Jamshedpur: They are leaders of tomorrow who can shape the world for countless others. At least, that's what they have promised and have the potential for.
Ten finalists were chosen on Tuesday for the seventh edition of the Leadership Challenge hosted by Hill Top School in Telco, Jamshedpur, with knowledge partner Greycaps and media partner The Telegraph. The grand finale will be held on Wednesday.
These students - Tanushka Dutta from Carmel Junior College, Priyanka Jha from Kerala Samajam Model School, G.S. Vishnu from Little Flower School, Sushmita Jha from Motilal Nehru Public School, Ayati Mishra and Subhasish from hosts Hill Top, Nishant Kumar Satyam and Swarnima Anand from Vidya Bharti Chinmaya Vidyalaya, and Meghna Mishra and R. Snigdha Priti from Sacred Heart Convent School - proved their mettle in group discussion, extempore and personal interview to reach this stage. The top 10 will battle more rounds on Wednesday.
But, it's fair to say all 10 are winners, going by tough multi-stage screenings they underwent. Initially, 43 students of Classes IX to XII from 22 Jamshedpur schools took part in group discussions, of which 19 were shortlisted for the next extempore round in which 13 were chosen. These 13 gave personal interviews to the Greycaps team, which selected the 10.
Hill Top principal Puneeta B. Chouhan explained why the Leadership Challenge, started in 2011, was different. "It's not about academics or sports, but thinking, intellect and spontaneous judgement of real-life situations," she said. "The Greycaps team has done a wonderful job of evolving the format through the years to make it contemporary and fresh."
The group discussion for instance judged students on understanding of the given topic, the way students spoke, their thought process, empathy, grace and situation management. Topics included 'Emojis versus emotions', 'Class X education should be the least qualification for politicians'; 'Demonetisation achieved its objective successfully'; and 'Non-violence is an outdated concept'.
Students agreed the topics made them think. "I took part in the Leadership Challenge as it enhances my communication skills and thinking. This challenge is different. It tests you on how good you are as a human being," Sneha Mitra, Class IX student of Mount Litera Zee School, said.
