My Mentors
By: Gangadhar Reddy Dalli
Tags: It, Thankfulness, Storytelling, Mentorship, 2021

I booked my tickets to Chennai for my internship on December 27th 2017. I was to leave the next day. It was my first experience at working outside of college. Looking back over the past four years, i have learnt a lot.

I’d be quoting a lot of people i’ve spoken to when i say, ‘4 years into your career is when you can decide where you want to be in the next 10 years’. You’d have the maturity, experience and the stability to make a choice or a decision. Im at a place where im happy with my choices i’ve made so far and im willing to take the risks for where i want to be in the next 10 years.

Mentors are very necessary when you want to do something. Choosing the right set of mentors is equally important. There were many people who told me that i could never speak up in a room or that i could be a people person or that my goals were unrealistic. It used to affect me a lot because these people brought in a lot of negativity. But there are also people who pushed me forward positively. Its when i shut out the negativity and started looking up to these people that i realised, choosing your mentors decides you.

Prithvi Buddharaju and Meghana Tamma : Unofficially, the first mentors i had, right from college. They still are and will be the only constants in this chaotic life.

Vidhey Pullakhandam : My roommate and mentor, the discussions we had over the past few years has driven me to keep exploring. He’s is one of the first people i go to for advice.

Ritesh Gupta : Was my first mentor at work. Even after i moved under a different manager after my internship, i always used to grab the opportunity to discuss my thoughts with him and get guidance. He was the one who introduced me a data engineering project while i was working on UI and backend.

Jahnavi Chennupati : A smile and a couple words amidst the chaos always goes a long way. Jahnavi always had a word or two whenever she walked into her cabin which was right in front of where i sat. She’s always someone i look upto when it comes to being confident.

Mahesh SV and Sudharshan Rajan : These were my first techincal mentors, their guidance even after i moved to different organisations always has helped me a lot. Whatever i code or build today, most of the standards come from what these people have instilled in me.

Ram Dwivedi : The past few months had been difficult for me personally but Ram always took the time to guide me and keep me calm. The calmness and positivity that Ram has is infectious. It takes a lot to be the person Ram is and he will always be the person i look upto.

Debabrat Sarma : One day, i was having a very tough day at work, like so do most people. Deba, sat with me on a zoom call for more than hour, asked me to forget all about the things that were piled up, and spoke to me about Formula 1. I’ll never forget that day. It was that day when i realised that one hour of an escape can really help a lot. Its not the end of the world when you skip a deadline.

Padma Ayala, Abdul Wahed, Sravani and Suresh : The best group of people to work with. Everyday I talk to and work with these people, the more i learn and realise that i still have a long way to go. The morals and lessons i get from their stories is what motivates me to be better. These people taught me that work is not everything, there are things beyond that and mastering those would help us work better.

I may have forgotten to mention a lot of other people. But you guys have been really supportive of me and i cant thank you all enough for mentoring, tutoring and helping me. Today is not the day where i have achieved something. But for being where i am today is an achievement enough. The past few years, the people ive met and the experiences that ive had have shaped me into who i am.

To meeting new people, more learnings and experiences in 2022.

Cheers !