Pooja Pande on her love of learning, people, animals, and the learnings we can take from those loves.

“I was born and raised in Bangalore, India. From an early age, I had big dreams and an insatiable thirst for knowledge since I was raised amongst shrewd barons with great accomplishments. Despite having been provided with everything that I ever wanted, I had always been determined to carve my own path to become a successful woman, in my own style by setting my own trend.

After completing my bachelors from one of the top institutions in the country I moved to the UK for my higher education, I would describe it as one of the best times of my life! City of London and England as a whole captivated me. Though I grew up with exponential global exposure, international education and connecting with young minds from different cultural backgrounds, increased my ability to effortlessly relate with people of other nationalities.

In India, following strictly set rules, abiding to conditions set by the head of the family, is highly prevalent even to this day. Growing up with extremely supportive family with an open mind who always encouraged me to think outside the box was the best guidance I got, hence I never found myself confined to rigid expectations and stereotypical rules. As kids, my brother and I saw our father giving it back to the humankind in every way possible, welfare and financial aid towards private education of underprivileged kids, managing old age homes and orphanages for the blind got us to learn and understand that simplicity, kindness, and humbleness is a blessing in disguise.

Upon graduation, I returned to India and pursued literature studies, specialising in British and American Literature. This decision was entirely based on my avid habit and favourite hobby of reading books. I believe that the habit of reading books is more of a “watch and learn” hobby one develops, and I picked this from a very young age watching and observing my mother do it. Did she read books? A LOT! The day I picked this beautiful habit from her, it was love at first read. And I am still in love, madly. Hence my drive to study literature was more of a personal choice simply to understand and relate to the vivid imaginary world of, writers, poets, and authors.

I’m a Potter Head – that is, I’m crazy about Harry Potter; also, as a child I loved fairytales, I grew up reading Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, Sally Gardner and transitioned into reading books by Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Harper Lee, Emily Brontë and Agatha Christie. JK Rowling was inspired by Roald Dahl and C.S Lewis, and I can relate to that through her books and her art of storytelling. Some of these authors famous for over a century now, have had a difficult life but they portrayed a different side in their books with their vivid imagination probably finding solace in narrating something beautiful for the world to read. In the recent times, one of the best inspiring memoirs for me is book written by the former first lady Michelle Obama – Becoming. Books teach us so much; I have taken so many learnings from books. Often, I read, then re-read and really connect to the story and the message and implement those learnings in my real life. Many times, it requires reading between the lines to get an answer.

IDP happened to me in February 2019, and it was an absolute leap if faith if you ask me. Why? I was not looking for a career in Edtech industry but wanted to get into a leadership role in our country. My father, a man of refined taste and exceptional leadership skills inspired me. His boldness, confidence, unwavering determination, supporting me with the choices I made was what got me into a full-time job. After catering to clients from across Europe in a French based organisation, it was time for me to experience professional life in our country. Working for an Edtech giant such as IDP helped me in exhibiting most of my learnings into action. My journey with IDP has been a constant learning, this has helped me to not indulge in a monotonous work technique. As a Manager, I believe in creating a positive and empowering environment, this fosters open communication and recognising unique strength of each team member. I manage a team of 12 exceptional employees unique in their own ways, they are my strength, support, and are constantly determined to believe in their abilities and strive for excellence, dead set to pursue their ambitions fearlessly.

I’m lucky that I have a wonderful team of counsellors. It’s not easy being a counsellor, so my job is to make theirs easier for them. Everyone has a different personality and so it takes a different approach to connect with each person. I don’t like to micromanage, and I know my people will get their job done and that is how they work best. I take on the need to ease the tension for people at the end of the day, so they go home relaxed, smiling, and with the energy to get home to their families in a great mood. We, at times spend 15 minutes end of the day just to relax and unwind. The team have such a sense of humour, it cracks me up. That 15 minutes of laughter really makes a big difference. There are also times where we catch up for lunch or an after-work drink to build connection and maintain the energy.

My recreation starts when I get home. I love books and music, and spending time with my family. A detox for me is visiting places with less people. I have a small circle of friends; they know so much about me and we can connect with minimal effort. It makes me happy.

Another thing I really love is animals. Dogs are like fairies to me; their love and innocence melts my heart. They have been part of my family life since I was an infant. Recently, I lost my dog Jess, we believe she was stolen, she was my 14th dog. We sent notices across the country to fry and find her and get her back, but with no luck. The fear of losing another, and the tension of losing her has stopped me from adopting another. She has left a crack in our hearts, and I will make the time to remember her and get over her, before getting another.

Naysayers surround us, and I believe at times we need such people, because it helps us realise our strengths, our growth, keeps us motivated and challenged. I always feel constant learning is limitless, knowledge is limitless. The first thing I remind myself every morning – “with passion, and belief in oneself, anybody can overcome stumbling blocks in our journey of success and achieve extraordinary accomplishments, personally and professionally. The moment you let go off fear and doubt and set your mind to get to where you want to be, limitless possibilities stretch out ahead of you, grab it, make it yours and never conclude the outcome before starting the journey”.

Thank you, Pooja, for sharing your loves of learning, life, people, and animals with us. We hope that your story inspires others to reflect and take learnings into life experiences. #ItsUpToMe to be the best I can be.