She Leads, a social media campaign that was launched by the British High Commission in partnership with the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and the Women of Worth movement, culminated in a three-day leadership programme at the Great Lakes Institute of Management. The six winners will participate in a rigorous residential training about leadership and management skills.
The girls were shortlisted through a campaign that was spread to universities and colleges across the country. Gopica Dhawan, who is pursuing her Master of Social Work in Christ University, was handpicked from her department to represent the college. She realised her calling as a social worker when, as a volunteer, she came across a young boy who was afraid of washing his hands because his mother would scold him for wasting it. "I realised that there was a huge gap between what we were teaching and the reality of their lives."
Gopica and the other girls were chosen based on their ability to voice such ideas and present solutions. K. Saraswathi, Secretary General of the MCCI explained that the programme intended to identify leaders with a unique vision. Shreya Kallingal is one such visionary. Balancing her final year in Law and a Bachelor in Bharatanatyam, her big dream is to reform the education system in regards to gender sensitivity. "It came out of my personal frustration with having to deal with sexism in the administration and in the classroom environment," she admits.
Jayaprakash, Associate VP of Corporate Learning & Development at Great Lakes explained that the course was designed with a focus on society. We are trying to cover major topics like emotional intelligence, development economics and the idea of working within teams within the shortest period of time, he said. "They seem to have the ability to grasp complex ideas and systems, that helps with the entire process," he added. Harshitha Puligadda, a B.Tech student and artist, believes that her ability to think outside of the box was instrumental in her getting chosen.
As a part of the campaign, the girls were inducted into a vast network consisting of powerful authorities and organisations. Olivia Dullapalli, an electronics student from Delhi hopes that the networking opportunities will help her further her goal to become a civil servant and serve society. Sanjana Rao, a law student from Christ University, agrees, "I have always been passionate about conducting legal aid camps and social activism in general. Hopefully, with more experience and connectivity I can work towards that."
