"A young energetic self-starter, with proven analytical, leadership and interpersonal skills" is how Vivek Agarwal describes himself. Meet this guy from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur currently pursuing his degree for a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) in Civil Engineering.

To start with, he had finished in the top 1% of over 300,000 candidates in the highly competitive entrance examination for admission to the elite IIT’s. He has done his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, DRDO, Bangalore with 86% and 87% in his two board exams.

Some time ago, Vivek working with his team along with the  Indian Postal Department, developed a pioneer project that aims at harnessing the power of Internet in over six lakh villages across India in a sustainable fashion.  Earlier he had become the recipient of the SPIC MACAY Scholarship and studied Buddhist philosophy under His Holiness Dalai Lama for a period of six weeks. In 2006, Vivek had also interned with Quizmine, to come up with an innovative way of online coaching that focused on one – one interaction and was awarded special recognition for “Going Beyond the Call of Duty”.

So CampusFever asked him where he draws his strengths from? "I guess my knowledge about administration, my ability to convince people and my academic skills are my biggest strengths." says this young lad.

He presides over the  Students’ Gymkhana in his college and has been a Senator in the Students Senate for three years in a row! He has also been a State Coordinator for  Uttar Pradesh for the  Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN). And as a volunteer for  The Art of Living, Vivek has organized several “Youth Empowerment Seminars (YES)” touching over one thousand people on campus.

So far what has been his biggest achievement? "I'd say my work on the project that is set to touch over six lakh villages would be my biggest achievement not just because of its scale... but also because what it will do the to the Indian villages... bring technology to them... and technology I believe is a force of nature..And getting elected as the President here in college... would be a close second..." he adds with a humble smile.

Vivek has represented India at the International Conclave on Renewable Energy, which was organized in Portugal and was awarded Certificate of Merit in Green Olympiad. He is also a proud achiever of  the “Presidents Award” awarded by the  President of India, on successful completion of the Final level in Scouts.

He heads the marketing team of the college's annual hostel magazine and as the head of the student's gymkhana, he has implemented an “Online Account Portal” for greater transparency.

Any role models for this leader? "I don't like the idea of having one.. since that is like drawing a line to ur potential.. but I look up to people like Shashi Tharoor... and more closely it will have to be my elder brother!"

Besides befriending the greens and working for the people, he has other aces up his sleeve too. He was the Literary Captain in school and is the editor of a college magazine. Vivek has also directed and performed in several award winning plays and has attended a professional course on Theatre from Theatre in Education (TiE), Bangalore. He also has a thing for quizzing, having won feliciations in the area too.

While graduating out from school he was adjudged Best Outgoing Student. He relaxes with his knack for cooking, aero modeling, wood carving and  pallmistry among other things! In his light hours, this guy likes playing cricket.

What about future plans? "Hmmm.... 15-20 years from now.. I'd like to see myself into main stream Indian politics... for the short term... administrative services may be...." he declares confidently. Well, our vote shall surely be his!

CampusFever hopes Vivek continues to gather accolades and shapes out be the leader that he promises to be. All the best Vivek!

 This week Campus Fever introduces you to our latest Campus God, Neetisha Besra from IIT, Kanpur. She is academically bright, a top-notch athlete, a feared debater and a friend of the greens.

This week Campus Fever introduces you to our latest Campus God, Neetisha Besra from IIT, Kanpur. She is academically bright, a top-notch athlete, a feared debater and a friend of the greens.

Neetisha hails from Steel City Jamshedpur in Jharkhand where she did her schooling from Hill Top School. She has been into competitive sports right from the sixth grade itself! She won the best athlete award for two consecutive years in the first three years as an athlete. This was followed by the Best Athlete award at the inter-school level.

Neetisha ruled the local scene for the first few years and then proceeded to conquer other arenas. She was selected to represent Bihar and Jharkhand four times in varying track and field events from shot put-throw and discus-throw to sprints and relays at the National ICSE/ISC annual sports meet.

