Field Hockey Personal Narrative

From my childhood, education was close to my heart. As the eldest grandchild, my maternal grandparents indulged me a lot. When I was nine, I asked them why they sold everything they had to move to a city. In response, my grandfather simply pointed his gnarled finger to the framed diploma of his eldest daughter, my mother. That gesture answered many questions. It answered why my mother nagged my brother about his studies. It answered why she tears up every time I ask her why she didn’t work like others. That incident helped me realize the lengths parents go to educate their children. I learnt how closely a child’s education is bound to the dreams of the parents in middle and low class families. I started working harder to improve my grades.

I learned that education is not limited to books but permeates to every aspect of one’s life. Teachers, peers, seniors and juniors, every obstacle, every experience taught me lessons. Living with 70 students with highly diverse backgrounds taught me how to view understand different perspectives.

Field hockey, my favorite sport, was the stepchild in our school. In 10th grade, I initiated coaching juniors in field hockey for three times a week. It received a tremendous response. Teaching them early helped us make them better players by the time they reached 10th grade. The idea worked when the same juniors represented our school at a national level for the first time in 3 decades.

In 12th grade, I was appointed as house prefect and assistant editor for our school magazine. At the age of 16, I became the commander and guide of 160 14-17 year olds and accountable for their education, discipline, physical fitness, health and hygiene for the entire year. In a school that ranked studies as the last priority, I worked hard to instill the value for education in my wards. I enforced the buddy system, which boosted the grades of tutor and

Over a period, I saw that attendance levels dropped considerably on either side of school holidays. This severely affected the absentee’s growth. At this juncture, parents protested our move to enforce compulsory attendance in classes. I held community meetings with parents and convinced them to prioritize children’s education. By teaching the importance of education, I encouraged parents to invest in their children’s education. I started volunteering for TCS adult literacy programs and village development initiatives after joining them in 2010. After I switched companies to Pegasystems in 2012, I became an active member of Pega