Degree2Destiny

- Backed by Northeastern University’s startup founder co-op from Boston, USA, D2D has impacted over 3500+ students across India in just 6 months of full-time operations.
- Created pathways for students to connect academic achievements with real-world careers, enhancing their professional readiness in a competitive global market.
- Spearheaded the development of the CAN (Communication, AI, Networking) model to enhance generative AI skills, communication abilities, and networking strategies.
- Focused on bridging the gap between traditional education and the workforce by providing tailored, actionable skills that align with industry demands.

Founder

Notion

- Hosting in-person and virtual events to introduce students and faculty to Notion's powerful tools.
- Creating and sharing Notion templates to streamline workflows and boost productivity.
- Collaborating with student organizations and departments to implement Notion for better organization and project management.
- Building an engaged Notion community through social media content, workshops, and peer-to-peer support.
- Providing feedback to Notion's product team and participating in brand campaigns to promote new features.

Campus Leader

Northeastern University

- Leading 10+ campus tours every semester for prospective students, providing insights into the student experience at Northeastern.

Husky Ambassador

GyanDhan

- Supported a community of 21,000+ students with expert guidance on study abroad opportunities, including application processes, scholarships, and visa requirements.
- Empowered aspiring international students by providing personalized advice and fostering a resourceful, supportive community.

Ambassador

WEvolve together

- Featured on Future Egalitarian Ethical Liberal Leaders Changemaker List 2022 and myKolkata The Telegraph for exceptional work.
- Mentored over 20+ students with low-income backgrounds in India with college applications for institutions in USA and UK.
- Conducted 3 workshops on Gender Equality engaging over 20+ individuals in collaboration with Goethe Institute for the ‘Gender Week’.
-Spreading awareness about gender-related issues through Instagram Marketing (@wevolve.together) 

The WEvolve Podcast, Host
-Discussing gender equity and roles in society
-Conducting interviews with changemakers who are influential and empowered individuals discussing gender in society and how that has impacted their lives.

Founder and Podcast Host

YOUTHTOPIA

- Part of a community of Youth Change-makers across the world.

Circle of Youth Member

D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University

- Collaborated in designing CEM programming and conducting interdisciplinary research on emerging markets with Faculty Fellows.
- Enhanced student engagement through strategic outreach efforts, increasing CEM's visibility across
Northeastern University.
- Represented and led a diverse group of students from three colleges, aligning CEM initiatives with varied academic and career goals.

Center for Emerging Markets Student Associate

- Provide guidance to undergraduate business students navigating the co-op process.
- Review student resumes and conduct mock interviews to enhance employability.
- Facilitate small group workshops and lead networking events.
- Mentor students on preparing for and reflecting on professional co-op experiences.
- Serve as a co-op role model, fostering growth through one-on-one and group support.

Peer Mentor and TA

NU Entrepreneurs Club

- Directing a flagship program within the largest campus organization, consisting of over 2000 active members.
- Fostering a collaborative platform for Northeastern’s aspiring entrepreneurs to learn new skills and build their entrepreneurial toolkit.

Co-Director of Engage

MeriPocket

- Leading problem-solving initiatives to address challenges in promoting our advocacy and expanding our reach.
- Shaping brand identity to resonate with our target audience, and make a compelling case for the need for pockets in women's clothing.
- Leveraging digital marketing strategies to boost online presence, engage with audience, and drive our campaign forward.

Brand Strategist

Technoplat

#TechTuesdaysUK is the Knowledge Platform, launched by Technoplat (www.WeAreTechnoplat.tech), in January 2023.  It’s a member-driven community, that aims to bring together creators and innovators in the technology industry. My role as a Volunteer was the following.

•	Coordination with the guests, 
•	Scheduling the events on the first Tuesday of every month and 
•	Interviewing leaders from the tech sector.

Volunteer

Learning LinkedIn as a super skill | Sophomore at Northeastern University

I’m a 21-year-old entrepreneur building an AI-powered startup to fix what we are not taught.

As a student, I saw a recurring gap — students had potential, but lacked the tools, confidence, and systems to convert it into careers. So I launched Degree2Destiny to bridge the space between education and employment, blending AI with mentorship and real-world skills.

In just 8 months of full-time operations, we've impacted 3000+ students through our CAN model (Communication, AI, Networking). I’ve spoken at the Grace Hopper Celebration, mentored 30+ peers as a  teaching assistant and built workshop programs now run across India and the U.S.

My next milestone? Scale D2D to impact 1 million students, become revenue-positive by year one post-grad, and launch our digital platform to help every student build their career with AI, not just a degree.

If you care about the future of education, youth empowerment, or want to collaborate on bold ideas — I’d love to connect. Let’s reimagine what student success can look like.