Even in the college, she is in the Institute Athletics team. She has already won eight gold and three bronze medals at various inter-college and district athletic meets. Wow!

Neetisha served as the Girls’ Athletics team captain for half a term and was felicitated as the Best Incoming Sportsperson of the year 2008-09. She still holds the Inter-IIT meet record for the Discus event .

Back in her school days, she had secured 90.4 % in ICSE board exam and 92.5 % in ISC Board exam! She says her mother has been her source of inspiration throughout her life. We asked her how did she manage to fit in time for her academic as well as athletic life.... added with her performance behind the podium as a speaker? “In school it was easy.....because as far as my memory takes me....I studied only before my exams,” she says with a smile and then adds, “but when I did, I studied hard...”

In her college years, she has even prepared a research paper on ‘Effect of peer to peer piracy on the Music Industry’, a group project and survey report on ‘Electricity consumption at IIT Kanpur’. She has also prepared a report ‘Waste Paper management at IIT Kanpur’.

If you think this is enough, there is more to come!

This girl has also had a taste of quizzing and public speaking. While she has been a regular face at the debate meets and the elocution stages around the city of Jamshedpur, she had made her name by bagging the Best Speaker Award at most of these events.

Neetisha humbly thanks God for giving her such wonderful parents and teachers who always encouraged and fueled her interests. She says that her biggest achievement is her friends that she is surrounded with. “I always tried and imitated those newsreaders as far as debates were concerned....and as far as the passion is concerned... I think I got it from my father”

Though she does not count her amazing achievements as her biggest prize, there still have been many of them. She was declared the Best Speaker at National ABS Debate Meet and was also a part of the runner up team. The following year she was there again for the National ABS Debate and besides helping her team win the trophy, she was again declared the Best Speaker.

Be it the Inter-School Debate on Earth and Environment or the Inter-College National Debate in her college, she has gathered the Best Speaker trophies from all corners! Even in Elocution meets Neetisha proved that she had the gift of the gab. And it wasn't just elocution that was her forte, Campus Fever also found that she had a gift of writing too!

She proudly says, “I had won several writing competitions too. I also contributed to the school magazine and newspapers in the town. I am in the Institute Debate Team, Secretary Of the English Literary Society, Junior Editor of a ‘Encre’, a magazine for the freshers.”

And how does she manage her time now that she is in an IIT? “In college the fundas and the laws which govern my life are totally different.... The culture here is deceptive and encouraging too....

The brand name compells you to perform academically but the stress here and the fact that I don't want to see myself as an engineer down the line I end up with other thing in my cup as well...”

So where do you see yourself ten years down the line? “Civil Services...... I always wanted to follow that....”

She further reveals that she had also been a School Captain and had also led the School in the March Past Meet. During her graduation in class X, she had been felicitated for being an all rounder, for co-curriculars and her leadership qualities. Two years later, she was awarded for her oratory skills.

Currently she is also involved in a group which deals with health, salary and other commodities of the minimum wage workers of the IIT Kanpur campus. Phew!

So what's her motto in life? “Do what you like. You can never get tensed or be in sorrow if you listen to yourself. It gives you immense happiness.... and anyways, life is too short for worries!” this girl signs off with a smile.

Campus Fever wishes Neetisha the best in her coming years.

This time our Campus God is a young student of law who has already done great deeds in various fields. Meet Anees Backer, a nineteen year old student of law who is currently pursuing his degree in the same at  NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. Campus Fever brings to you more about this guy. 

Anees did his studies from Toc H Public School, Kochi. Academically speaking, he was a bright chap having secured 97.2% and 92% in his CBSE board exams in class X and class XII respectively. And, his current CGPA of 7.23/8 edifies his academic capacities.

For his brilliance with his texts, Anees received a Certificate of Merit from C.B.S.E for reasons of outstanding academic performance and for being among top 0.1 percent of successful candidates of All India Senior Secondary Certificate Examination -2008 in Physics, Malayalam and Social Studies. Wow!

