‘Headed in the right direction’

While growing up in Vijayawada, Tarun Cherukuri’s childhood was inundated with messages alluding to the importance of social service. From positive quotes behind buses and vehicles, to his school, which had adopted a shelter home, and even his teachers in class, everything was nudging him towards what would be his ultimate calling.

Tarun, who was recently felicitated with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Emerging Global Leader Award, 2015, was a Fulbright Scholar to the graduate school for Public Policy and Administration in 2011, post his two-year stint as a Teach For India Fellow.

Also an alumnus of BITS Pilani, Tarun says, “My two years at Harvard exposed me to a kind of cultural diversity which I perhaps couldn’t have experienced otherwise. In a single classroom we had students from around 35 countries. There were people in my class who had fought in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, some had volunteered with Doctors Without Borders in African countries and several had worked in organisations like the World Bank.

“In that one space, their narrative and history became very real for us — enlightening and helping us widen our perspective towards the world.” For Tarun, who is currently the city director, operations, of Teach for India, Delhi, the drift from working at the Foods Division at Hindustan Unilever to signing up for the fellowship was gradual.

“My job as the technology manager at HUL was quite challenging and I got to engage with communities located near manufacturing units of Unilever, in both India and abroad. At the same time, I was also volunteering to teach in low-income schools in Mumbai during weekends and holidays.

“But this one time, when I was reading Steve Job’s biography, I came across an interesting anecdote where Steve asks John Sculley (who was earlier with PepsiCo), whom he then hired as the chief executive officer, ‘Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life or do you want to come with me and change the world?’ And this somehow made me rethink about what was it that I wanted to do with my life? Soon after, I quit my job and applied for the Teach For India fellowship.”

Tarun’s present job profile at TFI enables him to put systems in place in 80 schools in Delhi. He makes sure that this has an impact in every classroom, which can then serve as a positive, safe and conducive learning atmosphere for the students.

Despite the hard work that he puts in every day, Tarun was quite surprised on getting the award. “It feels like it’s too early a validation because there is a lot more to be done. Having said that, an accolade from my alma mater also affirms that I am headed in the right direction,” he says.