The Parting GenSecs: Ankush Panghal
By: Sai Pratap, Rachit, Avnish
As the Students' Gymkhana representatives of the year 2021-2022 end their tenure, we look back at their journey as Gymkhana core members, their ideas and vision for their respective councils, as well as their ongoing, incomplete, and complete projects. Read ahead to find out from none other than the ex-Gymkhana core members themselves - the VP, UGR, PGR, and the GenSecs of the 5 different councils. This is an 8-part series with full-length interviews of ‘The Parting GenSecs’.
ANKUSH PANGHAL
EX-GENERAL SECRETARY, HoSCA
The General Secretary for the House of Socio-Cultural Affairs is responsible for the smooth functioning of various cultural clubs and fests. Ankush Panghal handled these responsibilities very well along with maintaining the culture at IITP during his tenure for the period 2021-22. Here are some of the questions that we asked him regarding his journey, experiences, challenges, achievements, and some advice that he would like to give to upcoming secretaries.
Q: What were the most important tasks that you worked on during your tenure?
Ankush - Primarily, we focused on regular work within HoSCA. Two new clubs were set up - Anime Club and Gaming Club. There is a proposal for an Open Mic club as well. One of the most crucial tasks was to carry on the culture of the Institute even during the pandemic in online mode, so online fests were conducted. An important tradition, the Freshers Introduction video was one of the most challenging tasks for the past two years, as with everything being online, it was comparatively more difficult to make a good video. Especially because of the fact that communicating with the juniors was 10x harder. Recently, we also successfully organized Nebula, the annual freshers’ party for the 2020 batch. I was lucky enough to have a team that was excellent, so I didn't face too many problems executing any of these tasks.
Q: Can you tell us about a time when you learned something important from your mistakes as a Gymkhana secretary?
Ankush - In my second year, I was the HoSCA secretary and I was responsible for making arrangements for everything during Nebula, along with some help from the seniors. One incident that I remember which took place is that the gifts which were supposed to be distributed to the winners and guests. So, after I got all the gifts, I put them all somewhere in one place, thinking that we might not need them till the end ( of the event) but somebody had taken them away by then, so we no longer had any gifts to distribute. I initially panicked, but the seniors guided me on how to manage everything and finally, I was able to sort out the issue.
I also used to say yes to everyone who used to come to me for anything related to organizing - be it Infinito or Celesta. But, I was corrected by my seniors that it doesn't work that way, because if any property is damaged, the responsibility directly falls upon us. So, basically, I learnt not to be a YES person all the time. Initially, my management skills were scarce, but now I believe that I can manage any fest if it comes to it.
Q: Do you have any advice or suggestions that you’d like to give to your successor?
Ankush - BE BOLD. In my opinion, presenting your demands in front of the administration boldly is the key to getting maximum work done in your tenure. If you feel something is wrong or unjust, then you must stand for it as the students have given you their trust, to be able to fight for what we all deserve. If you stay afraid of the administration and don’t act swiftly, needless to say persistently, then it is near impossible to get anything approved, I personally feel that being a little aggressive at times helps as well.
You’ve reached the end of this interview! Thank you for reading the 7th part of the 8 part series - The Parting GenSecs. If you found this article interesting, do like the article and share it with your peers. Click on the button below to read the 8th part of The Parting GenSecs!