Page 57 - DAIS Insignia 2021-2022

LEADERSHIP SERIES Mr. Varun Sheth is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ketto.org, Asia's largest online

crowdfunding platform which fuels a wide variety of sustainable causes, right from
fundraising for start-ups to fundraising for medical purposes. Mr. Sheth's journey in
the social impact sector began early in his college days. He volunteered with NGOs
such as 'The Akshara Foundation' and 'Care India'. These cumulative experiences led
him to have a deep understanding of the functioning of NGOs as well as the structural
Continuing the spirit set by India's achievements in the 2020 Summer Olympics and
Paralympics, the DAIS Leadership Series was pleased to welcome Mr. Viren Rasquinha and operational challenges they face on a day to day basis. During his stints with the
on 30th September 2021. Former captain of the Indian National Hockey Team, NGOs, he soon realized that technology and the transparency gap between the donor
Olympian and Director and CEO of Olympic Gold Quest, Mr. Rasquinha covered stories and the recipient were the major roadblocks in the funding process. With an aim to
of his rise to being a professional hockey player; the importance of dedication and address that gap, Mr. Sheth launched Ketto, short for 'Key to Tomorrow', in August
commitment in his life as well as his journey helping the next generation of athletes 2012, and the platform has since become a carrier of change for many. Mr. Sheth's talk
excel at the biggest stage with the Olympic Gold Quest. After an illustrious career was one that filled students with hope. His focus on his failures before finally
playing for the Indian national hockey team, winning the Junior World Cup in 2001 for succeeding was extremely inspiring. “Only the fortunate fail” was a recount of
the first time ever in the history of Indian hockey and representing the country at the instances where he 'failed' and this inspired students. Mr. Sheth answered questions
2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Mr. Rasquinha chose to retire at the age of 28 to DAIS students had about both the business model of Ketto, and the interaction proved
go on and earn his MBA from the Indian School of Business. Mr. Rasquinha now leads to be extremely inspiring. Mr. Varun Sheth
the Olympic Gold Quest, a Not for Profit Company, which is committed to helping
Indian athletes to win Olympic Gold medals. Mr. Rasquinha's talk highlighted his
experience working with some of the best Indian athletes, such as P.V Sindhu and
Mira Bai Chanu, and the untold stories behind their achievements. He interacted
Mr. Viren Rasquinha with students and teachers about mental health & sports and the ways of maintaining The DAIS Leadership Series was honoured to welcome Ms Saina Nehwal, an Indian
focus during tough times. professional badminton player who has won numerous international titles. She is the
first Indian badminton player to have won an Olympic medal along with being the only
Indian to have won the BWF World Junior Championships. Saina Nehwal is regarded as
one of the most successful sportspeople in India, to this end she has even been
New Delhi-born and New York-based culinary authority Suvir Saran is the author of awarded the Padma Bhushan, Arjuna Award and Major Dhyan Chand Khel award by
three celebrated cookbooks: Indian Home Cooking, American Masala, and Masala the Indian government. Ms. Nehwal addressed students from grades 5-12, talking
Farm, and the chef-creator of THC, The House of Celeste, a modern Indian restaurant about her achievements in the field of sport. Her talk dug deeper into her journey to
in Gurgaon. His Slice of Life column appears fortnightly in the Sunday Eye magazine of success, and her commitment toward her goals. She imparted a great deal of
Indian Express. Mr. Saran's approachable style helped demystify Indian cuisine and
knowledge on the topic of learning from your failures as well as celebrating your
earned him the first Michelin star awarded to an Indian restaurant in America.
successes. She focused on the importance of commitment, and the necessity to
Mr. Saran uses food as a bridge to bring peoples together. In his eye opening talk,
continue to work even when things get difficult. She concluded her talk with
Mr. Saran spoke largely about how his childhood greatly influenced his identity and
a question and answer session with our students where she answered questions
inspired him to chase his dream. He encouraged each and every student to first and
foremost, dive deeper into their individual culture and heritage. Thereafter, he advised Ms. Saina Nehwal ranging from her opinion on sports, her pre-game rituals, her attitude towards losing
students to explore the diversity of various countries and ethnic communities. a game and dealing with physical barriers that affected her career.
Mr. Saran brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm by responding candidly to every
burning question that the students asked him. He elaborated on the process of
establishing an Indian restaurant in a foreign nation and the challenges one might
face. It can be said with certainty that Mr. Saran very successfully engaged the students Mr. Suvir Saran The Leadership Series is an incredible platform to interact with and learn from success stories across various fields. For this reason, when
in an eye-opening talk and perhaps even fostered a goal for a few aspiring chefs.
contacting speakers we make a conscious decision to include speakers from various fields - entrepreneurship, environmentalism,
sports, management, medicine since we know that our school is full of multifaceted individuals who are interested to persue varied
fields of work.Once the speaker agrees to a speak at the event, we fix a date
and a time according to their schedule. A Microsoft Teams meeting is
A Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee, Dr. Advani is one of India's pioneering scheduled for this date and time. Post this, we send out an Instagram post
oncologists, and the Director of the Department of Medical Oncology at the Jaslok and an email to all the students and teachers inviting them to the event.
Hospital and Research Centre in Mumbai. He is the first and best oncologist in India to Finally on event day, we make meet the speaker to explain the flow one last
have successfully done a bone-marrow transplant. Dr. Advani began his speech with
an inspiring message for all students- “The future belongs to those who believe in the time and then we can successfully begin the event! After every talk, students
beauty of their dreams.” Being chained to a wheelchair since the age of 8, find answers to questions they didn't even know they had. The opportunity
Dr. Advani had many moments in his life where the only thing that pushed him further to interact with leaders from the top of their respective fields allows students
was his belief in his dream. He said success is like an iceberg. People can only see the to make informed decisions about what they want to study in the future and
top - the illustrious merits, awards and recognition. Down below, however, lies the get a head start in choosing a career perfect for them. The opportunity to ask
persistence, hard work, discipline, innumerous failures and disappointment.
Dr. Advani went on to stress on the significance of failures and disappointment. He questions and directly interact with each speaker allows them to get the best
encouraged the students to think positively and keep on going. “Don't think that you understanding of what different jobs across various different fields entail.
can't do it. Successful students don't give up, even in the most daunting situations.” With each talk, we also get a better understanding of what the student body
Dr. Advani also explained that belief alone cannot get you to where you want to be and wants to hear and speakers they would like to hear from. The diversity of
that one should be willing to work hard. Students were awed by the stories interests of the student body is beyond incredible, making the leadership
Dr. Advani shared about his practice and his experiences in the medical field.
Dr. Suresh Advani He elaborately answered questions posed by some of the budding doctors in our series a worthwhile experience, with a wide array of speakers covering every Student Leadership Team
school and boosted student confidence levels. possible field of work. Sriya Bodapati, Annsh Navle and Sanaa Beriwala

54 55