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By Makarand Pandit, STC Associate Fellow
Before I get started, let me take this opportunity to thank the chapter leadership for reaching out. It is my pleasure to communicate with STC Carolina Chapter members. In fact, this is the thing I like about STC—the opportunity to interact with fellow professionals all over the world.
I entered this field as a freelancer in 1994. Like many others, I learnt the ropes while working on real-life projects. Thanks to STC I could network and learn.
After I started interacting with others in India we realized the importance of coming together and sharing our knowledge. Encouraged by the synergy that developed, we went ahead and formed STC India Chapter in 1999 with 17 founding members. It has been a long journey since then. Managing activities in multiple cities (actually, an entire country) under one chapter had its challenges, some of them not faced by any other chapter. With Almighty’s blessings we could convert many of them into opportunities.
We obviously did many things well, such as conducting the biggest annual conference in this part of the world for 15 years, building teams in all major cities, creating awareness, and much more. Getting multiple awards year-after-year cannot be a coincidence; neither can it be an achievement of any single individual. Obviously, the teamwork has paid off.
If I look back at my career, I clearly see becoming a member of STC and the formation of STC India Chapter as important milestones. Having worked in many communities outside India, and having served on some global committees, I am now ready for a more responsible position, that of STC Director.
Over the last 20 years tools have changed, processes have changed, economies have changed; but the core values of the profession, and more importantly, the spirit of volunteering are still the same. For me, being elected would mean an opportunity to take things to a higher level. A level where I can help make decisions for the betterment of the community, its volunteers, and its mission.
As Thomas Friedman said, technology has made the world flat. But it did not stop there! It has increased our connections far beyond our Facebook pages and LinkedIn profiles. Today our lives, or—allow me to take the liberty of saying this—our Fates are now connected. Though we will have different lives, our fate is going to be the same.
Innovation, products, professions, challenges; everything has gone global. We should acknowledge the fact that, no matter what country and city we live in, our lives are now tied together in more ways than what we can possibly realize. While responding to the changes in the community, STC has also gone global. As co-professionals our lives are now connected. None of us can be as successful as All of Us. That’s where I see the opportunity!
With my 20 years of experience as a businessman, a teacher, and a volunteer, I can add value. I can share my successes and failures that have happened in different situations, with different cultural backdrops, and in different economic conditions. I can view things differently and can present a different perspective. I truly believe that sharing our achievements and failures can lead to a much better outcome than what can be imagined. I am separated by geographic distance, but by virtue of experience, skills, and the very core of volunteerism, I feel We are One.
It will be my privilege to serve the community as a director. Feel free to ask me questions at the STC Candidate Q&A Forum.
Mak Pandit can be reached at mak at technowrites dot com. You can learn more about Mak at his page on the STC election site. Read about all the candidates in our STC 2014 Election Guide.
Mak Pandit
I entered this field as a freelancer in 1994. Like many others, I learnt the ropes while working on real-life projects. Thanks to STC I could network and learn.
After I started interacting with others in India we realized the importance of coming together and sharing our knowledge. Encouraged by the synergy that developed, we went ahead and formed STC India Chapter in 1999 with 17 founding members. It has been a long journey since then. Managing activities in multiple cities (actually, an entire country) under one chapter had its challenges, some of them not faced by any other chapter. With Almighty’s blessings we could convert many of them into opportunities.
We obviously did many things well, such as conducting the biggest annual conference in this part of the world for 15 years, building teams in all major cities, creating awareness, and much more. Getting multiple awards year-after-year cannot be a coincidence; neither can it be an achievement of any single individual. Obviously, the teamwork has paid off.
Over the last 20 years tools have changed, processes have changed, economies have changed; but the core values of the profession, and more importantly, the spirit of volunteering are still the same.
Over the last 20 years tools have changed, processes have changed, economies have changed; but the core values of the profession, and more importantly, the spirit of volunteering are still the same. For me, being elected would mean an opportunity to take things to a higher level. A level where I can help make decisions for the betterment of the community, its volunteers, and its mission.
As Thomas Friedman said, technology has made the world flat. But it did not stop there! It has increased our connections far beyond our Facebook pages and LinkedIn profiles. Today our lives, or—allow me to take the liberty of saying this—our Fates are now connected. Though we will have different lives, our fate is going to be the same.
Innovation, products, professions, challenges; everything has gone global. We should acknowledge the fact that, no matter what country and city we live in, our lives are now tied together in more ways than what we can possibly realize. While responding to the changes in the community, STC has also gone global. As co-professionals our lives are now connected. None of us can be as successful as All of Us. That’s where I see the opportunity!
With my 20 years of experience as a businessman, a teacher, and a volunteer, I can add value. I can share my successes and failures that have happened in different situations, with different cultural backdrops, and in different economic conditions. I can view things differently and can present a different perspective. I truly believe that sharing our achievements and failures can lead to a much better outcome than what can be imagined. I am separated by geographic distance, but by virtue of experience, skills, and the very core of volunteerism, I feel We are One.
It will be my privilege to serve the community as a director. Feel free to ask me questions at the STC Candidate Q&A Forum.
Mak Pandit can be reached at mak at technowrites dot com. You can learn more about Mak at his page on the STC election site. Read about all the candidates in our STC 2014 Election Guide.
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