Meet Srinidhi Moram, Nidhi Gadekar, and Dileep Kotireddy

We were lucky to catch up with Srinidhi Moram, Nidhi Gadekar, and Dileep Kotireddy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Srinidhi Moram, Nidhi Gadekar, and, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

Young Athlete Aid has learned to be successful by utilizing our unique perspective that comes from the diversity of groups with different purposes and goals. As a non-profit led by high schoolers, our journey has had challenges that have allowed us to overcome any hurdle thrown our way, which adds to our unique perspective on how to handle situations. The skills we have learned from these situations have allowed us to succeed even amongst traditional organizations. Additionally, our positions as students have given us to ability to connect more with the young athletes we educate and influence, which has helped us make a bigger impact even with our limits. As a relatively small organization, we have less influence and resources than some, but through hard work and a unique approach to our problems, Young Athlete Aid has utilized what we have to make the largest change in our community that we can.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Young Athlete Aid is a student-led non-profit organization focused on promoting awareness about athletic safety to young athletes as well as providing sports safety equipment to communities. Our focus is mainly on underserved communities and schools that do not have access to essential resources. We (Srinidhi and Nidhi) started the non-profit Young Athlete Aid after a healthcare internship and then partnered with Dileep, who was interested in sports medicine like us. We have collected many sports supplies and given them to local organizations for distribution, including water bottles and sports equipment. We also promote awareness for safety through our social media pages, specifically through our Instagram (@youngathleteaid). We believe that our passion for sharing our knowledge with local schools and youth is what makes us special, which is done through school visits and social media. As of now, we have secured over 500 donations of first-aid gear and sports equipment, and we hope to continue growing and making a bigger impact on our community!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three qualities that we feel were the most impactful in our journey are being adaptable, having perseverance, and being a good communicator. These qualities helped us overcome bumps during our journey and not let setbacks define us. When we first started Young Athlete Aid, there were many struggles, but we persevered through them to reach what we are today, and our adaptability helped us with that. We also believe that good communication is important when you have a team and are trying to build connections with other organizations and people. For those who are still early on in their journeys, you can become more adaptable by looking at the bigger picture and other options when issues do occur. Don’t focus on the problem, focus on how to solve it or how to mitigate it. Having perseverance comes back to your purpose- remember why you began in the first place and what you are trying to accomplish, this will motivate you to keep going. Becoming good at communication just takes time and practice- but we believe that having empathy and understanding the person you are talking to helps you learn how to get your message across in the most effective way.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When we feel overwhelmed, we always take a step back and communicate with our team about what we need to do. Often, there is too much for one person, or even a couple of people, to do. So, we find splitting the work with our team to help us the most, which also helps no one feel overwhelmed. Each person has a role that they can focus on, which also allows us to be efficient. We have 3 non-founding members who have distinct roles- Outreach, Public Relations, and a Secretary. By delegating our work, we, as founders, can focus on tasks that our other members cannot do, and they can focus on tasks that they are comfortable with. This helps us keep the work we each do to a minimum while increasing our efficiency. As for advice, the biggest thing we can say is that as a leader, you cannot do everything, and you have to learn how to delegate so that others can do their jobs and you can do yours. If you try to carry out every task yourself, you are bound to get overwhelmed by everything, but if you allow those around you to do a small piece, then all you are left with is a small piece to do as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://youngathleteaid.square.site/
• Instagram: @youngathleteaid
• Other: Email: [email protected]