By Asmita Deshmukh
Hi …Congratulations to all Global Shapers of Generation 2018! At the end of the application phase and before we enter into the next phase, I would like to share my experience of the application process which I found very enriching…
Global Shapers! I heard these words maybe a few weeks after I joined Arcadis when a colleague was explaining to me what it is all about. What my tiny brain grasped is – Global Shapers is something where you have to make a one minute video and you get to go to some foreign country! The prize of winning was big enough to lure me to apply for it and I decided to be a Global Shaper at any cost!
This happened around eight months ago. Days flew and I could see my ‘firm’ decision fading away with time! They declared important dates and by this time I had realized that it’s not that easy to get into Global Shapers…
But the theme declared – ‘future cities’ caught my interest. It was talking about us in future! Seniors and previous year’s Global Shapers from Transport Planning team motivated us to apply. Everyone in the team who were aspiring to apply were busy thinking about an idea and discussing about each other’s ideas was a good food for our brains. Other people in the team were suggesting ideas to us for our application. That was a week of brainstorming and cooperation! After 7-8 days of unsuccessful thinking exercises, an idea struck me out of nowhere! It was Friday night and the deadline for application was Monday morning and here began the rollercoaster ride!
On Saturday I travelled two hours to go to my friend and colleague Rohan’s place to shoot the video. He being a good photographer shot the video nicely and agreed to my requests for innumerable retakes with great patience! Saturday night was spent in learning more about video editing software and Sunday full day and night spent in video editing and finishing the three-step application process. Bipin who is a Global Shaper from last year gave many important tips to improve the effectiveness of the video.
Everyone who applied in the last moment like me must have experienced the same thrill and sleepless nights! But it was such a fun and refreshing experience! The application process also made me realize that Global Shapers is not mere a chance to go to some foreign country, but it is something much bigger than that. It makes you think and work hard on your idea and when that idea is appreciated, the feeling is heavenly!!!
Thank you all my friends and colleagues who supported and encouraged me throughout the process! I am sure the coming days will offer more fun and learning experiences!
