The first day I entered Nixor as a student, I was told things I didn’t understand.
Why do they call it Corporate? What does each of the places do? Where do I go? Who do I like enough to work with for the entire next year?
Struggling to make my way through the basketball court filled to its brim, I stopped at any and every stall, making mental notes. I still had no idea what I was signing up for.
Is this a summer camp? Am I being forced to take classes when I could be sleeping? Why should I work for societies? Some of my questions have been answered…others? Well, I’m still finding them.
Nonetheless, what is inarguable is that summer corporate has been a one-of-a-kind experience.
The first ever thing I enrolled in was Nixor Creative Studios (NCS) when the form came because it fit my interests. When corporate started, I kept my head down and did my work, never chatted with anyone except out of necessity and despite that, I was warmly welcomed. We did a few drills after which, I started writing captions, articles, and emails for the Communication Department. NCS selected me to host the Deep Waters event with another welcoming individual and by the end of corporate, I was also able to join the marketing team where I realized I am absolutely into video making.
An accidental visit during the Volunteer Session, half an hour of simple vibes of immaculate people, and an extremely scrumptious cookie were reasons that led me to join Senior Citizens Welfare Program (SCWP) when I had no plans whatsoever. My first volunteer experience was for Art Sab Ke Liye where I encountered an incredible young man nobody seemed to be talking to. He sat alone, not wanting to talk or paint, and by the end of that event, he had painted pretty scenery and told me all about his village, family, and his ambitions. His pictures of smiling are still the only ones saved on my phone from Nixor. I also met two kids from Taleem Sab Ke Lye (TSKL), one of which came to especially meet me when I volunteered for Project Ittehad and it felt so rewarding in that instant. SCWP also allowed me to host a podcast with Kazi Akber, Youtuber, and podcaster, and it was an hour and a half of an incredibly stimulating conversation.
When it came to enrichment classes, I went to debates very enthusiastically. It however didn’t work and I realized the lack of accommodation and consideration for circumstances on the existing members’ part. I was fretting over a trial while the city drowned in rain and I thought to myself those were some misplaced priorities. I feel that the involvement of teachers and administrators in handling trials and recruitments instead of transferring them to old students would have made the experience pleasant. Even MUN itself didn’t feel like it was for me and I got COVID just a couple of days before KGS MUN which ended my debate career before it even had the chance to bloom, and I don’t have regrets.
I also enrolled in an Amazon Ecommerce class thinking of actually picking up a real-life skill. Ecommerce was something I had previously forced myself to study and thought organized learning would be a good opportunity to get better at it. But despite trying my best to maintain interest and attention to the content of the course, I couldn’t make it till the end of the classes. This is not a reflection of the teacher by any means, who was more than enthusiastic to teach and interact. I felt that a month was not an appropriate allocation of time for something as fast as E-commerce. Perhaps, if classes were shorter and evenly spread out through the week over a few months, the course would be easier to understand.
When it came to sports, I initially felt like I had to apply to multiple sports teams as if I had to make up for the lack of opportunities for my 14-year-old self. When the timetables came, my schedules eventually clashed, making basketball the only viable option. At the first practice, I was the poster child of embarrassment after I fell on my face on the court and vomited after 30 minutes, turns out, that you should not be intaking carbonated soda as your breakfast. Just to clarify, I do not like this information one bit. Nonetheless, I enjoy basketball a lot. The coach is great, the co-players are just the perfect amount of friendly and the environment is extremely accommodating. After a handful of sessions, I am happy to report that I have gotten somewhat decent at basketball and at least do not fall on my face anymore.
If there is one thing, I have to say about Summer Corporate, it is that it has been an extremely fun and telling time. Every time I am working on a post for NCS, attending an event for SCWP, or playing basketball, I am always thinking in the back of my head about the privilege I have been. Privilege to pick what I like, the privilege of experience, and the privilege of avenues of opportunities.