Volunteer shares her experience
Apoorva Vadi in her latest blog ‘On volunteering at Parikrma’
The original article was published here
Every day, right after the morning prayers, the words of “Love, Explore & Excel” echoed across the Parikrma building.
I want to share a personal transformation journey with you that unfolded during my time with this incredible organization, a journey that turned me into an EXPLORER.
It all began with a humble attempt at volunteering for a few months. The kids, captivated by our shared experiences, approached the school head, Shanthi akka, asking if I could become a permanent teacher. Initially, my response was a hesitant ‘no.’ I had a passion for teaching life skills, not conventional subjects like Social Science or English. Shanthi shared that she couldn’t offer me a Life Skills teacher role as this topic was typically taught by professional psychologists. I asked her for some time to think about it.
The original article was published here
Every day, right after the morning prayers, the words of “Love, Explore & Excel” echoed across the Parikrma building.
I want to share a personal transformation journey with you that unfolded during my time with this incredible organization, a journey that turned me into an EXPLORER.
It all began with a humble attempt at volunteering for a few months. The kids, captivated by our shared experiences, approached the school head, Shanthi akka, asking if I could become a permanent teacher. Initially, my response was a hesitant ‘no.’ I had a passion for teaching life skills, not conventional subjects like Social Science or English. Shanthi shared that she couldn’t offer me a Life Skills teacher role as this topic was typically taught by professional psychologists. I asked her for some time to think about it.
After thoughtful reflection and discussions with a close friend, I took the plunge. I chose to become an English teacher, and Shanthi akka promised me autonomy in designing my own assignments for the students. Her trust in me, earned through months of volunteering, was a significant motivator that I even accepted an additional role of a Grade 10 class teacher.
If you haven’t caught on yet, I chose English because I could still teach life skills through the assignments I got to design myself.
The result of all my cleverness?
It was a tremendous success, and my students are making strides in the business world. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t claim credit for their entire success, but I do take pride in teaching them about inflation and raising the bar. I challenged the kids to surpass my 10th-grade score, a number proudly displayed on the class board (91.4%). Two students not only met but exceeded my personal best, leaving me grinning with pride! They also went on to study engineering and one of them now has an MBA from IIM Bangalore. Also the entire class passed the board exam — a 100% PASS result (like we say it in India).
Now enough with my humble brag and back to the transformation I went through. The Parikrma experience gifted me insights into adolescents & adults, unit economics, psychology labs, managing parent support and of course inevitable things like love, accountability, and responsibility —and these lessons came through the lens of EXPLORATION.
Shukla akka, the visionary Founder of Parikrma, is creating a future society of great citizens — a vision we both share. Her emphasis on exploration took some time to resonate with me but I finally got there.
It was at the Breakthrough Prize related event in Bangalore (2014 or 2015) that I had the pleasure of meeting Julia and Yuri Milner, where the business impact of EXPLORATION finally clicked in my mind. Scientists on the panel talked about the importance of exploration in building a world web of intelligence; I was so captivated by the bleeding edge nature of the talk and it finally made me realize why EXPLORATION was a value I needed in my life, irrespective of it’s use for personal or professional development.
In our daily lives, we encounter micro moments where we can choose exploration over rule-based actions. I encourage you to be an explorer, as it is indispensable for personal and professional growth.
Shukla akka and Shanthi akka are still the mentors I LOVE. I still turn to them for guidance, knowing they will empower me with the right PRINCIPLES to find answers myself.
If your life is abundant but lacking spark, reach out to give or volunteer at Parikrma. The organization has the power to transform everyone it touches. 
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