Sahodaya Schools Complex (an association of CBSE-affiliated schools of Kerala) handed him a Merit Certificate for securing maximum marks in Physics in the AISSC Examination held by C. B.S.E in 2008 and another for being SAHODAYA TOPPER in AISSE -2006.

He was elected a School Captain and had collected numerous felicitations for being the all round best student over the years in his school. Even in college, he was ranked second in the internal Selection Moot Court Competition to select the team that will represent NALSAR University of Law in inter-college moot court competitions for the year 2009-2010.

Anees tells us he was an avid debator and public speaker. Before we moved on to his achievements, we asked him how did it all start. “I was always into my co-curricular activities.... I enjoyed taking part in the various events.”

Did he have any idols? “I always looked upto Shashi Tharoor for inspiration. The way he spoke and conducted himself.... his achievements and his habit of standing up for issues was always an inspiration....”

This second year student had represented India as a member of the four-member “Wiz-team” at the Youth Summit on the Charter of Human Responsibilities held at Brazil in 2008. Before that, Backer had represented India at the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships held at Cape Town, South Africa in 2007 and was adjudged the third-best Asian contestant. He has also won the Award of Higher Commendation at the International Hindu Model United Nations – 2008 held at New Delhi.

His achievements in the field of debating are exceptional! He had won the award for Best Speaker at the SpeakOut Debate Competition National Finals held in Delhi by Outlook. He was even adjudged Overall Best Debator in the Competition.

“I also secured the First Place in the National Finals of the Horlicks Wizkids Competition and was a quarter-finalist at the NUJS Parliamentary Debate Competition.” says Anees proudly.

Anees has always found a knack for debating and speaking. He had won the second position in an elocution competition organized by Reliance.

And it isn't just speaking that this guy is good at. He had won the first prize in the Environment Day Essay writing Competition (English) organized by ‘Young Indians’, the Youth Chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the first place in English Essay writing competition and also the first prize at English Poetry Recitation and English Extempore Speech with ‘A’ grade in the State Youth Festival conducted by ‘Kerala C.B.S.E School Management Association’.

A local newspaper had conducted a competition in creative writing and Anees managed to win it twice! “I also won the Kalaprathibha award in the Inter-School Youth Festival conducted by Stallions International Cochin Chapter for three consecutive years from 2002 to 2004....” he adds with a smile.

Anees has been collecting awards and trophies from various corners in various fields, be it spelling contests or creative writing. He has also dabbled a little in painting and even in Dramatics! Way to go!

At college, Anees is a busy participant and organizer of various events and has also worked with the Human Rights Law Network for a period.

What more? “I had participated at the International Symposium on Sustainable Development organized by the IIT, Madras and submitted a policy proposal on the subject of rural electrification..... Besides, I had interned at the Center for Trade and Development, New Delhi for a period of as part of their Public Health project for a few weeks....”

Anees over the years has continued to be a regular achiever and has at the same time struck a remarkable balance with his academics. Campus Fever hopes that his brilliant show continues in the coming years and that he continually keeps collecting felicitations and keeps adding the varied feathers in his cap.

All the best, Anees!

As our first 'Campus God', this week we bring to you a student who has this long list of talents and flairs in him. He writes, he paints, has been a debator, holds a black belt in Taekwondo, has captained football and basketball teams in school, plays the guitar a little and what’s more, his academic scores aren’t bad either!

Rohit Rohan, a Biotechnology student at Amity University, Noida, has quite a many feathers in his cap – an invitation by the English daily, The Telegraph to write their weekly columns; an International prize in creative writing, an offer from a publishing company from Manchester for a crash course and to co-author a novel, and few exclusive painting assignments and what not! WOW!

We asked him where did this multi-flaired persona begin to bloom?

"I guess it is all because of my mom... She was the one who identified my nuances when I was a child and then acted accordingly to ensure I got the proper training to nurture any talent that I had... Today I continue to learn new things because that had been instilled in me long ago by her.... besides as far as paintings are concerned, she is herself an artist so I guess that came along in the blood...."

