through their intensive social change projects, many of which go live into the real world!
In the process, students become more empathetic, aware, confident and conscious individuals, equipped with skills of negotiation, research, leadership, teamwork and more!
Check out projects from our students that have gone live and benefited thousands of people!
1. Project Drakht
Started by Taahira Bhalla and Sia Bishnoi of The Shri Ram School, Moulsari – both from YLC 2016 – Project Drakht was set up to provide Ferozepur Meo, an underprivileged village in Haryana, with access to clean water. After conducting research and interviewing locals, they came up with a creative solution based around the water-purifying properties of the Moringa Oleifera (drumstick) trees.
Project Drakht ended up helping nearly 2,200 people from 300 families and is an example of how you can turn your budding ideas into full-fledged social change at Harvard YLC!
Project Veerangana, created during the YLC June 2021 conference, aims at creating equality between genders in India and eliminating violence against women. They solve this problem by creating awareness and educating adolescents through a curriculum delivered in different forms like videos or podcasts and through interviews with victims of violence. They collaborate with various NGOs and self-defence experts to empower women and be aware of their legal rights. Read more about them here!
3. Project Teens4Teens
Teens4Teens is a mental health, nonprofit organisation for teenagers and by teenagers, with the aim to spread awareness about mental health and the problems faced by every teenager. The idea for teens4teens originated at Harvard YLC 2016 and now, they have a following of over 9,000 and are doing exceptional work in the field of mental health. Check them out here!
Do you want to solve the issues you are passionate about through a social change project made under the guidance of Harvard Mentors? Check out Harvard Youth Lead the Change!
First week at college? Stuck in a new classroom with no friends? Found yourself at the fresher’s party with zero acquaintances? Trust us, we have been there, and the fear of being stuck on a campus with complete strangers is as real as it gets.
And that’s why, in this month’s newsletter, with the help of Professor Gillian Sandstrom (Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Essex), we take a look at 7 tips to strike up a conversation with complete strangers in college! So say goodbye to the blank stares and awkward silences, and read along!
Be Brave!
Even if it’s uncomfortable, be brave and just go talk. The person is probably going to like you more than you think and chances are, they too are looking to make new friends on an unfamiliar campus ! You’re both probably going to enjoy the experience more than you think.
Be Curious!
Research actually suggests that people who ask more questions are better liked by their conversation partners than people who ask fewer questions. For a person that you are just getting to know, there are few things more appealing than feeling heard. So the next time you find someone’s fashion style noteworthy or the points they made in class insightful, ask them about it!
Go off-script
No one likes a conversation for the sake of having a conversation. Skip that question about the weather and ask something that will make your conversation partner actually stop and think. Like “I can’t believe how crowded the mess is!” or “Wow! Where did you get your phone cover?”
Find something you have in common
“We tend to overestimate how different people are from us, “Sandstrom says. “In reality, we probably have lots in common, but just don’t know what that is yet.” At the very least, both of you are on the same campus!
Compliment someone!
When talking with people, we often tend to overthink what we could do wrong. Focusing the attention on the other person in these times helps us get past those awkward spots. And of course, it makes them feel good as well. So next time, don’t hesitate to compliment a person’s hairstyle or their taste in music!
Don’t let the awkward moments trip you up
“You have to be OK that it might be awkward for a bit,” Sandstrom says. “But if you keep going, hopefully you’ll get to that stage where you’re having a real conversation.” Awkward moments happen, but they are not the end. So let it pass, the conversations will settle and it will be fine!
Talk more with strangers!
We often fear social rejection, but research shows that people nearly always are willing to engage in a conversation when prompted by someone else. The more you do talk, the more you build your skill and confidence! So whether it’s on the bus or in the mess, just start talking!
P.S.
Wanna receive guidance from Harvard mentors on how to improve your communication, public speaking, leadership and collaboration skills? Check out Harvard Youth Lead the Change to reach the next level!
An entrepreneur is someone who forges ahead even when there is only a small chance of success! They find thrill and satisfaction in succeeding against the odds and do not let the voices of nay-sayers drown out their own inner voice. By having the courage to follow their dreams and intuition, entrepreneurs chart the course of their magical journey.
Passion and opportunity guide the entrepreneurial journey. Young entrepreneurs exemplify this the best. They’ve proven that it is more important to do your best rather than being the best – success then will be consequential! It is their journey that now inspires others to create a success story of their own! Here are eleven successful entrepreneurs from India who started their journey as teenagers and succeeded because they had a vision, the drive and a strong belief in themselves!