Anjali Laddha

I hit 5,000 followers on LinkedIn as a student.
And no, I didn’t have fancy credentials, elite networks, or a perfect content plan.

Here’s exactly how you can grow too:

1️⃣ Comment like a creator.
Thoughtful comments on big creators' posts get you seen faster than posting alone.

2️⃣ DM to build relationships, not ask for favors.
“Loved your post, here’s what it taught me..” goes way further than
“Can you please mentor me?”

3️⃣ Find people your age.
Your first real network comes from the students building right beside you.

4️⃣ Maintain relationships.
Reply to comments. Celebrate wins. Check in. Most people only show up when they need something, don’t be that person.

5️⃣ Start creating way earlier than you think.
99% of students consume.
1% create.
Guess who grows?

Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, NotebookLM make it easier than ever.
You just need to start.

If a student like me could do it…
so can you!

P.S: thank you so much for all the love you have shown me, upwards from here 💌

Anjali Laddha 🌟

AI Trainer helping students + colleges turn degrees into careers 🚀 | Founder @Degree2Destiny | 4,000+ students & faculty trained | Author of CANnected 📘

i sent 50 "can i pick your brain?" messages on linkedin.
got 3 replies. all "i'm busy right now."

old approach:
"hi! i'd love to learn about your career journey."

new approach:
"saw your post on [topic] and it sparked a thought. i’ve been experimenting with [ai solution or insight] and here’s what i learned. sharing in case it’s useful."

no ask.
no pitch.
no pressure.
just value dropped in their inbox.

my response rate jumped from 6 percent to 47 percent.

because i stopped asking for time.
and started contributing something they could use.

the can model broke it down:
→ communication: lead with insight, not need
→ ai fluency: research before you reach out
→ networking: show what you’re building instead of asking for access
→ value: make your message helpful even if they never reply

3 of those conversations turned into mentorships.
1 became a client.

your network grows when you give people something worth responding to.
not another calendar invite.

master’s students ask me for career advice.
me. a 21-year-old still figuring things out.

and honestly? it feels weird.
i’m not an industry veteran. i don’t have decades of experience. half the time, i’m googling things right alongside them.

but they still reach out.
and i still show up.

because here’s the truth: they’re not asking because i have all the answers. they’re asking because mentorship is rare. the people who do have the answers are often too busy, too far removed, or too unreachable.

so i give what i can. honest advice. real talk about what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what i’m still learning.

it’s not perfect. but it’s something.
and that “something” shouldn’t have to come from someone who’s barely ahead.

here’s my ask:
if you’ve been in the industry for a while, if you’ve learned lessons the hard way, if you have 30 minutes a month to spare, please consider mentoring.

there are brilliant minds out there just looking for someone who believes in them.
someone who’ll take the call.
someone who’ll share the real story, not just the highlight reel.

the gap is real. so is the opportunity to fill it.

if you can mentor, let me know. let’s connect people who need guidance with people who can give it!

I turned 22 this weekend...

and between family games, cousins talking till 12 am and my parents planning everything even though half of us were sick, something clicked.

growing up isn’t boring. it’s just finally knowing what matters.

so here are the lessons that have shaped me,
consider this the cheat sheet i wish i had

1. thinking you need to hustle alone.
building in isolation kills momentum faster than failure.

2. waiting for clarity before starting.
clarity comes after action, never before.

3. saying yes to every opportunity.
focus is oxygen. distraction is free.

4. building without systems.
energy can kickstart a company, but systems scale it.

5. ignoring your health because “startup mode.”
no founder. no business.

6. chasing virality instead of trust.
views don’t pay you. trust does.

7. treating every problem like a personal flaw.
most issues are operational, not emotional.

8. not asking for help early.
mentors can save you 6 months of suffering with one call.

9. thinking revenue will magically come later.
sell early. sell ugly. sell imperfect.

10. building things nobody asked for.
talk to your users. again. and again.

11. underestimating how long consistency takes.
90 days of discipline beats 1 day of motivation.

12. making the team guess what you want.
communicate clearly or chaos will communicate for you.

13. overworking because you’re scared to slow down.
rest is not the enemy of ambition.

14. expecting friends to understand your journey.
they won’t. and that’s okay.

15. thinking funding solves everything.
execution > capital.

16. confusing movement with progress.
busy is easy. meaningful is hard.

17. hiding the messy middle.
your story matters more than you think.

18. postponing joy till the “big win.”
celebrate the small ones. they’re what actually keep you alive.

19. trying to be the expert too soon.
curiosity is a better strategy than confidence.

20. forgetting to document the journey.
your future self will thank you.

21. not protecting your creative energy.
your ideas are your edge. guard them.

22. thinking you have endless time with family.
you don’t. and building in india reminded me how lucky i am to celebrate birthdays with the people who raised me.

