Two years ago I was like any other student, with the same desire to advance my academic pursuits and excel in my career. I did not have anyone to talk to, share my views and seek honest feedback.

Then came the Kashmir Care Foundation (KCF) and it changed my life and the way I started thinking about and planning my career goals, and it deepened my respect for who I am and for my family. It was a total package for me.

Fast forward, and I am fortunate to have the guidance of mentors from the KCF. It is my experience, my story that I share today, so that students like me can benefit from the collective wisdom and experiences of mentors at the KCF.

My mentorship journey was refreshing and filled with positive energy. At the end of each session, I was always motivated to do more.

I am from Sopore with BSc Degree in Chemistry and Biotechnology. I have a strong interest in my subjects and want to pursue a career in research. With this goal in mind, I applied to the KCF mentorship program and was selected for Cohort 1.0. The mentorship extended far beyond office work, deadlines, and performance- review checklists. From day-1, KCF chose not only to guide my career, but to shape me as a successful female professional.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of each core member of KCF and my mentor. I received detailed guidance on my career selection, and the KCF team helped me secure a 6- month internship at Quench Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, with a competitive remuneration package.

Before I came to Hyderabad to begin my internship, there was a meeting with me, my father and the core team members of KCF. Including my father in this meeting had a deep impact on both of us. In an age where professional spaces often detach individuals from their families, culture and personal histories, this simple act spoke volumes.

During that conversation, the core members of KCF shared lessons that I didn’t read in any mentorship manual so far. They spoke about punctuality not as a work ethic but as a measure of integrity. I was told to be the first to arrive and the last to leave, not for appearances, but as they said, discipline is a silent form of respect for work, for people, and for my individuality. But the guidance did not stop at professional ethics.

They also spoke about roots; they reminded me gently that no matter where life takes me, I should never forget where I have come from, my hometown, my upbringing, my Sopore, and my family.

I should hold very close to me the culture of Kashmir that has shaped my values throughout my life, my language and my sense of belonging to it all. They told me that while moving to a city like Hyderabad, I should not become unrecognizable to myself. My dressing, my behavior, the way I speak to people – none of it should change. They emphasized that it should not distance me from who I have always been. They reminded me, that growth does not require abandonment and progress does not demand erasure from our roots.

What left a deep impression on me was how they tied personal conduct to collective expectation. They spoke of my father’s dignity, my family’s respect, and the reputation of KCF itself as interconnected threads. As I understood from their words, I was not just representing myself I was carrying stories, sacrifices, and trust with me.

That awareness alone reshaped how I carry myself and my responsibility here as women.

They also stressed on transparency urging me to keep them and my family informed about my whereabouts, to never isolate myself under the pretence of independence. They made it clear that Independence should not lead disconnection from my family. Perhaps the most profound lesson filled with lasting impression came when they spoke about home not as a place left behind, but as a duty to be carried forward.

I was reminded not to abandon the responsibilities I hold within my family: caring for my father’s travel needs, keeping track of medicines for my parents and sister, remaining present even being afar. They taught me distance should not be an excuse to disengage from taking care to my family that I did while being at home.

This conversation did not feel like advice it felt like guardianship. In a time when many young people are encouraged to “cut ties” to grow, KCF offered a counter-narrative that one can move forward without becoming rootless! That ambition can coexist with humility, and professional success will mean very little if it comes at the cost of one’s values.

My interaction with the core members of Kashmir Care Foundation was not loud or ceremonial; there were no grand speeches, only deliberate and meaningful words spoken with the weight of experience and the clarity of people who understand that shaping a young life is a very serious responsibility.

As I continue my journey in Hyderabad as a Research Intern, I carry these lessons with me. Not as rules imposed upon me, but as principles entrusted to me. In guiding me, KCF did something rare: they reminded me that the truest form of growth is not becoming someone else, but to become the strongest and truest version of myself and for that,

I will remain deeply grateful to KCF forever and commit to being part of KCF as a mentee now to receive and soon as a mentor to give. Insha Allah

Romaisa Jan is doing internship at Quench Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad

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