Gaining confidence through Beyond AUT

When Athira Thekkath first started the Beyond AUT Award with friends, their aim was to get something extra on their CV through doing a few activities.

“What I didn’t realise at the time was how much these experiences would change me personally.”

Coming from a very rural area of India, she was intensely shy when she first moved to New Zealand to study a Master of Food Science at AUT. During her first days in New Zealand, Athira was travelling on a bus and needed to ask the lady sitting next to her to move so she could get off.Even though she kept practising the sentences in her head she just couldn’t find the confidence to speak.

“So I missed my bus stop and had to get off at the next stop and then I had a long walk back to my room.”

When she started volunteering at Fair Food NZ, Athira was so insecure about her English that she tried to “escape” from every possible conversation. However the friendliness and genuine interest of other volunteers slowly made her feel comfortable enough to be included in conversations.

“I started to realise that I could be myself and build meaningful connections.”

Athira also found her strengths around leadership. Initially she believed you could only be a leader if a title of leadership was given to you.

That assumption changed when she started to work with AUT Malayalees for the Onam Festival and realised that sometimes leadership starts from sharing an idea, speaking up, or being willing to take a first step when nobody else does.

“I could see I could lead in that capacity.”

But one of the biggest changes for Athira was learning how to network and connect.

“I had a misconception about networking that it was going to a stranger and asking for a job. That was way too scary for me,” she admits..

She describes attending career expos and collecting all the free pens and tote bags from stalls without making contact with any of the people behind the stands.

“I didn’t really understand the opportunities right in front of us.”

However, as she continued on her Beyond AUT journey she learned how to introduce herself professionally – an elevator pitch. Having to speak to professionals at a couple of networking events made her realise that it was all about having conversations about things that mattered and her confidence and conversation skills blossomed.

“I really noticed the difference when I applied for a production assistant role at Savour Vegan Creamery. I felt prepared and confident during the interview because I knew what to expect. In the past I would have just gone blah blah and not known what to say.”

Her confidence and passion for food science shone through and Athira got the job.

She chose to study Food Science because she has always been curious about what happens before a food product reaches her hands.

“Every time I picked up a packaged food item, I wondered how it was developed, tested, processed, and made safe and nutritious for consumers.”

She says the Beyond AUT Award helped her understand the capabilities she had within her than had been buried under insecurities and confusion.

“It helped me to become more comfortable stepping outside my comfort zone, more willing to start a conversation and more confident in taking initiatives.”