Rohit's paintings can be seen in the galleries of the leading art-websites like ArtFlute.com and deviantArt.com to name a few. He also has a personal art-blog where he first started posting his works.

“Women are mysterious. It’s very difficult to fathom their emotion. So, I prefer to sketch the most enigmatic creation –women,” says Rohit when asked what is it that inspires his work. No, all this wasn’t a cakewalk. Rohit has had a seven years course in Fine Arts and holds a Diploma in the same. “All the credit goes to my teachers and my mother who taught me to hold the brush and paint the life on canvas,” says Rohit paying a tribute to his mentors.

As far as achievements go here, Rohit had won several feliciations during his school life at school, city, state and national levels. And not just in painting and writing. He was passionately into public speaking and debating. Now he paints when he gets free time like on weekends. He has also worked for exclusive projects and even sold some of his works.

"The first painting that I sold was to my grandma back in class XI.... for two hundred rupees...." Smiling he adds, "I did not mean to take any money but she just would not listen....so I insisted to stick to the small sum" 

A passionate follower of John Fernandes, Rohit desires to, someday, paint as perfectly as him. Ask him what has been his biggest compliment, and in a humble tone comes the answer,

“A friend of mine wanted to put up my paintings for exhibition, at his cost. It was thrilling. I was overwhelmed. Some people, on seeing my works, cannot initially believe I have done it... which in a way is a compliment...I have seen some people using my work as wallpapers on their computers and cellphones which is really heartwarming” 

So, can one buy his paintings? Yes, of course. Admirers are always invited. Blogs remind us of his writing abilities. "I used to write during school.... I was an elocutionist and a debator.... and besides I used to compose poetry and stories for my own leisure.... I started sending my articles to The Telegraph. Some of them got published and got good response. People used to appreciate my work via Orkut and some of them even wrote to me saying they liked my work..."

After working for The Telegraph, Rohit started to blog when he came to college. "I had been introduced to blogs by a colleague at The Telegraph and when I joined college I could not spare a lot of time... but I wanted to write anyway... so I took to blogs...."

He started publishing his works on his blog where they soon won admiration. He even started sending his articles to various avenues on the internet. Soon a publishing company from Manchester took notice of his stories and invited him for a crash course in Literature after which they would let him co-author a book of his own. Things however could not materialise but Rohit has the dream of his own book in the future.

CampusFever.com took notice of Rohit's blogs and published an article about him. Soon YourStory.in invited his services and he became an avid blogger. Currently Rohit works as a senior executive at YourStory.in and also as a freelance blogger for several websites. He is also into content writing and is a part of a web designing team! We also came to know that he was a well known quizzer when in school. Phew!

What is remarkable about all this is that Rohit has not let his indulgences affect his academics. He topped the boards in class X and XII and has always been in the good books of his peers and mentors even in college. And if you are wondering how does Rohit manage to juggle painting, writing, and so much more with studies, then here is his success mantra - “I try not to spend away my time listlessly. Making use of every minute is important, and that’s what I do. I just cannot sit idle.”

So this guy from Steel City Jamshedpur writes, paints, debates, blogs, works as a senior executive, is into content writing and web designing.... any thing more to add to this? "I hold a blck belt in martial arts... strum the guitar once in a while.... and I am a certified International Reiki healer...." And what does he do when he is not doing any of all this? "Sleep!," he quips. "I am into computers and internet a lot! I also like making short movies and am even a big movie freek! On a more personal level I love to cook and am a voracious reader....and I just love playing chess..."

Well, we guess all has been said about this Campus God. What a guy! CampusFever.com wishes him the best for his times ahead and is sure that his talents will continue to flourish. All the best, Rohit!

You can read more about this Campus God at: Rohit's Blog: www.abstractrohit.blogspot.com Rohit's ArtBlog: www.rohitscanvas.blogspot.com Rohit's gallery on ArtFlute.com: http://www.artflute.com/ArtistGalary/frmArtistGal942.shtml Rohit's LinkedIn.com profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rohitrohan