The much awaited RYLA -cum-Career-Counselling Camp started off exactly on schedule at 10.30 am on the 6th of December 2018. Over 800 students from 11 schools in Mulshi Taluka assembled at the venue in Village Male. DG RID 3131, Rtn Dr. Shailesh Palekar was the Chief Guest and travelled all the way from Panvel to grace the occasion. His on-time arrival ensured that he could pay homage at the Senapati Bapat Smarak and also visit the Happy School Project at the Senapati Bapat Madhyamik Vidyalaya and their associated ITI before inaugurating the RYLA. The function began with the traditional lighting of the lamp, and garlanding the Bust of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. PP Rtn. Madhubhau Rathi began the proceedings by explaining the purpose of the event and how the gathered students could gain by listening carefully to the speakers. DG Rtn. Dr Shailesh spoke to the students and explained why he had addressed them as ‘Friends’, and the fact that there were so many more career opportunities available to the current lot of students than were available when he was at the same stage in his life. He exhorted the assembled students to follow their chosen path, but cautioned them that it would only be possible after first putting in hard work with their studies. He wished them all the best in their school and in life thereafter, as he declared the camp open. The DG and our sponsors from Arya Omnitalk Wireless Pvt. Ltd. were felicitated on the occasion. The first speaker was Mr. Suresh Bhalchim, the Vice Principal of ITI Aundh, Pune. He spoke on ‘Careers after ITI’, and elaborated on the courses being conducted at the ITI, and the procedure for getting admission to the institute. He gave some very useful information about the Apprenticeship program, and the benefits of the same. He also answered questions raised from the audience. Ms Disha Meher, who works with Urban Clap and travelled all the way from Mumbai to be with us, was the next speaker. She is a subject matter expert from the Beauty and Wellness industry and her talk was titled, ‘Vocational Careers in Beauty and Fashion’. She began with assuring all present that this was not only a career choice for girls, but even boys could take it up. She used her own example to illustrate the fact that this choice was still considered a taboo in many traditional households, and how she overcame the objections of her family at wanting to give up her quest of becoming a CA to take up this as a profession. She had the audience spellbound with her talk, and was loudly applauded at the end. She took on a lot of questions, mainly from the girls after her talk. The third speaker of the day was Dr. Vidula Mhaiskar, a protégé of Dr. Arvind Gupta who has revolutionized the teaching of science to children by making toys and models using house-hold trash, to demonstrate scientific principles. Despite a Ph.D. in Microbiology, and a post-Doctoral degree from Stanford University, USA, this lady is a dedicated science teacher for school going children. The title of her talk was ‘Learning Science through Toys’. She captivated the audience through her simple ways of explain scientific formulae through very simple gadgets made of waste materials such as plastic bottles, newspapers, straws, matchboxes etc. There were repeated rounds of spontaneous applause throughout her talk, which lasted 30 minutes on either side of the lunch break. Ms. Yashashri Bhide was the next speaker. She is the Head of Department of Science at the Govt. Polytechnic at Pune, and spoke on ‘Careers after Diploma in Engineering’. She explained the advantages of doing a Diploma in Engineering after 10th Standard, and how it could be an alternative route to getting a Degree in Engineering in the same period of 6 years, i.e. 10+3+3, or 10+2+4. She said that this also provided students the advantage of not having to appear for the competitive entrance tests after 10+2. The last speaker was Ms. Ujwala Khaladkar of Tata Motors, who spoke about ‘Career options in the Medical sector with special emphasis on Para-medical areas’. She explained the various courses available in the ITIs in this field and the openings available after completing those courses. She narrated her own life story to emphasize how one could achieve one’s goal through hard work and grit. Her colleague Mr. Litesh Attarde also added to the list of courses in the Engineering Industry, and their application in the Industry. He concluded by narrating that in the final analysis it was the performance of the individual that mattered and not whether s/he was a graduate engineer or a Diploma holder. This brought to an end the Career Counselling camp. Mr. Datir, the founder of Senapati Bapat School, proposed a vote of thanks. PP Rtn. Madhubhau Rathi thanked him and Mr. Kangude of the Mavala Pratishthan for all the arrangements made at the location. RCPC was represented by President Rtn. Ravi Kapoor, PP Rtn. Madhu Rathi, and Rtns. Rajiv Narvekar, Jiten Sandu, and yours truly. The energetic Gajanan did a wonderful job of coordination, and ensuring that all the speakers arrived at the venue at the correct time, and the omnipresent Hari provided the logistic support and the photo cover. Congratulations are in order to the Director of Youth Service, Rtn. Rajiv for lining up some very dynamic and inspiring speakers.