Guest Post: Aashi Kanoongo

""I am Aashi (ITM'21) chosen as current FIT SGA Director of Communications (DoC).

A number of us wanted to feel more connected and motivated as direct consequences of the remote learning environment, I definitely felt it too, and that drove me to serve greater advocacy for my peers' voices by taking up a leadership role that allowed me to be in direct communication with the student body.

As DoC, I act as a liaison among the students, student leaders, and The Communications Committee. The SGA social media platforms and website all fall under my committee's responsibility. In a completely virtual environment, my team's role became more pivotal in driving the SGA initiatives to success. While I have been in leadership positions before, the SGA has been the most enriching one of my experiences at FIT because it is rewarding to see fellow students find a safe space in my DMs (Instagram Direct Messages), emails or office hours to talk about things that matter to them and to be their channel for change.

As a student leader, I constantly ask myself "What else?", i.e. What else is there, and how else can we use these circumstances to shape better interactions and create a stronger community?

The ITM program has highly driven individuals who constantly inspire me to be more diligent in my work. My most favourite areas are Sourcing, Compliance and International Finance and I am hoping to work in either of them upon graduating. ​

After having been in a few leadership positions over the past two years, I have come across many of my peers and juniors passionate about making a difference but feel intimidated by the idea of serving in a leadership position, a lot of us feel that we don't know enough. In my experience, every leader is unique with their own concoction of qualities, and not knowing enough is often a blessing.

The clubs and organizations that I have been a part of - namely ITSA, FIT Indian Cultural Society, and The Student Government Association all gave me the opportunity of letting my own leadership skills unfold and simply required me to be kind, active, and responsible. I have learned the true value of creating a sense of belongingness and a shared purpose within one's community. I am grateful to FIT Student Life for recognizing my efforts and to all my mentors at the FIT Community for the experiences and guidance they have provided me with.

Reach me at [email protected]
@aashikanoongo
My office hours are Mondays 7:00 - 9:00 PM EST
And my inbox / DMs are perpetually open!