Addressing the Challenges of Young Adults

The panel discussion on Addressing the Challenges of Young Adults was held on the 28th of February,2023 from 11.00 Am at the Society Hall. The event was flagged off by Prof. Dilip Shah, Dean of Student Affairs, who addressed the students by explaining the importance of this session as he introduced the guest speakers to the audience. He acknowledged that just like we visit a doctor when we fall sick, similarly any emotional turbulence should also be addressed by going to the right counselor, without calling it a taboo.

The speakers were then felicitated by Prof. Shah and thereafter began the session with the first speaker, Mr. Jai Shankar Gopalan, a proud alumnus of IIM Kolkata who has over 20 years of extensive experience in achieving high business growth using excellent communication, creative marketing strategies, training, and monitoring skills. His exclusive TedX talk on the trinity of career counseling made him an ideal fit for discussions around making Career-related decisions. He took an inclusive approach to a wide spectrum of problems, by drawing a contrast between the GenZ & his generation, where the former has an abundance of career choices in comparison to the older generation. Asking the students about their idea of career planning he drew various allusions to explain how students should choose a career that suits them, instead of trying to fit into a career. He concluded after a Q&A session that the ingredients for a successful career are responsibility and accountability.

The second speaker of the day was Ms. Nikita Jalan, a Senior Counselor with 7+ years of experience in psychometric assessment, clinical diagnosis, and Psychotherapy in various organizations such as the Institute of Neuroscience & Medica, Kolkata. Her talk revolved around the emotional well-being of young adults and how to deal with parental issues at home. She even addressed the issues of relationship building amongst young adults who often face stress, anxiety, and depression due to lack of attention. She even gave an in-depth analysis of how-to bring balance in a relationship by providing space to each other & discussed the importance of boundaries and trust in a relationship. Ms. Jalan’s session was based on questions to the audience which made them evaluate their own emotions & responses.

The third speaker of the day was Mr. Ramesh Narayan, an alumnus of The Bhawanipur Education Society College, from where he obtained a B.com (Hons) degree and is currently a Chartered Accountant for the last 34 years. Apart from his professional calling, he is also a Pranic Healer and Arhatic Yoga Practitioner and founder of Yoga Vidya Pranic Healing Foundation. His approach to addressing the issues of young adults was to give them a spiritual insight into themselves. He began by addressing the talk around one’s own energy and how one can harness it through age-old practices. He even made the audience indulge in an exercise where he expressed how energy flows within us. The students were thrilled by the first-hand experience of understanding one’s own soul.

Towards the end, the students had a holistic takeaway from this much-required session which prompted them to take counseling whenever required, whether on campus or outside. Prof. Shah also communicated that in case of any counseling that the students might need, the college provides on-campus Counselors to address any issue that the student is facing, with complete discretion. This event turned out to be a success beyond measure with the guidance of Prof Dilip Shah and the help of the volunteers who worked with Ms. Samiksha Khanduri to make this event possible.