This is the next segment of our blog series highlighting Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors who achieved the Gold milestone and have recently graduated from university. Each blog in the series features a different student and highlights their accomplishments, their experience with the Student Ambassadors community, and what they’re up to now.
Today we meet Nancy who is from India and graduated from KIET Group of Institutions with a Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
When you joined the Student Ambassador community in January of 2020, did you have specific goals you wanted to reach, such as a particular skill or quality? Did you achieve them? How has the program impacted you in general?
I have always loved Microsoft's mission statement--"to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more". When I joined this program, I wanted to contribute my bit in fulfilling the mission statement. I had joined the program with a very clear mindset to extend my learning curves and help others in extending theirs. I wanted to use this platform as a way to touch people's lives and make an impact in a positive direction.
I am proud that I was able to achieve my goal I had for myself back then and will continue to empower others in future as well. It in fact turned out to be a much more enriching journey than I had imagined it to be. Microsoft offers such useful learning resources, especially Microsoft Learn that genuinely helps bridge the gap between college and industry. The program didn't only help me enhance my technical skills but also my non-technical skills. I find myself much more confident and can see the changes the program brought in me in terms of team work abilities, leadership skills, communication skills, taking my passion in technologies and my goal to change the world for good to even higher levels.
The program has helped me in terms of networking as well. Today I have friends from all over the globe. Getting a chance to interact with and learn from so many like-minded people, be it the Program Managers, the Microsoft Cloud Advocates, or other Student Ambassadors, the journey has been a really exciting and fruitful one.
What are the accomplishments that you’re the proudest of and why?
Definitely the Voice of Code initiative, a global technical blogging community run by Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors. I, along with an extremely talented team of Student Ambassadors, started this initiative to help people understand the importance of content creation, help them be a great technical blogger, and most importantly, provide them a platform to make sure their work reaches the desired audience. We have Team Leads from 5 different countries, so not sharing the same time zones has been a challenging task for us. We have learnt a lot, especially how to be adaptable. We all are proud of this journey. Moreover, the satisfaction of contributing to the growth of the community is something beyond words.
What do you have planned now that you’ve graduated? What’s next for you after the university?
I am now a Software Engineer at Info Edge India Limited, India’s premier online classifieds company in recruitment, matrimony, real estate, education, and related services.
Something that I always believe in is that "Learning never stops", so I look forward to having an amazing learning journey ahead as well, to explore the various possibilities and be a change for good. I will continue to contribute to the community and help everyone in every aspect and encourage everyone to reach out to me in case they need any assistance.
If you could redo your time as a Student Ambassador, is there anything you would have done differently?
The only thing that I might want to redo is if I was aware of the program before and had joined earlier, I would have got more time in the program. I would also not waste even a single minute and started interacting with other Ambassadors from the time I joined the program because I didn't use to do much interaction on Teams initially. But overall, I don't regret anything. I am happy that I was a part of it, and this is undoubtedly one of the most memorable experiences of my college life.
If you were to describe the community to a student who is interested in joining, what would you say about it to convince him or her to join?
I would say this:
If you are passionate about creating a difference with technology and empowering others, if you are looking for something for both your personal and professional development, if you want to spend your time of student life in something you will never regret, then this, my friend, is the perfect platform to address your wishes and will actually help you towards being a better person. You will learn so many qualities unexpectedly and will see yourself putting them into action in your daily life. The support, guidance, and motivation is unending in the program, as you see so many inspiring people here. You are never alone. The whole program is like a family. Everyone is so welcoming and kind. You will never feel like a stranger. Every day I learn from others, and others learn from me. This cycle of healthy mutual growth is something you have to experience. I highly recommend everyone to apply for this program.
What advice would you give to new Student Ambassadors?
I would say this to all Ambassadors:
First, explore as much as you can. It's a program where how much time you invest in it, the more you learn. Don't leave any opportunity. Participate in everything without the fear of failure.
Second, accept constructive criticism and never stop working on yourself towards your journey of being a better person. Take one step every day, no matter how small, to be a better version of you than yesterday. Learn from your mistakes.
Third, believe in yourself. Lack of confidence will lead to lack of consistency. Once you believe you can, your mind will start giving you reasons as to why you can. Instead of thinking you don't know right now, you choose to have a growth mindset and start learning it.
Just be yourself. Don't compare with others.
What is your motto in life, your guiding principle?
Always be kind, no matter what. We can never judge what the other person might be going through. Kindness is something that doesn't cost you anything but can make someone else's day. Spread smiles, spread positivity. The world needs more of that.
What is one random fact about you that few people are aware of?
I am actually a good carrom player. It helps me relax and at the same time is a good exercise for my brain to focus and enjoy at the same time.
Fellow Student Ambassadors and community members, you can always reach Nancy at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy011/
Good luck to you in the future, Nancy!
Posted at https://sl.advdat.com/3teBNJv
