Hi, I’m Payal. I live in Gurugram, Haryana. I have five people in my family: my mother, three younger sisters, a brother, and me. I wanted to become a doctor. That was the dream I carried through school.
Then my father died in an accident. Overnight, everything changed. The school I attended didn’t offer science. Changing schools was not financially possible anymore. The path I had imagined gone.
I could have accepted that as destiny. I didn’t.
ETASHA as guiding light in my Journey
A friend told me about ETASHA Society’s B-Smart course. I visited the centre and from the very first day, I felt comfortable and welcomed in the classroom. The facilitators guided us through things I had never learnt before, like communicating confidently, preparing for interviews, and carrying ourselves professionally.
The major things I learnt:
- Communication skills
- Confidence building
- Computer skills
- Mock interview practice
I learned all of it. But the moment that changed me most was not in a classroom.
The Mall, the Strangers and the Shift
During an exposure visit to MGF Metropolitan Mall, we were given a task: approach strangers, start a conversation, and learn about their lives.
That sounds simple. It wasn’t.
Strangers don’t easily open up. I hesitated. I almost stopped myself.
But my teammates wouldn’t let me. “Payal, you can do it. Just do it.”
So I did. I walked up to people. I kept conversations going. I spoke to three or four strangers that day, and I didn’t stop until I had something real to share. We built presentations from what we learned and presented to other teams.
Something shifted in me that day. It was confidence and the realisation that I could handle situations I had never faced before.
When my job interview came, I cleared it on the first attempt.
Today, Payal works at Lifestyle while simultaneously pursuing a BCA from Gurugram University. She contributes to her household expenses and supports her mother.
Her HR shared: “She is one of the most hardworking individuals and has an attitude towards learning which is a real plus.”
She did not wait for circumstances to improve. She walked into them, prepared.
Maybe Payal could not pursue the path she once dreamt of, but she did not let that challenge define her future. Through ETASHA’s Job Readiness Program, she found direction and the opportunity to continue her education through her own earnings while becoming a more independent woman.