FIRST “BE FRANK” (PUNE)

The first “BE FRANK” (Pune) was held at the renowned and magnificent  Ferguson College campus on  February 22, 2015.

Total 13 students attended the event (Pune: 7 & Thane/Mumbai: 6). Ms. Shilpa Newase (an IT professional) dropped in for short time along with her sister and interacted with the students.

Pune co-ordinators were Vijayalashmi Pattewar & Jaikishan Patil and co-ordinating Palak-Karyakarta was Dr. Archana Damle. . The programme was superbly conducted and moderated by Karan Pardeshi.

The programme comprised of three major sessions as follows:

·       Self Introduction

·       Be Inspire

·       Group Discussion: 'Social Media Positive and Negative Impact'

In the first session, the students introduced themselves and got acquainted with each others. They belong to different streams like Arts, Medicine, Engineering etc.  As most of them were meeting for the first time, this round helped the students to feel comfortable and relaxed along with setting the stage for the subsequent sessions.

 In the second session students spoke in details about their source of inspiration be it from different persons, books, incidents and situations. Most of the students are clear about their goal and career path. They discussed about preparation for competitive exams and group study. For eg. Aruna and Vijayalaksami Pattewar, Suraj Telange will be appearing for UPSC exam. Digambar Kale  wants to be an English professor and he shared his amazing journey with all. Jaikishan Patil, a medical student told that he is inspired by various situations and persons. Gayatri Asawe (first girl in her village to study after 10^th std & at present 11^th std Arts student of Fergusson College) and Suraj Patil are very new to VSM. Suraj Patil spoke effectively having very precise, clear views and all were very much impressed with him. Suraj Telange suggested various books worth reading like Still Frame, Makers of Modern India, The world is flat etc.

Final session wasGroup Discussion on 'Social Media Positive and Negative Impact' conducted by Prathamesh Tayade. Two groups were made & they discussed and debated for and against the topic. All students spoke frankly, enthusiastically and tried to impress upon their points.

Karan Pardeshi, Kavita Bidawe ,Pankaj Chavan, Bharat Kadam, Aniket Raut and Prathamesh Tayade (all had come from Thane) got a chance to interact and communicate freely with Pune students.   Feedback forms were collected which helps to further improve on the content/format of the program.  

Students initial reaction was that they got a chance to speak openly in front of others which help to improve their communication skills. Pune students Diksha Dinde ,Harshada Chaudary and Vaibhav Sonone’s presence was missed. However, all the 13 participants had fruitful and open interactions and bonded very  well and made new friends. They enjoyed each others company as well as the serene surroundings (as it was 1^st Be Frank held in open, under the trees).

The event was conducted successfully and was culmination of the sincere efforts put in by all the VSM students and volunteers.

Thanks and Regards,

Archana Damle

(With inputs from Karan Pardesi)