This is the next segment of our blog series highlighting Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors who reached the highest status level attainable and recently graduated from university. Each blog in the series features a different student and highlights their accomplishments, their experience with the Student Ambassador community, and what they’re up to now.
Today we meet Navika Chhauda who is from India and recently graduated from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University with a BTech in information technology.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
When you joined the Student Ambassador community in 2019, did you have specific goals you wanted to reach, such as a particular skill or quality?
When I joined, I was new to the tech field but always wanted to explore new technical concepts and tools. Along with that, I had a strong desire to reach out to as many people as I could and empower them with my tech knowledge. I wanted to continue the community work I’ve done the last 8 years and combine my knowledge and passion of community service to reach the masses and empower them through this program. Thanks to the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador program, all these goals of mine were successfully achieved. I am Microsoft Azure Certified AZ900, well versed in cloud computing, and have conducted many workshops on the same. I empowered my peers with Microsoft tech tools and also vulnerable sections of society.
All in all, the program helped me pave my path and made my college years so much more informative. It helped me grow holistically and I was able to connect with awesome people in the tech community who share the same passion as me. It’s truly been a memorable journey which I shall cherish forever.
What were the accomplishments that you’re the proudest of and why?
Here are the two accomplishments which I am proudest of and that are the closest to my heart.
I reached out to visually impaired students and taught them Office 365 and Microsoft Azure. I created a 25-day virtual event with 2 hours of class daily that taught them how to create a resume, how to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Drive, and much more. Towards the end, a few students asked to learn Azure, and of the 3 students who were offered Microsoft Technical Certification vouchers, one of my visually impaired students cleared their Microsoft AZ900 examination. I would consider that my greatest achievement--that I could make a positive impact in someone’s life.
Similarly, I helped acid attack survivors as well, as I believe one way they can gain back their confidence is through gaining knowledge. I started with a series of virtual sessions with them similar to the ones I offered the visually impaired students. This helped them gain more confidence as they could work with the latest tech tools in their day-to-day life. On Women’s Day, I invited Trishala Jain, Director Product Marketing for Azure, Developer Audience from Microsoft, for a live event with the girls so that the girls could interact with her directly and understand the importance and opportunities for women in the tech world.
Navika's acid attack survivor students.
Poster of her event for acid attack survivors.
In addition, at the age of 20, I was a speaker at Microsoft Ignite 2021 in the Humans of IT category, discussing using tech for good and how I empowered visually impaired students. I judged the Microsoft Imagine Cup Junior 2021 where I got to see some great projects and had the privilege of reviewing them. I’ve been a mentor at TechTogether hackathons in Seattle and Chicago and a speaker at Global Azure 2022 and on Microsoft Learn TV.
What are you doing now that you’ve graduated?
I plan to pursue higher studies in computer science, as I aim to become a software engineer and continue my passion of using technology for a good cause.
If you could redo your time as a Student Ambassador, is there anything you would have done differently?
One thing I would have done more of is to try to bring my visually impaired students into this amazing Microsoft Student Ambassador community.
If you were to describe the community to a student who is interested in joining, what would you say about it to convince him or her to join?
The community allows you to grow holistically in the world of technology by increasing your knowledge through learning the latest Microsoft tools. Students are provided with guidance by professional mentors so that they can pave their paths, and with thousands of Student Ambassadors globally, it provides a good networking opportunity for students to find like-minded peers. It provides immense opportunities such as participating in speaking engagements on big tech platforms, conducting events and workshops, taking part in competitions, and much more. The program gives you wings that help you to fly higher and achieve your goals.
What advice would you give to new Student Ambassadors?
If you genuinely work hard in this program with the aim of upskilling yourself and further empowering peers in the community, this amazing program can be a turning point in your career. Just be honest to this program and community, and try to attend all the events taking place, as they’re so informative.
What is your motto in life, your guiding principle?
Concentrate on your own journey and make the best of it. Don’t compare yourself to others. Every day comes with new opportunities, so make the most of it. Enjoy each and every moment, as there is so much to learn from every experience and there are no failures. These are just experiences - learn from them and move on.
What is one random fact about you that few people are aware of?
I am a professional kathak dancer (a classical dance of India). I started learning it when I was 4 years old and have a diploma in kathak.
I am also a violinist and love playing violin during my free time--it’s like a stress buster.
Good luck to you in all your endeavors, Navika!
Readers, you can find Navika on LinkedIn and Twitter.