Handbook on Applying to Opportunities

There are tons of opportunities out there for college students to pursue. Scholarships, Internships, Volunteering positions, Competitions and Mentorship programs, only to name a few.

But why should you care?

Opportunities such as these help students build skills, acquire real world experience and add in credibility to their profiles while still in college. The world out there is competitive and everyone’s looking for what’s unique about you. Today more than ever, there is a need for you to be well-equipped with professionalism and 21st century skills.

Having some of these prestigious opportunities under you belt will go a long way in adding that touch of uniqueness to your story and will speak volumes for you. Some of these opportunities also translate into job opportunities. In 2017, 3 girls from Kerala secured jobs at Microsoft as a part of the Grace Hopper Student Scholarship.

Having said that, the pursuit towards achieving these opportunities is a learning journey in itself. Many recipients say that the journey was truly life changing and that it brought out more clarity about them and about their own goals. They say that instilled a new wave of confidence in them and they were all set to take over the world as they graduated.

College is a time when you have an abundance of a resource: Time. Where you invest your time upon will determine what you’ll go on to do upon graduation. Most of us are unaware of what it is that we’d like to pursue. Trying out couple of these opportunities and living the fresh experiences that these bring in can really help us understand a bit more about what it is that we wish to do.

Finally, these opportunities are fun! Securing scholarships will ensure that you have the financial freedom to pursue your goals while in college. 8 girls from Kerala in 2017 received 2000$ to support their education as a part of the WeTech Qualcomm Global Scholarship.

Getting yourself a ticket to a fully funded conference gets you free travel to a new state or even a new country! Felix Josemon, one of the 6 winners of the Google Venkat Panchapakesan Memorial Scholarship received the opportunity to travel to Silicon Valley on a full sponsorship from Google.

You meet new people - some much similar to you, some much different from you. The kind of exposure that this provides you with while still in college will help you step out of your little world and have a taste of what it is going to be like.

And finally your box of experiences is what you’ll cherish the most when it’s all done.

So yes, you must care and you must try. For a fun, meaningful learning experience awaits you.

It is indeed true that an opportunity does not knock on your door twice. So let’s get started today!

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