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Harshan Singh Gandham


                                                    I  had  the  opportunity  to  participate  in  the  Hemkunt  Speech
                                                    competition  for  now  my  fifth  year.  I  had  started  my  journey
                                                    through  the  Hemkunt  speech  competition  in  level  two  when  I
                                                    was just a little kid who didn’t know a lot, and whose speaking
                                                    abilities  were  of  no  merit.  That  didn’t  stop  me  from

                                                    participating and I wanted to win and make it to international,
                                                    but that wasn’t exactly the case. That didn’t put me down, but
                                                    motivated  me  to  work  harder,  stay  up  late  memorizing  my

                                                    speech, and getting every point done to be fully prepared. This
                                                    helped me from not making it to the zonal level, to making it to
                                                    the  zonal  level  but  not  qualifying  for  international,  then
                                                    qualifying  for  international  but  not  placing,  to  making
            international and winning back to back years.


            When I look back at all the years I did the Hemkunt speech competition, it wasn’t the end result that
            stuck out, but the journey there. The friends I made along the way, the hard work I put in, the people I

            met, and the places I went because of my dedication were what I remember the most. I learned so
            much  just  from  speech  competitions  about  Sikhi,  public  speaking,  hard  work,  etc.  The  amazing  and
            knowledge-packed books that I read throughout the years connected me more with Sikhi and Waheguru,
            enriching my knowledge past what I could have ever expected. These speech competitions took me from

            being  an  inadequate  speaker,  to  being  an  eloquent,  fluent,  articulate,  and  expressive  speaker.  Even
            more so, it built up my confidence when speaking in front of dozens of people, and in other pressure
            seeming situations.


            Apart from that, I learned that my hard work and dedication can get me so far, as long as I continue
            to accept loss and let that motivate me to win. Throughout the Hemkunt Symposium, winning obviously
            mattered a lot, but for me it was always about working hard and improving. As long as I knew I was

            improving, the position I got did not matter as much. What also mattered to me was taking the lessons
            I learned from the books I read and applying it in the real world. For example, one year the topic was
            Bhai Kanahiya ji. When he was questioned about giving water to an enemy, he responded by saying that
            he does not see friend or enemy, he sees God in everyone. This greatly impacted and reminded me to

            help  anyone  and  everyone  when  possible.  For  all  the  younger  participants  in  the  Hemkunt  speech
            symposium, I want to take the time to appreciate your effort and dedication, as well as motivate you
            to never give up, especially not for the position you get. The experience and what you will have learned
            by the end of your Hemkunt journey will continue with you for your entire life, not some trophy.

                                                                                    Harshan Singh Gandham
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