Wonder Girls

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The Wonder Girls Club with IAS Anuradha Pal

IAS Anuradha Pal is an inspiration! In this Wonder Girls Club session, she spoke in depth about the challenges she faced growing up and then while preparing for UPSC, and the incredibly rewarding nature of her job as an IAS officer.

Our 7 Key Takeaways:

Often you will feel intimidated by people around you, you will curl within yourself thinking that they have had it so much better than you: be it education, lifestyle, etc. At such times, you must focus on the one thing you can control: you work harder than them.
There is no such thing as an insurmountable problem. When in the eye of it, you might feel hopeless but in hindsight nothing is ever a lost cause and so approach every problem with the belief that you will make it to the other side of it.
Learn how to learn. Your attitude matters a lot. How are you approaching any subject? Surface level reading doesn’t help. As a person preparing for the UPSC exams, the preparation itself makes sure that you learn to read and think critically.
No matter what field or discipline you come from, as an IAS officer you get to make a policy level difference in that discipline.
The work of an IAS officer has a very high job satisfaction. It allows you to help people from many walks of life. No matter how marginalized, this position gives you a chance to connect with them all.
Don’t give up on your hobbies. When you’re preparing for an exam as intensive as UPSC, these hobbies will help you coast through.
Family support matters a lot. When you get the right amount of encouragement and environment, pursuing your dreams becomes a lot easier.

Manasi Thacker

While Manasi was pursuing her Bachelors of Architecture from the University of Mumbai, she realized her true passion lies at the intersection of Developmental Psychology and Education, which led her to pursue a Bachelors of Arts in Education and Psychology as well. In her final year of University, she conducted and published a research report around the question: ‘How does space affect learning? What is the relationship between Curriculum and Space design?’. She wants to create environments and safe spaces which allow children to grow and thrive, which is what attracts her to Wonder Girls. At Wonder Girls, Manasi is responsible for scaling our flagship program.