Which one hit you the hardest? Drop the number below.
And if you’re building something right now, save this. You’ll need it 🩷

p.s. we also hit 5k on LinkedIn. thank you so much 🫶🏼
(post coming tomorrow)

“You’re throwing your life away.”

That’s what they said when I left Boston mid-college to come back to India.

“You LEFT Northeastern?”
“You’re throwing away opportunities.”
“Just finish your degree first na.”

I came back anyway.

Woh kehte hai na, kuch toh log kahenge, logo ka kaam hai kehna. 🤷🏻‍♀️

From my bedroom in Kolkata:
→ Built a funded edtech startup
→ Spoke at Grace Hopper at 21
→ Impacted 4,000+ students
→ Won a global impact award 

Now? I split my time every 6 months between Boston and Kolkata.

Study. Startup. Repeat. ✈️

The same people who said I was “ruining my future”?
Sliding into my DMs asking how their kids can “do what I do.” 💀

Funny how “throwing your life away” becomes “so inspiring beta.”

What’s something you did that everyone said you’d regret? Tell me below👇

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“You study International Business? But you work in AI!?"

I hear this so often I could put it on merch.

Here’s the real answer:
Your degree is a starting point. Your skills are the accelerator.

I didn’t study CS. I can’t code.
But I still built a career in AI because I focused on the things that actually move the needle:

1. Learn fast
 I treated AI tools like a language. Daily reps. Micro-experiments. Build → break → rebuild.

2. Solve real problems
Students didn’t need “AI theory.” They needed résumés rewritten, LinkedIn fixed, and interview prep in minutes. AI became the tool to deliver outcomes faster.

3. Communicate like a human
Most AI content is boring. I used my IB background to translate complex ideas into simple, relatable content. That’s why 4,000+ students trusted me.

4. Don’t wait for permission
If I waited for a “relevant” degree, I’d still be stuck in chapter one. I picked a lane, built proof, and let results speak.

Here’s the part people won’t say out loud:
They’re not shocked that I work in AI.
They’re shocked that I didn’t follow the script they followed.

If your degree doesn’t match your ambition, do this today:
→ Pick one problem you can solve with AI
→ Build a simple solution (demo > certificate)
→ Teach it to someone
→ Document it publicly
→ Iterate this for at least 2 months

Do this consistently and nobody will care what you studied.

They’ll only care what you can do.

Your degree is context. Your skills are currency.

What people think opportunity in India looks like:
→ English fluency
→ Metro city exposure
→ IIT/NIT pedigree
→ Perfect LinkedIn profile
→ Family connections

What 4,000 students taught me it actually is:
→ Curiosity that refuses to stay quiet
→ One laptop + patchy Wi-Fi + unstoppable hunger
→ A mentor who answers one hard question
→ The courage to send the first message
→ Knowing how to use AI better than your degree ever taught you

For a year, I have watched students from Bhubaneswar, Kanpur, Siliguri, Jaipur and dozens of “invisible” towns do what the system never expected from them.

They weren’t waiting for opportunity.
They were building it.
Inside hostels.
Inside shared rooms.
Inside cyber cafés.
Inside lives that were never designed for them to win.

And that’s when it hit me:

Talent in India isn’t top-tier.
It’s everywhere.
Opportunity isn’t democratic.
It’s uneven.

But when you give a student:
→ Communication skills
→ AI fluency
→ A chance to network beyond their pin codes

The entire map shifts.

4,000 students showed me one truth:
The future of India won’t be built by privilege.
It’ll be built by access.

And access can start anywhere, even in the smallest room, with the slowest internet, on the quietest street.

What part of “opportunity in India” have you misunderstood the most?

internships teach basics. evidence gets you hired.

here’s the part nobody admits:

internships teach communication, deadlines, teamwork. they're great for your first taste of real work.

but after the basics? another internship won’t make you stand out. and it definitely won’t guarantee a job.

once you know how to work with people, employers stop caring about “experience.”

they care about output.

can you build?
can you solve problems?
can you show skill without someone hand-holding you?

most students say:
“i can’t get interviews despite work experience.”
but their profile has nothing to click, nothing to use, nothing to trust.

the truth hurts:

if you already know how to communicate and show up, your next step isn’t another internship.

it’s evidence.

real projects. ai prototypes. mini apps. automations. case studies. live demos.

and then do what 99 percent never think of:

drop links to functioning apps on your linkedin.
let employers see what you can do, not what you claim on paper.

experience gets you started.
evidence gets you hired.

gen z would rather die than give a presentation
literally
73 percent of us fear public speaking more than death

but here’s the plot twist nobody talks about:
ai will do everything
except the one thing that actually matters
talking to humans

you can have chatgpt:
→ write your code
→ build your pitch deck
→ draft your emails

but it can’t:
→ read the room in a client meeting
→ navigate the awkward silence after you propose an idea
→ build trust with a colleague who’s about to quit

i watched a brilliant developer lose a promotion
not because his code was bad
but because he couldn’t explain why it mattered in a 5 minute standup

meanwhile, someone with half his skills but twice his communication got the role

the uncomfortable truth:
in 5 years, ai handles the work
you handle the conversation

and most of us are training for the wrong skill
we’re learning prompts
we should be learning presence

the future won’t belong to the best coders
it will belong to the best communicators who know how to use ai

NotebookLM now makes infographics.

