New Confidence to Give Back and Cement Career Goals

Bubbly and confident, Tanvi Narayan is looking forward to finding a career in event management in a community or public organisation when she leaves AUT.

She has a confidence and focus that were not apparent when a timid Tanvi arrived at AUT four years ago.  She credits AUT and the AUT Edge Award for giving her the confidence to go outside her comfort zone and figure out her career goals.    

“Over my time here I’ve developed confidence I never imagined having. I’ve worked out what is important to me, such as giving back within my job and now know to believe in myself and what I consider important,” says Tanvi who is graduating with a conjoint degree in finance and event management.

Tanvi was always fascinated with event management but initially enrolled in a business degree at another university, in accordance with her parents’ wishes. Yet her interest and curiosity about event management wouldn’t go away so in her second year she decided to transfer to AUT where she could continue studying business and finance but include event management as a minor.

AUT Edge Award opens eyes

Once settled into her studies Tanvi signed up for the AUT Edge Award where she found many opportunities to get a taste of practical experience with events. Many involved community support such as Sunday Blessings, an organisation that provide meals for homeless people and promotional community experiences such as Auckland Live.

These experiences confirmed  that event management was where she wanted to find a career, so in her final year Tanvi picked up the five extra papers required to complete a double degree in event management and finance. Her parents were happy she was completing her business degree and pleased to see her doing further study.  
“It was a busy final year, but I didn’t mind because I enjoyed the event management and arts papers so much and was happy to be following this dream.”

Highlight  to support students

Tanvi also became a student ambassador, a big move for a shy person but one driven by a growing sense of the importance of contributing.

“Although I did feel really shy and nervous when I first started as a student ambassador, I also wanted to share with first year students that I had also felt insecurity and anxiety and encourage them to see how good tertiary life can be. I found I really loved people interaction and developed a strong belief in the value of giving back."

She calls it the most significant of all the roles she held at AUT.
“It led me into a lot of other opportunities and meant I was directly helping students. I also loved the amount of support there was from the overall ambassador group.”

Tanvi also took up roles as RUOK advisor, AUTSA student well-being representative and peer mentor - all major achievements for someone who used to  avoid trying new things or meeting new people. She attributes this huge growth in confidence to the AUT Edge Award and the opportunities it offered.
“I found the confidence to push myself in situations that I never thought I would have been able to take on, such as student ambassador.”

She also loved the RUOK role because she knew how powerful it can be for students to have someone interact with them and check in that they’re okay.
“I loved the feeling of making students feel good – and because of that I also feel really good,” she explains.

Tanvi adds she now understands what motivates her and what she values in life, and this adds to her confidence.
“I am no longer afraid to approach people and strike up a discussion. As a peer mentor, a senior student ambassador with five orientations under my belt, I learned to believe in myself and what I consider important.”

All this wouldn't have happened without the AUT Edge Award.

Want to know more about the AUT Edge Award

The AUT Edge Award and Beyond AUT Award (for postgraduate students)  offer great opportunities to build up your confidence and communication skills and get out into your community networking through volunteering and leadership and employability experiences.

Find out more about the AUT Edge Award here

Or email AUTedge@aut.ac.nz