We are back with the prestigious ‘BITSAA 30 Under 30’ Award.

Every three years, we dedicate these awards to all those young BITSians who thought and acted differently, who challenged the status quo, rewrote the rules, and created their own paths, to the best examples of what it means to be a BITSian.
We recently interviewed Anitha Alappat who won the award in 2009 under the Leadership Category. Here follows the interview –

Q.  Please enlighten us about your work for which you won the BITSAA 30 Under 30 Award.

I won the award in the Leadership category. After BITS, I did a masters in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and then joined General Motors India at their Technical Center. I was the only engineer in their Indian team who was trained in using AutoMod, a simulation software used for throughput simulations. Additionally I was involved with several other initiatives within and outside the organization, including being a training needs coordinator, member of GM Women’s council, Dream A Dream, and Navgati. Later, I attended Indian School of Business, Hyderabad specializing in Strategy and Leadership. Post ISB I joined MEMC (now SunEdison), a semiconductor manufacturing company in their Product Marketing team. I have always been passionate about education and learning and development, and in 2013 finally plunged officially into this domain! I am currently Head of Operations at an education consulting company based in Dubai, UAE. I manage their local operations as well as new product/market strategy for teacher training and recruitment. Until few months before I was an active member of BITSAA International as well as the BITSAA Middle East Chapter.

Q. What does it take to become a woman leader?

Everything that takes to become a man leader, plus an extra dose of perseverance and self-confidence!! There are always more people telling a woman that she can’t do something than people telling her that she can do it. If a woman is able to find the strength within herself to achieve whatever she wants, then nothing can stop her.

Q. Mention that one thing which you pursued in your BITSian life which played the most important role in making the present Anitha Alappat?

Always trying out new things and being part of initiatives that seemed interesting to me!

Q. What does this award mean to you?

This award is one of my most cherished achievements, an honor I am extremely proud of. It was at BITS that my leadership skills blossomed and I consider this award as a recognition from the alumni community for putting those skills to good use. 🙂

Q. We might be having several BITSians who would be unsure if they should get them nominated. What message do you put forward to them?

Go for it! My name was suggested by someone else and I wasn’t sure at all that I should submit a nomination. Finally I decided to do it, and its been one of the best decisions in my life so far. 🙂

BITSAA International calls for nominations for the prestigious 30 Under 30 Awards.

Know someone whose work shines brightly in one of the above areas?

Nominate them now -> http://bit.ly/1HBCpbA

To know more about the 30 under 30 awards, go here ->http://bit.ly/1JdGyXo
Nominations end – June 30th, 2015.

BITSAA International is a global, inclusive all-volunteer organization representing BITS Pilani Alumni. The association’s leadership team comprises of highly talented and dedicated BITSians who continually put enormous amount of effort and enthusiasm in working on its activities. There are over 40 chapters around the world under the aegis of BITSAA and over 20 initiatives that serve 30,000 BITSians. It takes the dedication of over 150 BITSAA volunteers to make the organization continue its work. Over time, we keep passing the baton to new volunteers and rejuvenating the association with new ideas and new vision.

December 5 is International Volunteer Day, established by the United Nations in 1985 to recognize the important role volunteers play in making a difference locally, nationally and globally.

On International Volunteer Day 2014, volunteerism is celebrated and recognized in all its facets. International Volunteer Day 2014 highlights the contribution of volunteers in engaging people from the grassroots in decision-making processes, ultimately creating space for participation that leads to: stronger governance, social cohesion, peace and sustainable development.

BITSAA International would like to mark the occasion of International Volunteer Day by extending a warm thank-you to its volunteers. A huge shout out for all the people who have been associated with BITSAA in the past or present!

Also, in honor of International Volunteer Day 2014, BITSAA International conjoins hundreds of organizations across the world in celebrating the contribution of volunteers by announcing the Volunteer of the Month Award for November 2014.

Join us in acknowledging volunteers’ participation, engagement and voice, in shaping the initiatives BITSAA undertakes. We are immensely glad to present the award to – Shashwat Nandan from the Fundraising team and Siddharth Mehta from the Career Center team. Let us hear it from the winners themselves:-

Shashwat Nandan, Fundraising Team

“I had joined BITSAA in September, 2013 in the fundraising team with the goal of contributing towards our alma mater. It has been an incredible journey beyond my expectations, interacting & working with most dynamic & intellectual people. I am currently working on two projects- eStore revamping & operations and India credit card alliance. BITSAA nurtures leadership & encourages innovative ideas. I would like to continue working with this esteemed & selfless group of individuals for the fun of facing challenges & ideate to solve them.  I hope to get involved in many more projects in future to help our alma mater & students of BITS.-Shashwat Nandan”

Siddharth Mehta, Career Center

“I would to like to thank BITSAA for the appreciation. I joined the Career Center team in order to be a part of a very useful project and for the learning experience associated with developing the product. In the past few months I have been working independently with plenty of responsibility and have learned a bunch of things in the process which I wouldn’t have otherwise. The team worked very efficiently and the results were really good. I am really looking forward to our future plans to take our work to the next level.- Siddharth Mehta”

Indeed, BITSAA International is fortunate to have such brilliant volunteers.