Sunita Swaraj | Principal
The Heritage School Vasant Kunj New Delhi India

karmanyevādhikārastemāphaleşukadācana; mā karma-phala-heturbhūrmātesańgostvakarmaņi “ “You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty”. This is a verse often deemed to be platitudinous but not bereft of a profound sense of understanding of one’s dharma. This treasured counsel from the Bhagavad Gita has been my guiding principle all my life.  My journey as an educationist, filled with a sense of determination and an all-encompassing vision, presented mewith opportunities to work closely with students and faculties of various schools in multiple states. With more than two decades of teaching and administrative experience, I have continued with my journey as a catalyst of change in the lives of emerging youths through education. An inherent desire to excel, accentuated by the encouraging atmosphere of my family, I have strived to attain commendable positions in several extracurricular outdoor/indoor activities like organizing fetes, trekking expeditions, blood donation drives, raising funds for charity etc. Being highly motivated and result oriented I have a proven track record of providing exemplary levels of services, ranging from establishing schools, formulating curriculums, evaluating school practices, managing official duties, and interacting with faculty members, staff and students on a regular basis.  Under my esteemed leadership, I have undertaken various philanthropic initiatives which include adopting slums near Begumpet Railway Station in Secunderabad and leading literacyand cleanliness drives in slum dwellings near St. Francis Degree College for Women, Secunderabad. With an underlying vision of equipping the slum dwellers with hygienic and nutritious ways of cooking and storing food, I have led a cooking drivewith a wide array of activities to promote safe and healthy cooking practices. Inevitably I as a steadfast member of an NGO, that I have been a part of for more than seven years, Ihave volunteered for several blood donation drives, adopted the government schools for facelift, promoted adult literacy campaigns and counseled the economically and socially weaker sections for improved lifestyle and well-being. Under the aegis of my leadership I have played a seminal role in materializing anAnti-Liquor drive at the Bhonsi Village in Gurugram. With an aim of alleviating the socially and economically weaker sections of society, I as the Principal of The Heritage School, Vasant Kunj, was propelled to establish the National Service Scheme Club in the school to empower and sensitize students by means of equipping them with leadership capacities to be effective agents of change in society. The NSS Club suffused the students with rigor and passion to plan and move out in the community to fabricate lasting change on various levels. As part of the community outreach program, the NSS Club extended a helping hand to the underprivileged around Vasant Kunj by organizing a plethora of events such as “ joy of giving week”,“cleanliness drive”, “blanket drive” among others. Not only did it help the indigent but also provided the students with a valuable lesson and opportunity to reflect on the need to overcome socio-economic disparities. Moreover, under the initiative of I AM A TEACHER program,school students undertook the responsibility to enroll the underprivileged children from nearby slum areas to the South Delhi Municipal Corporation School.  Art and music sessions are enthusiastically undertaken by the students of The Heritage School to make learning enjoyable and meaningful for the children. Similarly, cognizant of the growing alienation and marginalization of students belonging to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) from mainstream society, I necessitatedas well as implemented the establishment of Project “PATANG”that aims to provide functional literacy for both parents and students of the EWS category. Although my work primarily revolves around children, however, I feel that parents also need to be empowered as members of community to initiate a change in society. Hence special counseling and mentoring sessions are regularly organized for the upliftment of parents belonging to the EWS category to promote self-sufficiency. Likewise, being a fervent advocate of environmental issues, I have taken up several measures to combat rising environmental crisis, by leading several cleanliness drives under the “Swatch Bharat Abhiyan” in the school premises. Under my unrelentingguidance, the school’s Eco Club in association with “Disney friends for change” adopted a park in the vicinity for conserving the green spaces in the city and helping the community understand the importance of green zones. I admit it is imperative to involve other schools in raising awareness about the environment hence; I aided one of the schools in the neighborhood to organize a “Say No To Polythene” campaign.  As I embark on the endeavor of bringing excellence in the institutional practices and growth of its members with an indomitable spirit, I firmly believe in sharing my learning and experience with all those around. I, dream of a student and a teacher community learn constantly and can materialize change in the society. With my indefatigable spirit and insatiable quest for knowledge, I hope to find creative as well as enriching ways to help teachers in improvising their pedagogical content knowledge along with the latest methodological practices. I am a staunch proponent of research who believes that “If norms can be created with pre-service teachers that help them link ideas from research to facilitating their success in the classroom, then it is possible that research can become a regular resource for problem solving”. Along with my penchant for innovation and learning, I realize the benefit of research in education thus I am willing to start building a metaphorical bridge connecting the current educational systems with knowledge. Last but not the least I unflinchingly believe that the various steps and measures undertaken by me not only ameliorated the stifling environment of socio-economic and even ecological disparities but also laid the groundwork for, inter alia a safer, more successful environment for learning and capacity building.