FIRST CAS INTERVIEW

Understanding
Which aspect of the programme excites you the most? Which aspect seems most challenging?

The aspect of the programme which seems the most exciting to me personally is creative
engagement. Art and music have been an active part of my daily life and activities, becoming an
interest that I have carried forward from a very young age. Creative activity really does excite
me as I am able to reflect and improve upon activities that come naturally to me, only advancing
my artistic and musical skills. The programme also allows me to provide structure and meaning
for activities that I usually do not reflect upon, or even document. Although I also have
experience in social service throughout my school years, it is the most challenging as I have
found ways to incorporate creativity and activity into my daily life, whereas service is not
necessarily an active factor. Another reason for service being challenging is the pandemic.
When I was working with social service in the past, it has always required me to engage with
large groups of people and actually go to orphanages and shelters. With the pandemic, this is a
very large challenge as we are unable to function as we did in the past, but I am sure that I will
be able to devise smart and safe ways to carry out service.

Student interests
Have you had any previous experiences that you would view as CAS?

I have had a very long journey in MUNs, singing, tennis, art, and social service regarding
orphan children and menstruation awareness in rural areas. I believe that all of the activities can
be perceived as CAS and my journey was quite similar as well. My journey in MUNs started in
7th grade, and each conference leads to learning, debate, and change. After every conference I
tend to reflect on my takeaways, improvements, and identify the changes I need to make to be
better in the next MUN. MUNs are a great way to learn, improve personal abilities and
collaboration, and to become a voice in the most important global issues. I think my process and
participation in MUNs is a perfect example of CAS.

Student plans for CAS

What ideas do you have for a CAS project? Are these ideas worth developing for a month or
more? What additional ideas do you have or backup plans if this is not viable?

One extremely unique idea I have had over the past couple of months is a “Custom Air Force 1
business”. This idea started in the beginning of the pandemic, when I had a surplus of free time
and started painting my shoes. Air force 1s are a pair of shoes that almost all of my friends
have, and currently there are no businesses in India that are able to customize them. The idea
started with me painting my shoes and posting them on my social media, when I was flooded
with requests from my followers to paint their shoes in exchange for remuneration. At first it
seemed silly, and then I realized the profit margin I would be making just from doing what I love.
I then realized that the revenue from painting these shoes could be used to donate, or purchase
items for orphanages. It quickly struck me that more people would be willing to pay for their
shoes to be customized if they realized it was for a good cause as well, and this became an
idea that I was incredibly headstrong on implementing. This idea developed for a month or so,
and I think it is worth developing throughout the CAS programme as it is creative, has a good
learning outcome aligning with business management and managing money in the real world,
and also has a service outcome. This idea was extremely viable from the very start and I had
many orders almost immediately after posting on my social media, and gathered a great
response from social media polls when I asked if this was something everyone would engage
with. Seeing the positive response and the likelihood of succeeding, I did not come up with a
backup plan.

CAS learning outcomes

What learning outcome appears as something you will easily do?

I think that I am already on the way to achieve the learning outcome “Demonstrate engagement
with issues of global significance” due to my MUN experience and my goal to continue
improving in the field. I am keen on securing an important position on the secretariat for
OakMUN2021 and I think that the very nature of MUNs is to learn, engage, discuss, and create
change and awareness for important global issues. I think that I will achieve the highest level of
engagement with issues of global significance if I am in the secretariat and am facilitating a
conference for a large number of students to be the voice of global issues as delegates, as I
once was. I am also confident about being a part of the secretariat as I have spent the last 5
years working very hard and building my experience.

Evidence of CAS
How will you reflect on your CAS experiences? Are there any preferred ways you like to reflect?

I have had a pattern of limited self reflection for my creative experiences in the past. To ensure
that I improve with self reflection, I will make progress reports and checklists capturing all my
improvements, challenges, insights, and most importantly skill development for each stage and
what I think should follow in the next stage. I think that the most effective way to reflect on my
CAS experiences would be to frame questions before each activity and answer them before and
after each activity is complete, this will show the growth and difference in perspective for the
specific activity. A video diary or photographs would also be an extremely good way to reflect on
my experiences as they will capture the activity itself and each stage can be compared.
SECOND CAS INTERVIEW

General advancements
What has been most enjoyable and beneficial for you thus far in CAS?

