The Chiropractic Coaching and Mentorship Programme (CCMP) in collaboration with the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) had the privilege of hosting three guest speakers who provided motivational talks to the first year Chiropractic students on the 20th of August 2019. The event was hosted at the DUT Hotel School and was organized by mentors, Shrishti Maharaj and Mary Ann Ruthnam, with assistance from Dr Yomika Venketsamy who is a lecturer, Chiropractor and the programme Coordinator of the CCMP.
The speakers included two DUT alumni, Dr. Surasha Kandhai and Mr Rene Chunilall. Dr Kandhai is a Chiropractor in private practice, who graduated with her Master’s Degree in 2007, while Mr Chunilall received his National Diploma in Software Development and a Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology cum laude and with the Dean’s Commendation in 2017. He is currently a cyber security analyst and artificial intelligence enthusiast. The Mentorship Programme also had the pleasure of hosting Ms Revati Priya, an entrepreneur who is the owner of Reva magazine, which has a strong focus on women empowerment.
Dr Kandhai provided the students with insight on life during and after university from a Chiropractor’s perspective, in which she educated the students on time management, surviving a notoriously long and challenging degree and the highlights of running a practice after qualifying. The students were afforded the opportunity to engage with Dr Kandhai and Dr Venketsamy in a question and answer session, which contributed to furthering the student’s knowledge on their degree and life in practice and beyond.
The second speaker, Ms Revati Priya, motivated the students by providing them with an alternative method of approaching problems that they may face in life. She advised the students on the importance of self-empowerment and provided them with life skills that they can use when tackling challenges in campus and in life. Ms Priya also provided the students with the opportunity to approach her should they require bursaries, as her company aims to aid students, and contributes to empowering women along with the future leaders of the country.
The final speaker was Mr Rene Chunilall, who provided a dynamic and youthful approach in motivating the students. In his talk, Mr Chunilall spoke about the importance of individualism and finding what works for you as a student. He highlighted important aspects such as study techniques, changing one’s own subjective thinking and encouraged students to think outside the box, both in university and in life. He used his own personal experiences to explain and promote the idea of understanding oneself and provided key life lessons that the students could use to navigate through campus life and beyond.
The event was a success as each speaker provided valuable life advice, each bringing in their own styles, energy and enthusiasm that saw the first-year students both inspired and motivated to do their best in the Chiropractic course.
Shrishti Maharaj
