The college did not just train me on the technical grounds, but on the overall personality aspect too, says Shivam

Coming out of Class 12 back in 2010; I was not really sure of which career line to choose and which college/university to attend. Becoming an engineer was never on cards because of which I also did not write my JEE. I had secured some 80 per cent in my Class 12 (ISC) and getting myself a Journalism degree from Delhi University looked like the best option for me back then as I also had some bit of interest in it. But again, I did not essentially aspire to become an engineer, to be honest.

However, like most of Indian families, there was a huge amount of peer pressure that I had self-assumed in regards to my career path selection. While my parents were really supportive in regards to what domain I choose for myself, they still wanted me to take the decision not in any external influence or in a haste. So, If not anything else; I at least knew that the career path has to be one where I can find long-term security and which gets me good earnings as well. Primarily, that is where I zeroed into Engineering as the right career path purely because of the security and employability aspect. Also, engineering makes someone an eternal problem solver (whether than it is within a job or outside of it.) Now came the inevitable part and the difficult puzzle to solve - which was to select the college. It was the time to bite the bullet. IIT’s were not an option because I didn’t give JEE, however, It did happen that I wrote my AIEEE and secured a decent rank in it. My family insisted on dropping and finding a way into IIT’s after a year of coaching at Kota / Bansal classes. But I had made up my mind that I would still find a good college for myself; what if it is not an IIT.

My search for colleges began. The criteria for me were simple. The college ought to have the following qualities/aspect being met :

- It needs to have a green and clean surrounding as it will be a big factor to remain motivated in the studies and any other curricular activity that I pick up. Staying healthy is obviously the biggest benefit out of a clean/non polluting environment.

- The college should have had a great legacy to it; that I don’t even have to convince my parents or anyone else of its heritage and the wonders that it can do to my career in the future. The trust factor is indispensable.

- The management of the college should, by all means, think best for its students, in terms of investing in good laboratories, arranging good career seminars, providing cutting-edge technical training and above everything else should maintain a disciplined yet friendly atmosphere for its students.

- The placements have to be really good. The placement cell should be encouraging its students to take up industrial training which aid in getting ready for off-campus placement drives that happen.

- And an important one is to organise good sports and extra-curricular activities as part of the annual calendar. Again, a very important aspect for the overall development of the Student.

- An engineering student, when passing out of this college; should be the best fit for any possible job role in his/her domain. It can only happen when the student and the college, both invest in the student’s development.

Then, Amrapali Group of Institutes came across to be that one college that sort of qualified in each of these aspects. I was anyway always intrigued to spend some years in the holy state of Uttarakhand. I recall that when I was attending the Uttarakhand State Counselling, I did have a couple of more Uttarakhand colleges to choose from, eg, BIAS, DIT, etc. However, after seeing Amrapali’s website and researching about it; I got convinced that this is the college for me.

My entire 4 years at Amrapali, pursuing my BTech; would remain the most enjoyable and prominent time of my academic life. The learning was immense and holistic. The college did not just train me on the technical grounds, but on the overall personality development aspect too. The faculty who taught me looked like the best for the job. The computer science faculty in particular was very well educated and learned by all means. I will forever be grateful for the knowledge that imparted. They were very warm and welcoming to their students.

About the author

Shivam Dutt Sharma is an alumnus of Amrapali Group of Institutes. He is a 2014 batch pass out.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha