IEEE’s WIE Congress - Day2 

We all were so excited that we couldn’t get proper sleep. We were in NIT Warangal! Some of us decided to explore the territory on foot. We circled the campus three times. We were physically tired; mentally we wanted to keep going. There were canteens, Nescafé stalls, a humongous library and a central building with the name “NIT WARANGAL” with a lovely fountain before it and the surrounding filled with well maintained, different varieties of roses and other fragrant flowers. That aroma made me feel nostalgic. 

They had a spectacular stadium, individual courts for Tennis, Basketball with different terrains with an attractive blue color. Since it was a big campus, the students use cycles to travel. There were separate buildings for each Departments consisting of an Incubation Center and an Innovation Center. The place was overflowing with greenery. It felt peaceful when the cold air touched our hot brows. We were profusely exuding sweat by running through the stunning campus. 

 We returned to our rooms to freshen up and to start for the event.

During our stay in Warangal, we never got the chance to see our Sun. It was pouring the whole time. We were late by an hour to the venue where the event was to start at 9:30am. All the speakers arrived and were waiting for the students.

 The speakers of Day 2 are as follows: 

          1) Mrs. Taskeen Fathima Basha, YouTube Creator at the Urban Fight.

          2) Mrs. C. S. Rama Lakshmi, Retd. Indian Forest Service Officer, Advisor for National Women Parliament 

          3) Prof. Vijayalaxmi, Chairperson WIE AG, IEEE Hyderabad Section 

The minute we entered the room, there was a young, energetic woman giving a speech with a powerful body language. She showed no signs nervousness and was dominating the crowd with her powerful stage presence. She is Mrs. Taskeen Fathima Basha, who is the creator of the YouTube channel, Urban Fight. It turns out she is also a fitness trainer & Technology Analyst at Infosys Tech Ltd. 

Her session was totally about being a good orator & about good presentation skills. Her greatest advice to us on health where she stressed five things ( Drink water; No junk food; sleep; Exercise; Speak out your problems). Her session ended on a serious note saying that, you may not be happy with your current self. But believe me, everything changes over time! And explained it with a short story. 

Our next speaker was a dominant old lady with a commanding voice with a smile on her face. She was none other than Mrs. C. S. Rama Lakshmi, a former member of the IFS. Her session covered the topics ranging from basic needs of a person to personal life management. She clearly distinguished between Introverted and Extroverted personalities; leading a life with negativity and positivity. 

Wisdom and knowledge are two very different things! , she said and continued with an example. She lamented that Indians lack punctuality and the urge to diver deeper to learn. Finally, she concluded her session by spreading an important message: 

                                         You can do everything, 

                                         -But not all at once 

                                         -if it is important for you

                                         -if you have limitations

                                         -by other’s help.

 We often take the burden to do everything on our own and forget that it is not in our ability to accomplish everything single handedly. Here comes the concept of team work and planning. It is important to keep in mind that, we always need help to succeed.

Surprisingly, all this time, the students were just quietly seated without any active participation. It resembled a typical classroom situation where the class is never as interactive as expected. This was taken up by Prof. Vijayalaxmi, who explained about the difficulties faced to arrange such a meet & the efforts will be wasted when the students make the best use of speakers. She reminded us to have a learning attitude and wished up best of luck for the future.

Prof. Vijayalaxmi said that her tenure will end in December 2017. She expects her to be called as a guest for the next WIE congress which is to be conducted on the same dates in 2018 as, she wants all of us to never forget this platform and all the wonderful memories we made in these two days.

At 3:30pm, all the events came to an end. Now, this was the bitter sweet truth that all of us had to accept. It was time for the Valedictory Ceremony. Before that, on the big screen, all the lovely photographs were shown. It was both a happy and a sad moment for all of us. I could see tears welled up in the eyes of many students. We all felt nostalgic looking at the fun moments we all had together in these two days.

 Then, a representative of each college had to speak about his experiences on this trip and also offer some advice on how to improve this meeting the next time. Students from KMIT, NMREC, SR etc. spoke. The advice offered was “To make the sessions more long!” which showed how enveloped we were with the event.

 Then came the Valedictory Ceremony, followed by Vote of Thanks. Mementos were given to the organizers and speakers to make this event a grand success. And also, a special thanks to the photographers and the videographers who were very involved in capturing every special moment. 

The only thing left was the Final Photographs session. All the students, faculty from their respective colleges were to come on the stage to take a picture with the chief guests and speakers. Then, the whole room was to accumulate near the dais to get a pic of the IEEE’s WIE Family. It was such a warm moment; everybody had goosebumps, felt like the final moment from the movie “Happy Days”. I feel like a special bond had been made with all the students.

 All the respective groups were busy clicking selfies, exchanging contact information and promising to be in touch. 

All the accommodators had to empty their respective rooms at NIT and depart to their homes. Actually speaking, this felt like home, where we all were part of a big family set out to reach new goals while supporting each other all the way. We did not want to leave. But the harsh truth is, this is the end.

We thus bid adieu to all our new friends hoping to meet someday at someplace on a platform like this one. It was a happy-sad ending. Ironically, we could see the sun setting, reminding us that a new day full of new and exciting adventures is waiting for us. We rode off into the sunset hoping to return again someday.

                                                           La Fin

                                                         (The End)