Certificates create the Oscar moments
From school to college, we all come across many certificates from time to time, which we often keep safe in files or cabinets and take a look at them only now and then. The certificates take us to the memory lane and return back to the same files. We came across a gentleman who not only kept the certificates intact but also got recognition from the India Book of Records for achieving multiple certificates in different activities. Meet Dr. Shreyas Srivatsan from Bengaluru, Karnataka, who is the Regional Head – Business Strategy (South India & International) at the Indian Hotels Company Limited, a Tata Group company.
42-year-old Dr. Shreyas is a kind-hearted person, who voluntarily goes for blood donation whenever the opportunity arises. Till now he has donated blood more than 20 times. Out of the 109 certificates submitted to the India Book of Records, 10 percent belong to blood donation, as for the rest, 29 certificates are from school days, and 31 from college time, while the remaining 52 certificates pertain to his professional life. He says that participation in the IBR was accidental. One day he was checking all his certificates when he realized that the number of certificates had exceeded one hundred, so he applied.
Dr Shreyas said, “Today I feel proud and feel that this honor is like a personal Oscar award for me and it is a recognition of all the efforts that I have put in to earn each and every certificate. I am reliving those moments of truth and cherish the stories behind each and every incident in my life. The appreciation I received for getting recognition of all the certificates is like winning 109 mini-Oscars of my life. Today when I look at all those certificates and tell their stories, I am inspiring the lives of many others and playing a role in creating a dream for them that they too can achieve something important in their life. Along with this, they can contribute to the development of the country.”
I used to get first prize in fancy dress competitions in school and the credit goes to my parents. They used to dress me up and teach me value-based dialogues, which I used to memorize and speak on stage. Today when I look back, I see a greater purpose in those activities. It instilled confidence in me and prepared me for public speaking at a very young age. I have embellished the roles of Jai Hanuman, Raja Ashok, etc.
I believe that learning is a continuous process. I did my doctorate during the time of the Covid pandemic. As the pandemic was a new revelation to mankind, the global industrial and service economy was severely affected and was even harsher for the hospitality industry. So, I chose to study this in detail as part of my doctoral thesis “Pandemic and Hospitality Industry – Indian Context Studies-2021” and was awarded a special recognition “Award of Excellence” by the panel. Based on this study I was able to estimate the correlations of the impact of Covid on the hospitality sector in India and was also able to do a sensitivity analysis of the rise and fall in cases that were affecting the sector at large. This study also enabled me to excel at my workplace and was able to contribute to my learning by blending it back into the organization’s strategy in mitigating Covid-related risks. It was another Oscar moment.