Words have the power to bring revolutions and renaissance

Two wordsmiths from Apeejay School, Kharghar earned quite an achievement recently through their sheer flair for writing. Meet Ashmita Rudra and Shubhkarmun Singh from class XI who took the judges by the storm with their performance. In a candid interview, both share how the school helped them sail through the journey by tapping into their potential. 

“This competition was aimed at enlightening the students about Nobel Laureates and their revolutionary works for the field of science and to inspire the students. I won the second position in this prize in the section of “Physiology” and spoke about the research on mRNA done by Dr Drew Weissman and Dr Katalin Kariko. In the first round, we had to prepare an essay on the scientist and their research. After we qualified for the second round, we had to give an interview about our topics and answer certain related questions. The event was organised by Navi Mumbai Science Foundation (NMSF) in collaboration with Podar International School, CBSE, Nerul, Navi Mumbai,” shared Ashmita. 

So what did the preparation look like? “The key to my preparation was writing my whole content several times. I took it up as an opportunity where I could learn something new and enhance my viva skills. I referred to the material which was available on the Nobel Prize’s official site and also added a few more points from my end. My parents asked relevant questions based on my topic and it helped me tremendously,” expressed Shubhkurman.  

Highlighting Apeejay School’s support both went ahead to say unanimously that, “The school enriched our communication skills by hosting several Intra-school competitions and encouraging students to take part in them. I am thankful to all my school teachers and I would also like to thank our respected principal ma’am whose support and guidance are always with us.

What about the challenges faced during the competition? “The biggest challenge that I faced was the time when I was giving my interview. In the middle of my presentation, I was stuck. Words refused to come out of my mouth. I knew these things could cut our marks. But the way how our teachers trained us, helped me to overcome the issue. I took a deep breath and continued my presentation. This time I spoke slowly so that I got the time to process what I was saying. Meditating every day has also helped me to control my anxiety and reduce my stage fear,” shared Shubhkurman.

On a concluding note, both Ashmita and Shubhkurman unanimously propose that writing should be an integral part of every person’s life. “It gives us the liberty of thinking and creating our world where we can go when things get stressful. We become the masters of our world and the best part is, paper doesn’t judge you. It is also a way to solve many problems in the world, many misunderstandings can be avoided if you know how to place your words and writing is the best way to refine it,” they said in conclusion.