What is it like to be a Pollinate Energy Fellow?
Author: Sophie Templeton is a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate student from Auckland. She found out about Pollinate Energy through our supporting partner at GradConnection. She has just completed a fellowship program in Hyderabad, and here is what she had to say:
Being a fellow with Pollinate Energy and getting to travel to India was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, but that’s not to say there weren’t a few challenges along the way. I grew up in the very multicultural city of Auckland so I’ve been around people from other countries, particularly Asian countries, my whole life, but actually living in India and being surrounded by the culture and the people on a daily basis was a whole different story. You can’t truly understand all the quirks of Indian culture until you’ve experienced it in the country itself. Whether it’s seeing the infamous ‘head nod’ in action for the first time or coming to terms with what Indian Standard Time really means. Something that really annoyed you at the beginning turns into an endearing familiarity that just makes you laugh at the end.
I guess it’s all part of the experience of actually living overseas, which gave me a much better understanding of India than if I was just travelling as a tourist.
It can be difficult to adapt to, but I did find some useful ways of making easier. Picking up some of the language always goes a long way. Even if I just said hello and introduced myself, the locals were always so impressed we had made the effort, that they were happy to spend some time with us in return. Learning random phrases (especially funny ones!) just to be a bit different is both lots of fun and an awesome way of connecting with the people you meet.
You can’t be a fellow at Pollinate Energy without fully immersing yourself in it.
This was great for me because before I heard of Pollinate Energy through the GradConnection website, I actually had no idea what a social business was. So it’s fair to say then that my understanding of social enterprises has expanded a lot, and I really love the concept. Pollinate provides all the benefits of a charity but in a much more sustainable way, and the best thing is, it really works. I saw first-hand the difference Pollinate Energy was making to the people in the communities we visited, and that it has a long-term plan, which is so important in today’s often quick-fix world. I met so many amazing individuals and families during my time in the communities who all had stories to share, and it was so inspiring to see how happy they were despite having so little.
One of the best things I took away from my experience is the realisation that I can make a change.
It’s all too easy to listen to a motivational talk at work or uni and think, ‘Wow, that’s incredible, but I could never do something like that.’ You limit yourself before you even try, and I definitely used to be in that mindset. I had never seriously thought about doing anything other than ‘the norm’, which for me was going to uni, studying a degree that matched my strengths (not necessarily my passions) and finding a desk job from there. During the fellowship, my thinking changed and I realised that it was entirely possible for me to do something more exciting. I fully credit my shift in thinking to the big focus throughout the program on careers and personal development, which was something I hadn’t expected. I especially appreciated the emphasis on finding your passion – which sounds super cheesy, but is such an important thing for everyone to figure out considering how much of our lives we spend working.
All in all, the Pollinate Energy Fellowship Program has been an absolutely amazing ride, and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. If you love great food, making friends and putting a smile on people’s faces, then this program is for you!
For more details on how you can be involved with this exciting fellowship, check out Pollinate Energy on GradConnection.
