Wednesday 10 May 2017

A Sociology Major's Story

Tanya Munshi (Age 37)
Sociology Major, 2001 Batch
Current profile - Founder, The Lifestyle Portal (www.tanyamunshi.com)

1. How was your experience here?
Come to think of it, after passing out of Sophia's, it's feels more like a 'second home' for me and I miss college a lot. Every time I cross our college building on the way to a meeting or work my mind goes back to the fun filled days of college life - with friends, loads of fun laughter, fun moments with professors during a class and of course sharing our tiffins with each other during recess. :)

2. What have I learnt that has still remained with me?
When we joined college, we were told that our 10th grade percentages didn't matter to them. During our orientation at FYJC, we were told that they believed that each one of us girls are capable of being far better than our potential and that Sophia's didn't believe in limiting themselves in judging a student on the basis of marks or percentages. This gave me a lot of confidence that if they believed in me, and if I'm studying in such an esteemed institution, then I must be really good and I worked really hard to prove myself and I think I did reasonably well. 




3. What am I pursue currently and why did I choose it?
Well, after graduating in Sociology, I studied Communications & Media from SNDT Women's University (Juhu). I started writing lifestyle features, children's books and e-learning ever since. Now 15 years down the line, I'm now training myself in the space of parent-child bonding and writing parenting articles. I love writing and photography and being a Sociology student it has opened up my mind to see things in a different light. 

4. Has Sophia's helped you get where I am now and how?
Of course!! Remember, education is everything. My father is a retired army officer and my mother a homemaker, both my brother and I had the gift of education to help us get where we are. I owe my foundation to Sophia's. I didn't enjoy school as much, but I loved coming to college as they're serious about the studies. I would travel all the way from Kandivali to Peddar Road for five years. I know how hard my parents worked to bring us up and the least I could do was study well and attend college and graduate with a first class. That's almost every family's dream, isn't it? And how can we do that? When the educational institute is encouraging and positive as well. I firmly believe that schools and colleges should be partners in parenting and Sophia's culture and tradition reinforced my belief and today I'm so thankful to the institute. 





5. If you'd do anything differently during your time here, what would it be?
This would not be easy to answer. You see, we studied at a time when things were not as busy and hectic as it is today. Life was still enjoyable, we didn't have technology seep into our lives, mobile phones were yet to enter the student phase, so we landed up having quality friendships and focused more on each other than gadgets and brands. For our generation (this makes me sound so old, lol!) Sophia's was the perfect ambience. 

I loved my space there, I would at times take my novel and sit in the large balcony or the Marble Stairs and read on my own enjoying my quiet time during a break. In fact, come to think of it, there was something for everyone at Sophia's. 

6. How has Sophia's changed me since I was a student there?
I think Sophia's turns girls into ladies. :) I used to be a tomboy in school and when I joined college in FYJC I realised that there are so many facets to a girl/ woman, how they dress up and come to college. When I first joined college, I felt I was living in an Archie's comic book - all the girls, especially the seniors walked so confidently in smart, fashionable clothes. I was amazed. I learnt to enjoy life along with studies - Sophia's helped me to strike that balance. :) 

Apart from that, Sophia's has given me a good set of friends, wonderful memories, fantastic professors, a great campus life, Kaleidoscope, the cute little stationary store where I would buy second-hand books such as Pride and Prejudice and read during my train journeys from home to college and back. 

At the risk of sounding preachy, I'd like to add that we must understand that there are several people in the world who would love to attend a school or college but can't. We should be thankful that we get to come to such a wonderful institute and learn something that prepares us for the life ahead. No matter what, education and learning will always be a woman's strength if used wisely and we should never take this for granted.


1 comment:

  1. Awesome Tani!!! Loved walking through the memories with yr words!!!

    ReplyDelete