Cunningham's Accomplishments

I woke up to the news that the New York Stock Exchange has its first female leader in 226-year history. Stacey Cunningham’s appointment as NYSE president and her journey is an inspiration for a young girl like me. My mother has always taught me that our life can be summed up with just two words- “Our Dream”. When all is said and done, our measure of success is whether we did or did not achieve our dream. I am a single-girl child of my parents. They have always made sure that I was the best in every sphere. I always obeyed them diligently, thinking if not me, then who will bring them happiness. Little did I know that they were not doing this for themselves, but for me and my future. If I look back, I can easily divide my life in two chapters.

I have participated in various MUNs, debates and extempore. In my leisure time, I love reading literature and biographies. Unlike others, I did not decide what I wanted to be in future, but I was adamant that whatever I will be, it will be nothing less than a strong, fearless and independent women. Looking at the world scenario now, I think it is most important than ever. I did enjoy this phase of exploration and experimentation. I was always interested in technology and the innovation and every aspect of science. My participation in science fairs, creating working models somehow equipped me for my quest in the engineering degree in college. I took up chemical engineering which is often received with raised eyebrows. But I was intrigued by how modifying/tailoring one particular compound could change the whole process. This was indeed a gold mine of creativity and concoction. I did quite a few research works in Nanotechnology. This experience helped me bag a research opportunity in the most esteemed university of my country- Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in my sophomore year. The determination paid off as I got my research paper published in Tata McGraw Hill, USA, student chapter. But in third year, I decided to contribute in this field by working in Oil and Gas sector. I was fortunate enough to be recruited in Bechtel India Pvt. Ltd. as a Process Engineer. To be a part of such a massive

I was learning the basics of refinery and the processes involved. On the job training made me realise, that what I have gained till now is just the tip of the iceberg. The world is becoming volatile, the demographic trends are changing, and there is an emergence of new technologies which are superseding the established solutions. Thus, learning just about the engineering will not guarantee the overall development in any sector. I realised that is one thing to do an engineering of a project and a whole other thing to manage the entire project. I wanted to understand the nuances of the project from the management perspective and economics. I had taken few modules in my bachelors related to management, but they were not sufficient for me to understand the scenarios of such projects. Since, I was so keen, I took up various courses on Coursera to gain a deep insight. I could still feel the vacuum. It was then; I decided to pursue a full-fledged Masters pertaining to my area of interest. Attending various educational fairs, I came across the apt course for me which was Engineering Management. It was a correct interface between the engineer’s technical problem-solving ability with business acumen. While I was reading a book on Project Management, the opening lines of the very first chapter resonated with me. “Projects are one of the principal means by which we change our world whether the goal is to split the