BS (Data Science)
Retirement or a slower pace of life is often the goal after a demanding career, but for Kavita Lele, it was never part of the plan. When she left her role as an Associate Project Manager at Accenture to be a mother, it was supposed to be a brief pause. Two years turned into eight, and the quiet life of freelancing and content writing that followed became simply… boring. Craving the daily problem-solving adrenaline of her 11-year IT career, she turned to the IIT Madras BS Degree in Data Science and Applications not just to learn, but to feel the thrill of a challenge again. ‘I’ve become a daredevil,’ she says, diving back into rigorous academics alongside raising two children.
However, the road to being a daredevil wasn’t paved with instant confidence. During her break, Kavita’s confidence started to dwindle, reaching a point where talking to receptionists was daunting. She wondered how this had happened, and why it had happened to her specifically, “My confidence had dipped a lot,” she reflects, “It was difficult, especially since I was once a project manager who handled everything so confidently.”
When the BS Degree was announced, it felt like an answer. “I felt like IITM listened to my prayers,” she says.
There were three reasons she joined: the hope of returning to the IT workforce, the opportunity to become an IIT alumna, and most importantly, the chance to face something difficult again. “I always wanted something challenging,” she explains.
Initially, getting back into the groove of attending classes and studying was challenging for Kavita, especially while managing her household simultaneously. “I felt like a zombie,” she reminisces, referring to the countless nights she stayed up studying hard. In fact, she humorously refers to housework being her only extracurricular activity, “My household duties are totally an extracurricular activity for me. Actually, that is a full-fledged activity.” Yet Kavita persevered, driven by a need to prove herself and reclaim her identity.
The change extended beyond academics.The transformation extended beyond academics when she began attending campus events like Paradox. While she was one of the older students in the crowd, she embraced the dynamic environment. “There were not many people of my age, but it’s nice to be surrounded by such young energy,” she says, adding that the hands-on workshops made the experience incredibly rewarding. She also connected with peers through WhatsApp groups, rediscovering the collaborative spirit she had missed.
Academically, she deliberately pushed herself outside her comfort zone. Despite her extensive experience in backend systems and Data Warehousing, which she describes as her first love, she confronted her reluctance toward front-end development and tackled subjects like Theory of Computation.
For Kavita, the difficulty of the degree isn’t a drawback; it’s a validation. She firmly believes that the bar must be set high to distinguish IIT Madras graduates from the rest.
“In your professional environment, there will not be a repetitive thing,” she advises younger students who complain about tough exams. “There will always be new challenges, and it’s better that you are getting prepared through this.”
Though she continues to balance her studies with motherhood, the degree has restored something deeper than technical knowledge. It has restored her sense of direction. She now plans to return to the professional world, or possibly pursue a long-held dream of a doctorate — something she couldn’t afford earlier in life. What she knows for certain is that she doesn’t want to stop.
– written by Nikita Nanduri