My Story

I was born and brought up in a small town in Bihar, from which the nearest city was 220 km away. I grew up studying under kerosene oil lamps with zero guidance and was the first engineer in his entire family including extended ones. I have had my own troubles while growing up, accessing quality education and most importantly getting the right information at right time. While pursuing engineering I got introduced to the concept of Lottery of Birth, and through his own journey, I realized how bright and meritorious students from disadvantaged backgrounds couldn’t get access to quality education and life possibilities just because they aren’t well guided and be resourced with the right information.

 

Inspired by this experience I started to deliver invited talks in Universities and High Schools across India. My talks would encompass career options, and life skills training and share insights to tap into public resources for soft skills development. From 2013-2017, I delivered 20 such talks across 15 cities in India, touching the lives of over 5000 young adults directly. As a part of my talks, I used to collect feedback from the students on the talk and also areas where they needed help. I observed that nearly 95% of students raised concerns about having access to mentors and soft skills development during school days, especially the ones from remote towns and villages.

 

Inspired by this, I founded Sarthak Mentoring Foundation in 2017. The mission of the organization is to bridge the gap that Lottery of Birth creates through systematic mentoring and skills development among young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. I started with young adults from my hometown, Jamalpur, in the age group of 14-16 years and then expanded to 5 other states until a date in a span of 4.5 years. Today, the program caters to 45 young adults in the 2021-22 batch, from 5 states in India and has shaped the dreams of 180+ children in India. The alumni of the Sarthak Mentoring Program have been admitted to prestigious Engineering and Medical colleges in India over the last 4 years. The program has received a 98% positive rating from the mentees in the program. Sarthak Mentoring program is fuelled by amazing volunteers from 4 countries across the world (India, Australia, Norway, and Italy). The Program collaborated with SPE IIT ISM Student Chapter in 2018 and it was covered by SPE TWA Magazine. Also, the amazing work and the impact created by the initiative have been covered by several reputed media outlets and news over the last 4.5 years.

 

In 2020, I also launched a Digital Classroom Project for Sansa Ta Association in Romania by mutual collaboration between Sarthak Mentoring Foundation and Schlumberger Romania. Through this project, I helped raise funds to build a Digital Classroom for Sansa Ta Association with an aim to open free access to education for 100 children supported by the Sansa Ta association. 

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I hold a Btech in Petroleum Engineering from IIT(ISM), Dhanbad, and hold a Diploma in Business Laws from NUJS, Kolkata, and a Masters Political Marketing from Rome Business School, Italy.

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