–Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for inviting me to this Education Forum –It is really an honor to be here today to be part of this forum –I am going to pretty much share with you my life journey, the role that NSF played in my life & WHY I think the idea of PAY IT FORWARD works and makes wonders –At the end, I am also going to share some of my concerns as challenges for our discussion My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 1 Notes

–Let me start with an inspirational quote that I have always believed in and always share with everyone. –This is one of my favorite quotes because of its very meaning and because I believe that ONE person CAN make a difference – Good or Bad My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 2 Notes

–This is little bit about myself, born in 1972 not too young, not too old –I was a state ranker in X Std, XII Std and also one of the top scorers in my state wide engineering entrance examination –So, without a second thought, I was expecting myself to get into an engineering college and start working on my 4 yr engineering degree –BUT, guess what? –That was not the case My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 3 Notes

–A BIG question mark haunted me –The moment I came to know that my academic excellence was not enough to get into the college, I was literally shocked –It was $250 per year ($1000 for all 4 years) that I was supposed to be ready with before I can even think of what college I can get into –At that time, that amount was very big for my family. My father was a small time local tailor (who stitch cloths for people in the village). –When I approached him saying I will need $1000 to continue my education, he immediately said “Are you out of your mind? I am only a tailor and you know how much I make. There is no way I can save you $1000 even if you give me another 10 yrs of time. Think of some alternatives” My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 4 Notes

–I thought about it and realized he was right. There is no way he could afford my tuition costs. –But that realization was very frustration and frightening. I know I did so well in my class, much better than most of my classmates, I have a strong desire to go for higher studies. But that was NOT enough to continue my studies. –I spent many sleepless nights thinking about why my state ranks, my certificates, my academic excellence do not count all of a sudden? Should I end my studies now? My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 4 Notes Continues

–That was the time NSF came into my life. –They started the scholarship programme in 1990, same year that I was in need (how lucky I was!) –They provided $250 every year for all 4 yrs of my graduation –AND that kept my studies going My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 5 Notes

–With that timely help from NSF, I was able to complete my Engineering Degree in 1994, later did my masters from IIT, Kharagpur –On 14 th March 1996, I joined TCS and became an earning member of my family. –That is the story of how a local tailor family became an NRI family My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 6 Notes

–Nearly 6 years after I got my job, I started to think about PAYING IT FORWARD. –With the inspiration from NSF. I established PCT in 2002 to help the poorest and neediest in my district (East Gadavari, Andhra Pradesh) –As of last year, I was able to provide 403 scholarships –The best part of it is several scholars have already become sponsors by paying forward to other needy around them My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 7 Notes

–This is the summary of scholarship distribution at different levels –Total amount distributed is Rs.16,88,926 ($37,531), not a lot amount BUT I am sure it DID make a difference My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 8 Notes

–I was also fortunate enough to support few projects –Water Sanitation Project was a joint venture by Rotary International and Bharathi Theertha Trust headed by Dr Prakasam Tata (IDCA President) My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 9 Notes

–If you think about it, what you see here is an amazing cycle of PAY IT FORWARD. –It all started by NSF, I (PCT) am just one little branch of NSF trying to pay forward the help I received. –There are several other organizations and individuals who are like me, paying forward in their own way –BREAD is a product of NSF. It has grown big and making a lot of difference by offering scholarships to the poor, setting up rural libraries and by providing free tuitions to the needy for all entrance examinations –This is the same message I always try to pass on to the students – you do not have to remember us, just remember your own past and whenever you can, wherever you are do the same thing – PAY IT FORWARD. My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 10 Notes

–So far so good. I got timely help from an organization and I have been trying to pay forward which is working really good –So, I should be happy, right! –NOT REALLY!!!! –I do have some concerns as well Am I really making a positive difference? Am I missing something in the process? My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 11 Notes

–Here are my concerns –The reason why I ask myself the first question is – sometimes I wonder how much % of people that I help today is going to really add value to the society tomorrow? Is there a guaranteed % that I can count on? Unfortunately NO. –Here is an example. What if I come to know that someone I helped in the past became a high ranking govt official and in no time he started taking bribes (got corrupt – not an unusual thing to happen in INDIA). What would I be thinking then? I would be cursing myself for helping such a candidate even though I had no role to play in the process of him becoming corrupt, right? –Another classic example I have is one of my classmates. He lost his parents in his early childhood. Someone outside his family came forward, adopted him, took care of all his education until he became a government teacher. My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 12 Notes

–For some reason this person started getting into other businesses (real estate etc.) and in the process became very corrupt. He does everything except teaching at the school. In his outside business activities, he himself spoiled several others and made them corrupt too. –So, he is not only a bad teacher, he has become a threat to the society –How do we address this issue? How to ensure help them become responsible citizens and NOT just successful ones? –Coming to my second issue, many of the academically talented kids are suffering from this issue. Most of them are very good at studies and only at studies. They think that the outside world is as clean as they read in text books and as beautiful as they see in movies. So, when they finish college, get a job and start interacting with the real world in practical way, they get CONFUSED. They can not think, can not prioritize things, can not take any stress and that results in broken families. My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 12 Notes Continues

–Every other day I read about at least one suicide story in news paper. These are not suicides by illiterate farmers, these are by students from prestigious institutions like IIT, BITS, Medical Colleges, Corporate Engineering colleges etc. –Why is this happening? How can we prevent it from happening? My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 12 Notes Continues

–These are the challenges that I want to put across for discussion/debate –What should we do? –Should we do something at the elementary level since many psychologists say it is the right age you can really influence the child in helping his/her character building? –Most importantly, how can WE work TOGETHER on these issues and create a SYNERGY? My Life Journey - PAY IT FORWARD SLIDE 14 Notes