As I mentioned in my first interview, the most enjoyable and beneficial advancement to me in my

personal journey, as well as the CAS programme, is the position I have secured in the
secretariat for OakMUN2021 as USG of finance. Not only does it show my hard work and
commitment to the development from a delegate, to winning awards, to being a chair of a
committee, and finally becoming a secretariat member, it is extremely beneficial to me as I am
able to engage with and facilitate the process of creating change and awareness for many
different global issues all at once. I am learning a lot from the process about time management,
resource management, budget and money handling, organization, etc. and I am sure I will learn
just as much from the conference, working with so many delegates, each with a unique
perspective. Another enjoyable experience in CAS was my modeling internship and it was
extremely beneficial in improving my self image and confidence, something that most teenage
girls like me struggle with.

What do you hope to achieve most from CAS? How can you do this?

From CAS I am wishing to become a more organized and structured person when it comes to
important personal activities such as singing, kickboxing, and even just going to the gym. The
CAS programme helps develop meaning and outlines for activities that are extremely important
to our daily lives and has helped me improve a lot. Before I had a CAS perspective, the things I
loved to do were just recreational, but now I view them as an important factor of my life by
ensuring that I reflect on my activities and always think of ways to improve. Singing has been an
important activity for me since I was little, but with the self reflection methods I have set for
myself, I have started to train my vocals, expand my range, and challenge myself in different
genres and with difficult notes so that I can make progress. I wish to incorporate this approach
that I have learnt in the CAS programme into all aspects of my life to become the best version of
myself.

CAS programme
What difficulty has been hardest to overcome? Where might you need support at this time?

I faced a large difficulty with being able to carry out my normal service activities due to the
pandemic and the simple fact that traveling to orphanages and meeting the people there is just
not safe. It took months for me to find new ways to carry out service as I was extremely used to
what I have been doing for the past 10 years, raising funds, identifying the needs of rural
schools and orphanages, and purchasing items that could help them. I overcame this challenge
by simply waiting until lockdown was over and then finding new approaches. I came up with my
small business idea and utilized the funds to purchase stationery items, desks, and chairs for a
rural school for when the school reopened in a couple of months in my grandparent’s home
town. It was extremely difficult to communicate and carry out the service without contact or
without being able to see what was exactly needed, but I overcame the challenge through using
effective communication skills and critical thinking skills to understand the situation of the school
and devise ways to improve it.

Evidence of CAS
Can you describe a situation where reflection happened very naturally and easily? Did you have
a guided reflection opportunity that was helpful?

A very natural and easy reflection for me has been my journey in the gym. It was almost
involuntary as I was looking for results, ways to improve working out, and my flaws in what I
have been doing in each workout and completed a self reflection after working out every single
day without even noticing it. As someone who struggles a lot with body image and self esteem,
my self reflection after each workout session was extremely natural and helped me a lot. After I
realized that I was reflecting unknowingly and it has helped, I thought that a guided reflection
would be a lot more helpful in seeing progress. I developed a format in which I write what I'm
feeling before a workout, how I feel after a workout, what I think I did very well, what I think I can
do better from next time, and left a section for any other information I feel relevant to the
reflection. Since I started doing this, I have consciously taken note of my reflections, and have
seen incredible progress from the simple self appreciation of what I am doing well, and
identifying what can be better to implement it next time.

Verbal reflection
Outline a skill that you have strengthened or developed from engaging in a CAS experience.

My affective skills have improved a lot from playing tennis and working out. Engaging in physical
activity manages my mental health and state of mind, improves my focus and concentration in
other fields as well as my health, and most importantly, makes me feel better about myself
which is very important in carrying out other activities diligently and confidently.
THIRD CAS INTERVIEW

CAS programme
What did you most enjoy about CAS?

