7th grader organises talk show by achievers

To encourage her peers to dream big, 12-year-old Ashna Surana came up with an idea that she felt was bound to ignite the fire of ambition in them. The germ of the idea emerged from a casual conversation that Ashna, a class 7 student of Sishya school, Chennai, was having with her mother, Ekta. Ekta asked her what she wanted to become when she grew up – to which Ashna had no ready answer. That led them to think about various career opportunities and they then concluded that the best way to get on to the right path was to hear from those who had lessons to share about achieving success.

“We then made videos, featuring some successful people, such as Arun Jain, chairman of Polaris, Armaan Ebrahim, India’s Formula One racer, V R Mehta, a Padmashri awardee for devising the Jaipur foot, etc,” Ashna says. What they said made clear that success was a result of persistence and undying passion.

This crystallised into ‘I can – therefore I am’, an event that will be held at the Chinmaya Heritage Centre on November 21. The speakers at the event are young achievers like 14-year-old Lalitha Prasida, Google Science Fair winner 2015 and Vedanth Thaker, a science innovator, who have been mentored by a core committee. Ekta says the event will be a regular annual affair. “We will be inviting applications from students who can also win cash prizes and will be exposed to a range of activities that can help them realise their dreams,” she says. As for Ashna’s dream, she has kept three options open: forensics, music and painting. Schools interested in attending the event can contact 9840341650, 9962050609.

Lalitha Prasida - Google Science fair winner 2015

Sravana and Sanjay - Youngest app developers

Chitresh Tatha -Youngest sailor

Vedanth Thaker- Science innovator