Komal Parakh has recently participated in the Mission Dreams Beauty Pageant. Mission Dreams Beauty pageant leaves an impact on women empowerment because it gives a platform for the girls to be heard on different levels, and most importantly it places them in leadership and mentorship roles. We had a short interview session with Komal. Read ahead to know what she has to say;
1. Tell us about your passion, your achievements & your aim?
ANSWER: I, Komal Parakh, have graduated in Economics and Political Science from the University of Mumbai. I have successfully founded the organization Upcycle Corps., a startup venture dedicated to bringing sustainable lifestyles to communities. Through my startup venture, I have effectively prevented over 50,000 meters of underutilized textile leftover from garment manufacturing and apparel production from going to waste by ending up in incinerators or landfills. I have repurposed all this textile into 10,000+ sustainable clothing concepts. In the entire process, I have generated fair-wage employment opportunities for 150+ artisans hailing from the remotest parts of the country.
In 2015, I, along with my team, were awarded the 1st prize for the best business model at National University of Singapore (NUS). In 2016, I was one of the 350 delegates chosen from a global applicant pool to represent her country, India at the Harvard Project for Asia and International Relations (HPAIR), where I represented the Entrepreneurship panel. In 2018, I was accepted into the spring cohort of Harvard Innovation Labs’ Student Venture Network. In addition to this, I am on the board of several startups across the education, healthcare, IT and Consulting space. These include Oya Opportunities, FutureHack, Digital Mayong, & Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp.
I was recently awarded the ‘Outstanding Young Achiever of the Year’ by the Global Education Summit & Awards 2021 for my exemplary achievements and contribution in the education space. I have also been awarded as the ‘India Inspirational Woman 2021’ in the ‘Environmental Entrepreneurship’ space and the’ Influential Indians Award 2021′ for ‘Academic Excellence’ respectively. In addition to this, I have been featured in the prestigious ‘99 Women Achievers of India’ book published by the The Indian Achievers Club and the ‘30 under 30 awardees’ of the same organization.
Being a prolific writer, I have published several articles including ‘Barter in the Age of Paucity and Excess’, ‘Dissolving Boundaries Through Sustainable Returns’ and ‘Application Development as a Career’ on LinkedIn, the Harvard Crimson and Education Times (Times of India) respectively.
I am passionate about entrepreneurship, acting, writing and economics. I am a youth advocate for climate action and sustainability.
2. Why do you want to be an actor?
ANSWER: Gerardine Clark once said, “That’s what makes acting so attractive. You get to break all your own rules.” The said quote completely resonates with me. I feel acting lets one step into another person’s shoes, allowing one to be a part of a variety of circumstances without leaving one’s body. It provides insight into the human brain, emotion and mind. Acting is both a refreshing and a stimulating activity and an enterprise.
3. When did you realize you can be an actor?
ANSWER: I felt like I could be actor when I won the ‘Best Actress Award’ in Class 9 during the annual intra-school cultural festival of St. Mary’s I.C.S.E. School, Stage fright for playing the role of Ranyevskaya from the ‘Cherry Orchard’ by Anton Chekov. Throughout my school life, I have won several awards while participating in Street plays, dramas and extempores. While at Harvard, I received a call back for my auditions to play a role in a rendition of the esteemed Shakespeare play, ‘Macbeth.’ Thus, I feel acting has always been a very integral part of my life.
4. Where you want to see yourself in next 5 years.
ANSWER: In the next 5 years, I see myself dabbling in my various passions and becoming a successful entrepreneur, economist, actor and environmentalist. I am equally passionate about the arts, social sciences and enterprise so I don’t imagine leaving either of them to pursue one.
5. 5 interesting facts about you that people should know?
ANSWER: I absolutely love desserts.
I love Bombay and Boston in equal parts.
I am extremely close to my mom.
I am always applying to things.
I love academics as much I enjoy entrepreneurship and acting.
Beauty Pageants are channels of various public campaigns or behavior change, the fact that these girls get a chance to be a part of this, places women at the forefront of building our country. Whereas, girls that take part in these contests turn out to be responsible young women who engage in activities that build the country. Mission Dreams feels proud to have such young talents who boost the aura of the show and bring prosperity to the country.