Youth is a major force whose energy needs to be channelized not only for their self-development but also for the betterment of our society. In this aspect, our past records reveal that “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” St. Augustine’s Day School Shyamnagar has been highly instrumental in opening a wide spectrum of opportunities before the Students of classes VIII to XII by organizing “The Augusto Zenith Career Fair" on 30th November 2022 Shyamnagar in the school premises.
The event was inaugurated at 11.00 am with a solemn prayer followed by a session of paying homage to the founding father, Late Mr. C.R.Gasper, and lighting of the lamp by Mrs.Janet Gasper Chowdhury, the President of St. Augustine Education Society, Principal, Reverend Rodney Borneo, Governing Body member, Mrs.M.R.Ghosh, Vice Principal, Mr. K.Bagchi and the Head Mistresses on the school field. The President and Governing Body members were felicitated by the school Principal. This was followed by interesting sessions in various stalls allocated for 24 universities and also a motivational speech by illustrious and distinguished personalities from various fields of education that began slot-wise successively.
The opening speech was given by the guest speaker, Col. Sukesh Verma who boosted the students through his invigorating speech on the facilities and perks of joining the Indian Army. He not only gave the students an insight into the rigorous and disciplined army life but also provided significant success mantras that in general can assist every student to excel in their own career paths.
The opening session was successful in charging the morale of the students and making them keen for more. Although the fair was intended primarily for classes X and XII, the response of classes VIII, IX and X was also overwhelming.
A day before the Career Fair, a psychometric test was conducted by the Kingston Education Institute for the students of class XII with the aim of acquainting them with their true potential and thus guiding them to choose the appropriate career path as indicated by their potential.
There was a session with Wing Commander, Subba Rao of the Indian Air Force enlightening the students on the qualifications and qualities essential for becoming a part of the Air Force. A plethora of universities participated in the event to guide the students in choosing their dream career options.
The new school building was abuzz with aspiring careerists interacting with the representatives from various reputed universities namely Techno India, St. Xavier's University, Adamas University, Kingston Education Institute, Pearl Academy, Dayanand University, Sister Nivedita University, NSHM, Krea University, Institute of Company Secretary and so on.
Students were accompanied by their parents who were guided by the representatives of the respective universities regarding the courses offered by them and their endeavor in shaping students' careers. Among this mind-boggling crowd of universities and seminars, there were food stalls with mouth-watering delicacies ready to be served to career-crazed individuals.
Stalwarts from an array of careers were invited to inform the students of their respective career prospects along with the professional demands of the same. Each session was curated in a way to provide a glimpse of reality with respect to different professions.
Dr. Priyankar Singha, Assistant Professor at the University of Calcutta and a specialist in the fields of Clinical Psychology and Organizational Behavior, introduced the Augustinians to a broad spectrum of Psychology as a profession and the detailed procedure of choosing Psychology as a profession.
Mr. Indrashish Chatterjee who is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, sales trainer and a startup mentor, gave a stimulating speech, acquainting the students with the harsh reality of the outer world saying, “After your school life, you will be out there. None of your dear teachers or anyone is going to protect you anymore.”
This session was followed by the famous actor Mr. Anindya Banerjee who inspired the students with his magical words and demonstrated the difference between real and reel and gave valuable counsel on choosing acting as a career. One of his lines that hit many students was, “Maybe there is no other career in the world where you need to know so much except for Acting because here, you need to know about literature, feel the poetry, understand and appreciate paintings.” The enthralling session was followed by an autograph and selfie session with the actor. When we talk about acting as a profession, fashion cannot remain far behind.
Renowned Fashion Designer, Mr. Debjyoti Goswami introduced his young listeners to the various aspects of Fashion Designing and how they can pursue it as a course of study.
Nilanjana Mukherjee, an alumnus of IIM, representing ISHRAE, enthralled everyone with her introduction to ISHRAE and how it can be a lucrative career option.
Akshay Agarwal, a successful Chartered Accountant having 7+ years of experience in business and technology risk consulting, shared his knowledge and experience with Commerce students, many of whom aspire to become future CAs.
Aspiring medical enthusiasts had an extremely captivating session with medical personnel and ex-Augustinian, Dr. Snehangshu Mishra, informing them about the demands and prospects of choosing Medical Science as their profession. He answered numerous questions with an amazing display of patience.
Ms. Samarpita Ray Chaudhuri, Executive WBCS and Deputy Director of Small Savings, posted in Midnapore, traveled all the way to Shyamnagar to brief the students about selecting Civil Services as a career path. She laid bare the pros and cons of becoming a civil servant. She insisted that to crack the civil service examinations the key is diligence and not intelligence.
Within the short span of less than an hour, Ms. Ray Chaudhuri gave a complete picture of how one can become a WBCS officer. This was the concluding session that was packed with infotainment. Not only students, teachers even gained a thorough insight into the rubrics of the profession.
The entire school campus was animated by the young career enthusiasts of St. Augustine's Day School Shyamnagar oscillating from one corner to another in thirst of knowledge and guidance. It was a lively day for everyone. To quote Shakespeare, "All's well that ends well", the Augusto Zenith Career Fair 2022 ended with spine-chilling music & dance performances by school students which marked the perfect ending for such an important day in a student’s life.