Never doubt your own potential and if you have a chance to contribute to society in any way you should do it. – Mehak Gupta
Mehak Gupta is a 17-year-old social entrepreneur from Delhi. She is a co-founder at Umpteen Treasure which has a student community of over 250 students with more than 40 volunteers. She is involved in providing free workshops on quality education and skill development through the organization. Since December 2020, she has been working on umpteenTreasure. Aside from that, she initiated a media page called “Teen Psychopaths” with the goal of raising awareness about various social issues via social media platforms. Her social media accounts have 450+ followers and a total reach of 40,000 views.
Mehak is currently working under “Gyan Centre” project to teach underprivileged kids along with her team members in collaboration with the CIITA organization about various social issues that prevail in our society and help them realize their potential to take action against the issues like Gender Equality, Racism, Child Right, Bullying, etc. Aside from that, Mahak enjoys writing, reading, and dancing, and she is passionate about youth empowerment.
Mehak believes in change and action. Her work truly empowers teenagers to act for a positive change. Her dedication and enthusiasm towards bringing impact in society has made her one of the change-makers and recognized as one of the Finalists of Glocal Teen Hero India 2021. We had a few conversations with her regarding her projects. The major highlights of the interview are given below;
How was your experience when you were announced as a Top 6 Finalist of Wai Wai Glocal Teen Hero India, 2021?
I was thrilled when I received the email mentioning that I am one of the top 6 finalists. At the moment it felt surreal that I am one of the finalists of one of the most prestigious awards that recognises teens work in various fields.
What is the motive behind initiating UmpteenTreasure?
As a student who strongly believes in holistic approach to education I found there are very few or none resources for underprivileged kids available to them at zero cost or just any student who is keen on exploring various co-curricular for that matter, This is the reason I started UmpteenTreasure along with one of my dear friend Khanak Lashkari to be able to provide right resources for absolutely no cost. The idea is to provide co-curricular resources to students from the workshops in mentorship programs at absolutely no to least cost.
You are a founder of teenpsychopaths, how did you come up with the idea to initiate into the action?
Teenpsychopaths is a media-based initiative that focuses on using social media to spread awareness on various social issues through an entertaining way. We upload interactive and fun posts on our pages. We basically try to connect ongoing trends to help create awareness on issues that aren’t talked about on a large scale in our society. The idea behind was simple, there are pages that spread awareness on issues like LGBTQ+, Mental health and Teen struggles, but few who make it interesting and fun for teenagers to actually read them that has what led to start Teenpsychopaths with one of the most amazing teams I have. My co-founder- Tasem, Director- Vidya and every other volunteer who has contributed are amazing and very skilled in their work.
What is the best thing that keeps you motivated?
The things that keep me motivated are my family and friends- who have always encouraged me to be better and to do better. I am grateful for the team I have that works with me in both of my initiatives and the people around me. I also am grateful to have the capacity to help others and make the world a better society even if it is a small contribution. This realisation you can say is one of the greatest factors to keep me motivated.
What are your plans further? What will you be working on?
I plan on continuing my social entrepreneurship journey. I plan on expanding and investing more resources on my initiatives. I am also looking forward to completing my education in business management or Psychology.
What message would you like to deliver to the teenagers?
Most teenagers have great ideas in their minds, I would say great ideas, but very few act on them because they do not realise their own potential. I would like to say to never doubt themselves and their potential and if you have a chance to contribute to society in any way you should do it. That is all I can say to my fellow teenagers.