1. Ritesh Agarwal
Passionate about travelling, 17-year-old Ritesh realised the need for affordable hotels that offered good services. His unique drive for identifying, understanding and solving the problem helped him create a huge empire that was built on the concept of fulfilling the requirements of the travellers – affordable rooms with standard facilities. His venture, OYO (On Your Own) is valued at more than $10 billion and Ritesh’s net worth is more than $1 billion, which makes him the world’s second-youngest self-made billionaire.
2. Advait Thakur
Advait is a young tech entrepreneur who is changing the world. He founded his own tech company Apex Infosys when he was 12 years old. The company is now a global technology and innovation company that specialises in IoT- related services and products, AI and Health Tech sectors. Advait is also the youngest Google, Bing and Hubspot Certified Professional.
3. Vinusha MK
A simple cake baking task to surprise her mother on her birthday led Vinusha to start an enterprise of her own – Four Seasons Pastry. She was 9 years old at that time.
Vinusha bakes and sells cupcakes inspired by the four seasons. She is scaling up her business and has already launched a baking kit that comes complete with ingredients and recipes, homemade chocolates, sandwiches and more. Needless to say, every order here is baked with passion.
4. Tilak Mehta
Inspiration for a startup can come from anywhere. Nothing illustrates this better than Tilak Mehta and his success story Paper N Parcels. The story goes something like this – 13 year old Tilak needed some books urgently from the other part of Mumbai city. But despite waiting all day for his father to return from work so he could go and get them, young Tilak was left disappointed – his father was just too tired. Instead of sulking or throwing a tantrum, Tilak struck gold from the situation. He conceptualised a startup that could deliver small parcels within the city on the same day. His venture, Paper N Parcels immediately found traction and took off. It now employs over 200 workers and 300 dabbawallas and handles over 1200 deliveries in a day. Tilak is among the youngest Forbes panelists, a TEDx speaker and a Youngest Entrepreneur awardee in Logistics Sector.
5. Sreelakshmi Suresh
Sreelakshmi began using computers at the age of 3, started designing at 4, designed her first website at the age of 6 and owned a startup at 11! Life has certainly been on the fast lane for her! She has often been regarded as one of the Youngest CEOs and Youngest Web Designers. Apart from her startup eDesign, Sreelakshmi also owns another company TinyLogo.
6. Akhilendra Sahu
‘World’s Youngest Serial Entrepreneur’. Not a bad title to have, right? Akhilendra started at the age of 16 by doing freelancing work to gain experience. By sheer hard work and persistence, he achieved great success. He owns and runs ASTNT Technologies, ASTNT Hosting, ASTNT Media, Technical Next, ASTNT Newswire, StartUp199, and a slew of other companies. He is also the co-founder of Scoop Beats Private Limited.
7. Rohit Kashyap
As a young boy from a small town in Bihar, Rohit did not have access to a lot of resources. Yet, he was winning Olympiads! He also ranked in the top 1000 in the ICAI Commerce Wizard. Not one to hog the limelight all by himself, Rohit offered to tutor others to achieve success. But the response he received overwhelmed him. This gave him the idea to start a school that will help young achievers and thus, at the young age of 14, he founded Maytree School of Entrepreneurship.
8. Deepak Ravindran
Deepak started his entrepreneurial journey when he was 17. Swades Solutions and just4sale.com were his early forays into the world of entrepreneurship. But it was his venture Innoz Technologies Pvt. Ltd. that really put him in the big league. The idea was inspired by a vegetable purchase interaction between his mother and a vendor. His innovation helped people who had no internet access data without having to go online.
Through determination and hard work, Innoz today counts some of the biggest names like Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, Idea, Wikipedia, Vuclip, Rotten Tomatoes, Zomato, Snapdeal, Bing, Worldweatheronline, etc., as clients.
9. Farrhad Acidwalla
Farrhad’s entrepreneurial calibre was evident from the age of 13 when he created an online community about aero-modelling and aviation. When he was 17 he was interviewed by CNN and it was soon after that he started his successful venture Rockstah Media. Rockstah Media is a one-stop style destination for web development, marketing and beyond.
10. Nithin Kamath
Nithin Kamath began trading stocks when he was just 17. His passion led him to establish Zerodha in 2007. Zerodha has over 7 million users and Nithin Kamath’s net assets have swelled to $1.9 billion, making him the third-biggest stockbroker in the country, just after ICICI and HDFC.
11. Appalla Saikiran
A prosperous professional career before even crossing the teenage years – just what Appalla achieved with his pathbreaking idea and the right mentorship. Appalla, an Ivy Early Entrepreneur, founded SCOPE at the age of 17. The idea was inspired from his own struggle to find the right mentors, investors and connect with other entrepreneurs in his early days of entrepreneurship. SCOPE is a new-age holistic platform that brings together aspiring entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investors and industry experts. Awards and accolades have followed Appalla since – Global Kids Achievers Award, a spot at the Junior CEO program certified by Brown University and an invitation by Google to visit their office, a few among the many.
