In the grand tapestry of life, there are stories that stand out, demanding to be shared. Among these, one holds special significance: my first presentation to actual judges. This story is a snapshot from my journey at the National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) at the state level, held at KV IIT Powai.
Let me clarify upfront before any confusion sets in—I did not attend IIT Powai for this event but I attended a Kendriya Vidyalaya in the same cluster as IIT. This was the 30th Congress, held on the 2nd and 3rd of November, 2022. As one of the youngest participants in 9th grade in the 14-17 age category, I found myself among mostly 11th graders. Out of approximately 40 participants, only three, including myself, were not seniors.
If you’ve followed my previous blog posts, you might recall my trip to Jaipur for an IDEATHON. Fresh from the event at Jaipur, I was still buzzing with excitement when my classmates told me about the NCSC event. I had already received the notification via WhatsApp, inviting me to participate. Sounds straightforward, right? But here’s the twist: we had a qualification round the very next day. This wasn’t a mere “show your progress” check-in; an actual scientist from the Homi Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, was coming to evaluate us.
With no preparations or even a clue about what was expected, I initially laughed at myself and soon panicked. The former “leader” of our group had decided, without consulting me, that I would be the one to give the presentation. To make matters worse, the topic was Mangroves—biology and geography, two subjects I wasn't too keen about at the time. As the reality set in, our “leader” promptly resigned, leaving me and my bench partner to sort out the mess.
It was the third period of school when I realized the gravity of the situation. We needed a polished PowerPoint presentation and a well-written report by the next morning. With these thoughts echoing in my mind, I informed the teacher in charge that we were starting from scratch on the topic "Technological Innovation in health an well-being". Surprisingly, she wasn’t fazed. Whether she trusted me or simply didn’t care, I’ll never know (we didn’t exactly have the best student-teacher relationship in 8th grade when she was my science teacher).
I reached out to the ATL in-charge, my physics teacher at the time. He bombarded me with questions like, “How will you complete this?” and “Is this the way?” After another discussion with the teacher in charge, we were granted the entire day to work on desktops and gather enough material for the presentation. We worked on building assistive technology for the blind.
With relentless effort, we spent the whole day at school crafting a presentable write-up and a basic structure for the Presentation. We also built two prototypes. Thanks to the support of our teachers and my dad, we were ready to present the next day. Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous. The previous day’s panic had left me feeling oddly calm. We presented our work at ATL to the scientist, who appreciated our efforts. By then, I was the leader of ATL, so I believe I had already made a positive impression.
As presentations wrapped up, we learned that our score was the highest among all participants. This achievement, ranking first with only a fraction of the preparation time others had, remains a proud moment. However, we didn’t rest on our laurels. We immediately began refining our work and conducting more research to prepare for the main event.
Two weeks later, I found myself in a classroom filled with strangers, all two grades above me. Overwhelmed but determined, I prepared for the two-day event. My presentation was scheduled first on the second day. While I didn’t secure a rank, I did win the hearts of the judges—professors from IIT—and students from across Maharashtra.
This was my second experience facing defeat at a competitive level, but it was far from discouraging. The lessons learned were invaluable, and I knew more opportunities lay ahead. Until then, I waited with an ever-growing hunger for success.
Do you have any incidence from your school life that stands out in your memory? Why not share it with me and other readers of this blog? Comment below and I will love to read every one of them.
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