I really enjoyed the ways in which my daily activities and recreational activities developed
meaning and purpose. For example, painting. Before CAS I just used to paint whenever I felt
like it and used to leave pieces of work incomplete. Through the process of self reflection and
highlighting my feelings, thoughts, and understating of painting, the CAS reflection process
helped me learn that painting helps my mental health without me noticing it, and with each
reflection, my skills improved and my work started to come more naturally. The process of self
reflection helped me ease into the art form and helped me find a way to improve focus,
commitment, and expression. Reflecting helped me learn that painting was a very important
outlet for me. I really enjoyed how CAS changed my perspective towards things.

Evidence from CAS

How could you use something similar to a CAS portfolio in future endeavors?

The CAS portfolio helps highlight your strengths and weaknesses in activities, this is extremely
important for efficient and enhanced performance in any activity. My future endeavors will
definitely stem from personal interests that I have developed over time, and I have ensured that
all of my interests were captured in CAS. Developing a portfolio for my interests has helped me
improve in many different ways, and these improvements will be crucial for the steps I take
further. I could utilize the self reflection process, documentation process, and the building of a
portfolio to record my future endeavors while also maximizing the outcome.

CAS learning outcomes

What abilities and skills did you develop most significantly in CAS?

Self management, critical thinking, and organization skills are some of the most important
developments I have made in CAS. Due to all CAS activities being self-led, I have learnt to
organize information and allocate time effectively without someone to regulate it for me, which
will be extremely beneficial in my career, and anything I wish to do in the future. I developed my
critical thinking through reflection and analysis, and have also improved it through being in the
secretariat, finding unique ways to help society, and starting a small business. Leadership is
also an important role that I have learnt to exercise properly. Another skill I am particularly proud
of is being able to manage money and develop resourceful usage of it. As a USG of finance and
small business owner, I think I made important advancements by learning to calculate profits,
and budgets, and resourceful allocation, which will be extremely important in the real world as
an adult, and very important in my career.

Closing
What advice do you have for upcoming CAS students regarding making CAS
enjoyable, sustained over time and meaningful?
An important piece of advice that I was lucky enough to identify early on is that you should
always engage in activities that you have passion and interest for to make it enjoyable and
meaningful. The only way to ensure that an activity would sustain over time with the right
progress is if you truly believe that it is important and beneficial to you and if you are able to
have fun while doing it. All of my CAS activities stemmed from a persistent personal interest and
development in the same activity over an extended period of time, which ensured that I would
be committed and determined to continue achieving milestones. If an activity does not have a
significant purpose in your daily life and identity, the reflection process will show that it is not
meaningful as you will not be able to identify the ways in which your outcomes are being met
while also improving yourself. I had many ideas for CAS that I was not able to carry forward with
simply because I could not find ways in which I could make it enjoyable and meaningful
personally as it dilutes the reflection process, and there can be no scope for improvement
without the intense desire to be better. An important piece of advice would be to identify your
personal interests and channel them into meaningful activities that can be developed over time,
with multiple stages and processes, something that makes you love reflecting and improving, to
ensure that the activity would be enjoyable, sustainable, and worthwhile.

Five years from now, what will you remember most about your CAS programme?

Five years from now I will remember the extreme confidence boost I got from understanding my
feelings and thoughts from the reflection I had written for my modeling internship that has been
integral to improving my mental health by helping my self esteem, self image, and body image. I
will also always remember how much I loved being a USG of finance as I was extremely happy
that I was able to facilitate a conference for a new generation of initiators for change, and
hopefully was able to create the spark that started my journey for someone else. It was a very
important development for me as my contribution and hard work was the reason that almost 300
people were discussing and creating solutions for global issues. Another key development in my
CAS programme that I will always remember is how much my portfolio and reflection helped me
understand that music, art, and working out have become my creative and physical outlets for
stress, improving focus, and expression of emotion and how much it has helped me since
identifying that. It was extremely important as these activities will always play an active role in
my life, and since finding meaning, I have decided that I will always work on improving my
abilities in the many years to come.