Jagriti Program

[Narkis Eatman]

A non-profit initiative, Jagriti Yatra is a 15-day, 8000-km entrepreneurship train journey to inspire youth to become entrepreneurs. It has been running since 2008, impacting 7500+ youth from India and 23 countries globally. It focuses on Tier 2 and Tier 3 districts of India, (what is termed Middle India), and it is also creating an enterprise ecosystem in Eastern UP.

Designed in an experiential format, Jagriti Yatra will give you unique insights into understanding Inclusive Entrepreneurship by immersing yourself in India of small towns and villages in company of 450 other participants, providing a unique learning and networking forum.

Participants will gain exposure to the international startup ecosystem, acquiring insights into inclusive practices and global networking. This opportunity expands horizons, fosters learning from diverse perspectives, and facilitates cross-border connections. During the 14-day program, startups and aspiring entrepreneurs have the opportunity to network, collaborate, and receive actionable guidance. The focus is on building enabler capacities, identifying funding gaps, enhancing employment opportunities, and aligning with the SDGs for an inclusive ecosystem.

Bringing about behavioural and thought level changes in people is quite a challenging job. In Jagriti Yatra the impact is massive and deep. We at GOONJ have seen this first hand with the Yatris. There is a vast change in their vision, thoughts and behaviour after the Yatra. The Jagriti Yatra, to me is a source of energy and inspiration, from the brightest 500 youth from all over the country.

Yatra has been a moment of inspiration for many, but Vidyut Varkhedkar, had a life-changing experience when she boarded the Jagriti Yatra train, in 2014. For her, it was the moment that defined her calling, and she couldn't just keep it to herself and decided to write a book on her experience.

The opportunity to meet the young yatris of Jagriti Yatra was unquestionably a high point in my life. I was expected to inspire them, but it was the other way round, they inspired me! Our interaction was so energizing and so fulfilling!!

Everybody has a 'wow' moment and if one is lucky, several of them during a lifetime. I am possibly one of the few really privileged ones who meets amazing people literally most days of the year, which means I have a treasure chest of wow moments.

When I participated in Jagriti Yatra, it reminded me my youth days when we were in Gandhian Movement. Yatra was full of passion, energy and cheer. Jagriti Yatra is revolutionizing the youths of India by giving them exposure of positive India where aspirations and dreams of poor become true.

Amidst this current calamity, the onus is on us more than ever to keep pushing the message of hope and human development. The collective decision has been taken to move ahead with our plans to conduct Jagriti Yatra 2022, a journey of hope and positivity bringing the best of both worlds together.

We realize that this is a very sombre time for the nation and all of us as a people, but we are at an inflexion point. We let ourselves be beaten to the brow by the economic devastation it has left in its wake, or rise up to the occasion, remember the pledge we took to build this country through enterprise and spread the positivity of hope and the act upon the drive to succeed against all odds will allow us to defeat this invisible enemy. At the same time, we cannot be unsafe and irresponsible.

My participation in the GWNY program was pivotal to my development as both a student and a soon-to-be lawyer. Having the opportunity to be taught by professors who actively practice at many of the world's leading law firms offered a more real-world, practical approach to learning business law than what is typically offered in a standard law school course. Through their teachings, insights, and advice, I was able to develop a comprehensive understanding of various practices that comprise business law and learn how to practically apply my education to my future practice. Further, the GWNY Program's small class size facilitated a close-knit, supportive learning environment that helped me form life-long professional relationships and friendships with peers who intend to pursue similar career paths in NYC. Having attended law school in DC, the opportunity to begin making these connections in NYC while still in school has given me a head start on building my professional network.

I participated in GWNY in the Spring of 2022 as a 2L. I applied to the program with aspirations of one day landing a job and living in NYC. However, when I was selected, I couldn't have been further from achieving those goals. My grades were unspectacular, I had zero offers from firms at OCI, and I had not been a member of a journal, moot court, or mock trial. I was coasting through law school and doing little to separate myself from my motivated peers. GWNY changed all of that - it was my opportunity to do something truly unique and valuable.