Conclusion
Age is just a number. Our young entrepreneurs have proven that and how! By thinking out of the box and by having the zest to fulfil their dream, they have launched themselves into the great
heights already – and that’s not the best part – the best part is that they have just started out on their journey!
The inspiring stories serve as a great motivator. With vision, determination and the right guidance, achieving success is just a matter of when and not how. Organisations like The Big Red group provide Ivy league counselling as well as several entrepreneur workshops in India like the Ivy Early Entrepreneur program which helps students in taking the first step towards their successful entrepreneurial journey and keeps them ahead of the rest of the crowd.
Walt Whitman, the American poet, essayist and journalist, is one of the most influential poets of all time. Considered as the Father of the free verse, Whitman popularized ‘free verse’, a form of poetry which does not follow any strict set of rules.
On the occasion of Whitman’s birthday this month, we are thinking a lot about Whitman’s sprawling legacy, and its impact on artists across mediums. Here are some of our favorite works which engage with Whitman’s art:
Breaking Bad (2008-2013)
Breaking Bad is one of the most critically-acclaimed shows of all time. Created and produced by Vince Gilligan; the name of this show’s protagonist, Walter White, is reminiscent of the poet. This fact is used to incorporate Whitman’s works into major moments in the show. Moreover, Walter’s copy of the poet’s classic “Leaves of Grass” becomes a plot point for some of the show’s most pivotal twists.
Based on Whitman’s Memoranda During the War, Crossing is a two-act opera composed by Matthew Aucoin which offers a fictionalized account of Whitman’s time as a nurse during the American Civil War.
A timeless classic, Dead Poets’ Society is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir. The most iconic scene from the film, in which Robin Williams’ John Keating tells his students about what’s truly important in life, features the classic Whitman poem “O Me! O Life!”
If you would like to further engage in conversations about Whitman with your contemporary students, check out Poetry in America Intensive, one of a kind poetry classes to learn how Poetry through time converses with other art forms like Hip-hop, Jazz, Basketball, Ballet and much more — and all this from professors of Harvard and Arizona State University!
“It’s wrong to ask for help in entrepreneurial circles. It feels undermining. But it shouldn’t.”
At just 16 years old, Ivy Early Entrepreneur Appalla Saikaran was familiar with the difficulties of networking with mentors, investors, and other entrepreneurs. He knew intimately how nerve-wracking it could be to ask questions and find like-minded people willing to collaborate and invest in nascent ventures. To tackle this challenge, young Appalla decided to build his own application – SCOPE.
SCOPE is a dynamic and personalized network that connects entrepreneurs with like-minded people, content and opportunities. It aims to build a collaborative community where users can share their experiences, learn from each other and ultimately be successful.
Appalla was motivated to build this platform because he realized that there are people out there willing to mentor young founders like himself. “But,” Appalla believes, “youngsters like myself should be willing to ask for help. It is never wrong to ask for help; but it is wrong to know that you need help and still not seek it. That was the main reason why I decided to create SCOPE.”
Since founding SCOPE, Appalla has received immense global attention, winning the monumental Global Kids Achievers Award, a spot at the Junior CEO program certified by Brown University and an invitation by Google to visit their office!
But how did he get here?
Appalla is a student from Hyderabad. He finished his high school education at Birla School Pilani, and then moved on to Manipal University, Jaipur to earn his undergraduate degree in Data Science. In the winter of 2021, he participated in the Ivy Early Entrepreneur Program where he was afforded the rare opportunity to work on his fledgling startup under the guidance of real-life successful entrepreneurs including Forbes 30 Under 30 awardees Arun Saigal and Kristin Kagetsu, and BusinessWorld 40 Under 40 awardee Aman Gupta. Here, Apalla learned the ins and outs of essential entrepreneurial concepts like market research, competition analysis, design thinking and fundraising over a 7-day period, culminating in a start-up plan that included a mobile app prototype!
SCOPE’s mobile app prototype
Appalla believes, “If you want something you’ve never had, you need to do things you’ve never done.”
He credits his success to many people and networks in his life, including the Ivy Early Entrepreneur program which he commends for offering him the opportunity to ask questions, receive feedback, and for platforming the startup ideas of young entrepreneurs like himself. By constantly hustling and staying determined to reach his goals, Apalla succeeded in taking his ideas and plans forward, and became the founder and CEO of his own start-up with SCOPE. The pilot version of his mobile app was downloaded by 5000+ people, and every day, the app is found and downloaded by more and more people — a commendable feat for anyone, but especially for a budding, teenage entrepreneur!
Have an idea and don’t know where to start? Join Big Red Education’s Ivy Early Entrepreneur program to become a successful teenager.