Upload your LinkedIn profile → click "Infographic" → instant visual story.
No design skills. No Canva subscription. No overthinking.

I just turned my "International Business grad teaching AI to 4,000+ students" journey into something people can actually see.

Perfect for:
- LinkedIn banners that mean something
- Intro slides that don't bore people
- Portfolio pieces for students with zero design experience

The tool I wish existed when I was explaining my accidental founder story 100 times over

everyone wants to be a founder until it’s 2 am and you’re still working.

that’s usually when the “passion” gets tested.

here’s the part we don’t talk about enough:
work-life balance looks very different when you’re building something from zero.

people love to say:
“oh, but you have flexible hours.”
“you’re your own boss.”

what they don’t see is that flexible often just means everything blends together.

in the early days, balance isn’t perfect. it’s messy. it shifts week to week.

some weeks you miss plans
some days your energy is low
some conversations get harder
some nights your mind just won’t switch off

and everyone around you will have opinions:
“you’re doing too much.”
“this doesn’t feel sustainable.”
“don’t forget to take care of yourself.”

they’re not wrong. and they usually mean well.
but they’re also not in your shoes.

the uncomfortable truth:
→ focus can look like obsession from the outside
→ building something meaningful often asks for more than a 9–5
→ the work isn’t glamorous most days
→ balance is something you actively build, not something you start with

i’m not glorifying burnout.
i’m just being honest about the early-stage trade-offs.

if you want the founder life people admire later,
you have to be willing to sit with some discomfort now.

lock in when it matters.
rest when you can.
adjust as you go.

still working late tonight?
you’re not alone.

You type well. You speak poorly. Fix that.

Students aren’t losing opportunities because they’re “not skilled.”
They’re losing them because they can’t communicate.

So let’s get actionable.

If you want to fix your communication, do these 7 things immediately:

1️⃣ Record yourself speaking for 60 seconds daily.
You’ll instantly spot your ums, pauses, fillers, and weak points.

2️⃣ Join one real conversation every day.
Not texting.
Not DMs.
A real conversation, with a classmate, senior, professor, anyone.

3️⃣ Explain one concept out loud like you’re teaching it.
If you can’t explain simply, you don’t really understand it.

4️⃣ Start replacing “I don’t know what to say” with questions.
Question = conversation starter.
Silence = opportunity killer.

5️⃣ Give your answers in a structure: Point → Reason → Example.
This works in every interview, GD, and networking call.

6️⃣ Practice talking without reading from your screen.
You won’t have notes in interviews.
Train for the real environment.

7️⃣ Join uncomfortable conversations.
Ask for feedback.
Talk to seniors.
Introduce yourself first.
Growth only happens in discomfort.

Because here’s the truth nobody tells you:

Communication is a skill.
Not a personality trait.
Not a talent.
A skill.

And if you don’t build it now, it will cost you:
→ Internships
→ Placements
→ Opportunities
→ Confidence

Fix it before it fixes your future for you.

Made with NotebookLM

Building in India? This is the only Elon Musk x Nikhil Kamath insight you need:

1. Create value, not noise
Don’t chase money. Chase usefulness. If your product solves a real problem, revenue follows. Be a net contributor. Make sure your output is worth more than your input.

2. Outwork everyone
You want to build something difficult? Expect serious hours. Serious focus. Real chance of failure. No one glamorizes this part, but every founder feels it.

3. AI is the supersonic tsunami
This decade is the biggest tech shift of our lifetime.

• Work becomes optional in 10 to 20 years
• Biggest value creation sits in AI, robotics, space
• When content becomes infinite, live experiences go premium

If you’re building around AI today, you’re still early.

4. Study widely
Don’t memorise. Think across disciplines. Arts, science, psychology, logic. More mental models equals better decisions. Also, keep humor alive. Humorless societies don’t innovate.

5. Bet on fundamentals
Ignore the noise. Back products you actually like. Back teams that are hungry, talented, obsessed with creating value.

The analogy that stuck:
Being a young founder today feels like building a house while the climate keeps shifting.

Your foundation: value creation
Your survival: work ethic
Your advantage: using AI before the rest of the world wakes up

Graphic made using NotebookLM

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