Mystory@Anvesha Padhy: How I selected my college and career path

I had chosen Commerce as my course of study in school. Being someone who has always had interest in numbers and accounts, Commerce had always seemed appealing to me. It also had a lot to do with my curiosity to learn the working of Business Houses. Accountancy and Costing were tough to study, the formula to understand them, once deciphered, was fun and interesting. The theoretical parts were boring and took a toll on me sometimes.

Presently, I am pursuing my Bachelor's degree in the field of Mass Communication and Journalism from National Institute of Mass Communication (NIMC), Delhi. Deciding upon what could trend is for me the most happening thing to do. The idea of extracting so much knowledge in diverse fields intrigued me. As such, NIMC has proved to be the best place to pursue the career I wanted to.

How I selected my college and course

I had applied for admission in Symbiosis as well as Xavier's Mumbai. Though I got selected in Symbiosis, destiny had something else for me. For NIMC, we had two rounds. One was an online examination and the other one was a personal interview. Since the former was more of a subjective question and answer pattern, I had more scope to present my answers. After the successful completion of the online examination round, we had to wait for two months that were among the cruelest time for all of us as we were needed to take our final decision soon and wisely.

The personal interview was easier. I had to be myself and also know a little background about the college. I did not take any coaching classes since the test had more to do with general knowledge and aptitude. As such, I used General Knowledge books as a reference. Manorama Yearbook was one important book, be it for any college preparation. Moreover, I had to regularly read newspapers to stay updated about the different events going on in the world.  Political, cultural, economic and social understanding is a vital part of appearing in any such examination. I chose National Institute of Mass Communication since its situated in Delhi. Delhi, being a hub of mass media, had to be the first choice on my list. As such, Symbiosis Pune was still kept as a backup option, till I dropped it after having been content with the academic facilities at NIMC.

How I made the most of my college years

NIMC has been an amazing hub of media knowledge. Since we have a maximum of practical workshops, my spare time is mostly invested in research, surveys and information collection. Out of the umpteen workshops and theory classes, I thoroughly enjoyed the film production session. The pre- and post- production, essentials of film making, technological know-how and storytelling styles were exciting.

NIMC has also helped us out with regular media visits and productive workshops. The intra-college talent hunts, society meets, workshops arranged at students' request contribute to an interesting learning process, equally attracting enthusiasm and benefiting the students with knowledge, beyond the syllabus. As a part of extracurricular, I love investing my time in plays. Since, this is my second year in the college, it might be early to elaborate on my experience.

College life, along with hostel tales has given my life a big twist. Remarkable as it is, college life has helped me to live with integrity. Every matter is dealt with maturity hereafter. Moreover, the college on academic lines, has exposed me to a wide range of career choices. Mass Communication, being a vast course, gives alternatives for one to decide their ultimate path, based on one's skills and interests. Apart from that, I am usually enthusiastic about the print media classes. The college offers sessions for hard news as well feature and soft story magazine preparation. This brushes my skills and style of writing. Moreover, it subjects me to a competitive spirit in the class and helps me improve myself accordingly.

I have been a part of three of six societies in the college, that is, NIMC Diaries (print), Cinegram (film production), and Communion (Advertisement and Public Relations). Since my prior interests lie in the field of writing, NIMC Diaries or the print society was also a priority. I have been responsible for blogging and managing the website. The film production society involves making of short films and reality-based videos, and posting them. This gives encouragement to potential actors, directors and screenplay writers among students. Moreover, the college also arranges Model United Nations, to keep us updated and brush our debating skills with logic and reasoning.

About the Author:

I am a nineteen year old kid from the eastern part of the country, an enthusiastic writer with good control on voice modulation. I am just living my own life like I always wanted. My passion lies in writing. Filmmaking is something that has been appealing to me lately. My aim is not yet fixed on a particular thing right now. However, anything print-related is more than welcome as a career option.