{"291901":{"#nid":"291901","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Undergraduate Profile: Graduating Senior Shinjini Das Selected As Undergraduate Reflection Speaker","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EISyE undergrad, Shinjini Das, will be graduating this May. But before she does, Shinjini will give the coveted Undergraduate Reflection Speech in front of approximately 10,000 undergraduates and their families who are waiting excitedly to cross the stage and receive their diplomas. We were able to sit down with Das and pick her brain on this once in a lifetime opportunity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBefore delving deeper, it is important to note that public speaking has been a forte of Das\u2019 for many years.\u0026nbsp; Das was recognized as a 2009 Future Business Leaders of America Top Ten National Finalist in Public Speaking and served as the only undergraduate workshop facilitator of \u2018The Road to Effective Public Speaking\u2019 at the 2011 ACC Leadership Conference. \u0026nbsp;A President\u2019s Scholar at Georgia Tech studying industrial engineering, she is an inducted member of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national collegiate leadership society. Looking to the future, Das has accepted a full time offer with Deloitte Consulting where she hopes to put her public speaking skills to the test.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe theme of Das\u2019 reflection speech is \u0027The Spirit of Georgia Tech,\u201d one quality she feels that distinguishes this institution from the rest is \u0027spirit.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere is an incredible amount of spirit here on campus, both in and out of the classroom, spirit that drives each of us towards achieving our goals and aspirations,\u201d says Das. \u201cI hope to impart the message that the qualities we have developed through our experiences at Georgia Tech will continue to define us as we strive to exceed our potential as future leaders.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDas has competed in numerous public speaking competitions on the national level and has presented at the 2011 ACC Leadership Conference and the 2011 Georgia Tech Leadership Conference. Ever since her first competition at age 15, and as a Future Business Leaders of America Top 10 National Finalist, Das has grown tremendously both as a person and as a professional. The process of crafting a speech, relating it to a diverse audience, and delivering it with style proved to be the perfect preparation for building confidence in her life and beyond.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring her early years, Das had to have sufficient content and flair for delivery to engage a wide variety of audiences each week during competitions. The experience upped her sense of self and confidence in her speaking abilities and she holds strong to the notion that public speaking has \u201crevolutionized my life.\u201d For Das, the greatest honor is knowing that her message has successfully impacted a group of individuals. \u201cServing as commencement speaker this spring is truly the culmination of a lifelong dream and the fruition of a vision,\u201d she says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech is known for preparing its students for life after college and Das is no exception.\u0026nbsp; Along the way she has learned the value of hard work, determination, and above all, persistence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI am prepared to handle failure with poise and grace, and to rise above challenges. Ultimately, my career at Georgia Tech has ensured that in the future, though I may be challenged, I will not be shattered. I thank Georgia Tech for this experience and am looking forward to staying connected with the institution,\u201d Das says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor those still in college, Das urges those to \u201ccreate your own opportunities and strive to follow a path in order to achieve your goals and aspirations.\u201d Her biggest achievement to date has been representing Georgia Tech in several leadership roles on a national level. She serves on The New Agenda\u0027s 2014 Young Women Leadership Council as the only woman from Georgia Tech. Impressively, after a Womensphere Emerging Leaders Summit, Das successfully reached out to the EVP of Brand Marketing for the Harlem Globetrotters to ask her to serve as the keynote speaker at the Georgia Tech Leadership Conference.\u0026nbsp; She was also invited as the youngest presenter by \u0027The Soledad O\u0027Brien and Brad Raymond Foundation\u0027 to lead a seminar on \u0027Life After College,\u0027 in which Das discussed her experiences at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDas enjoys encouraging her fellow students to sharpen their oral communication skills. \u201cEffective communication is the name of the game today. The best way to improve is to practice! I would encourage those interested to pursue opportunities to lead and speak both during presentations during class and outside, in great initiatives, such as the Public Speaking Club at Georgia Tech.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDas believes that it is critical for students, especially engineers, to refine their oral skills as the combination between technical and communication aptitude is very high in demand. With a desire to pursue a professional speaking career alongside her staple career choice, the demand for Das will run high as well.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EISyE undergrad, Shinjini Das, will be graduating this May. But before she does, Das will give the coveted Undergraduate Reflection Speech at the morning commencement ceremony.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"ISyE undergrad, Shinjini Das, will be graduating this May. But before she does, Das will give the coveted Undergraduate Reflection Speech at the morning commencement ceremony."}],"uid":"27868","created_gmt":"2014-04-21 10:55:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:15","author":"Lizzie Millman","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"291911":{"id":"291911","type":"image","title":"Shinjini Das","body":null,"created":"1449244289","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:29","changed":"1475894988","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:48","alt":"Shinjini Das","file":{"fid":"199266","name":"shinjini_pic.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shinjini_pic_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shinjini_pic_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":147156,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/shinjini_pic_0.jpg?itok=pa-mPluz"}}},"media_ids":["291911"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"426","name":"isye"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}