Our GWNY class was special, as it was Professor Cunningham's last class before retiring from academia. His Business Lawyering class taught me how to be a better presenter, a better writer, and more of an all-around professional. The ancillary events we did taught me how to efficiently network and develop meaningful professional relationships. I learned every week from professors who were also wildly accomplished practitioners, like Jeff Kohn and Paul Basta, among others. I got connected with incredible mentors like Laurie Curnes, a successful attorney at ESPN. I met some of my best friends in law school as a result of this program.

The drilled practice we routinely did on resumes and interviews wasn't just fluff - it directly led to me landing great positions I otherwise would not have gotten. My co-requisite internship at the New Jersey Bureau of Securities gave me the experience I needed to land an externship at the SEC the following spring. I relied on my GWNY classes in interviews to get a summer associate offer at a top boutique litigation firm for my 2L summer. All of this experience and training helped me to be one of the rare 3L students to land a big law position at a firm without having been a summer associate. In these interviews, I was able to point to concrete things I did and learned as a member of GWNY.

I am now a first-year associate at Arnold & Porter in New York City, and could not be happier. GWNY was the best decision I made in law school, and anyone who gets accepted is lucky to have the opportunity for a similar experience.

The GWNY program is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience working and living as a lawyer in New York City before even graduating from law school. Taking business classes in conference rooms of top law firms with experienced lawyers as professors gave me the chance to learn and apply concepts to real-world scenarios outside the typical law school classroom. My internship at Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts was also an incredible stepping stone into my current associate position because I gained experience working on many of the same types of substantive projects. I also continue to offer pro bono services to the organization through my firm. The contacts, skills-building training, and networking opportunities gave me the preparation and confidence to effectively communicate with clients at my firm every day.

GWNY's programming and courses are also applicable to every type of law student. While my career path and interest in intellectual property did not seem to fit into a conventional "finance/business" category, GWNY's lessons on legal drafting, client communication, and networking taught me that business law touches on every aspect of becoming a better lawyer. I believe that all law students would benefit from these lessons and experiences.

As a transfer student who chose GW Law for the opportunities it offers, GWNY stands out as the highlight of my law school journey. As a Native New Yorker with no prior legal connections in the city, this program not only allowed me to build a small local network of GW alums achieving tremendous success in New York but also exposed me to various aspects of transactional corporate law previously unfamiliar to me. From the exceptional professors to my passionate classmates, I gained invaluable knowledge that I carry with me daily as I embark on my career as a lawyer.

I jumped at the opportunity to study in New York City. It was my introduction to the New York legal profession - a community I will have the pleasure of joining immediately after graduation, thanks to the connections I cultivated through the GWNY program.

GWNY was my first taste of New York City. It was an invigorating semester. My newfound friendships spanned multiple industries. From days spent in Manhattan Federal court, to evenings partying in the West Village and beyond - there was never a dull moment. After only a week there, I was determined to return for the summer.

I had the pleasure of extending with Judge Woods at the Southern District of New York. It was the place to be. For instance, the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried provided a unique glimpse of white-collar practice while nicely complementing material that I had learned in GWNY's Securities and Banking Regulation courses. The same is true for the heavily publicized arraignment of Senator Menedez - whose indictment in the Southern District served as the topic for my term paper in GWNY's white-collar crime course.

These experiences inspired me to further pursue criminal law and federal litigation. I am happy to share that I will return to NYC this summer to join the New York City Law Department's Summer Honors Internship Program. I am interested in joining its Special Federal Litigation Division after I graduate from GW Law. This semester, I will be making the commute from DC to clerk at the US Attorney's Office in Greenbelt, MD. I have a team of mentors and friends from the GWNY program to thank for this!

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