From head boy to Harvard student union president: Patna boy's throwback pic

Harvard University's prestigious student union's first Indian president, elected last year, hailed from Patna. Sharad Vivek Sagar shared a throwback picture from when he was elected to this prestigious post in 2021. Sagar wrote in a LinkedIn post, “Head Boy at High School to President at Harvard. I hadn’t imagined this journey. On this day, I became the first Indian to be elected the President of Student Government at Harvard Graduate School of Education.”

Meet Sharad Vivek Sagar

Sagar is a social entrepreneur, thought leader, orator and a widely followed youth icon. He has also been invited on the popular quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati as an expert on multiple ocassions. Besides this, he has also featured in the Global Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Rockefeller Foundations’ 100 Next Century Innovators List and the Queen’s Young Leaders List. 

The social entrepreneur was also hailed as “the Vivekananda of 21st century” by a leading media house Divya Bhaskar after he gave a speech at the Vivekananda Memorial in Baroda. He got a full scholarship to pursue his bachelor’s degree in international relations at Tufts University and became the first Indian to be the Graduation Speaker in the university’s history. 

After this, he participated in the year-long Programme on Leading Change by University of Cambridge. He received the HGSE grant and KC Mahindra Scholarship to pursue Master’s Degree at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Sagar is also the founder and CEO of The Dexterity Global Group, focused on building grassroots leadership via educational opportunities and training. 

Founded in 2008, The Dexterity Global Group has rolled out initiatives like DexConnect, DexSchool, Dexterity to College, Dexterity Classrooms, Dexterity Seva and Young Professionals Development Program (YPDP). DexConnect is an opportunity discovery and preparation platform providing services across schools and communities whereas DexSchool is a school of leadership and entrepreneurship for teenages. 

Dexterity to College is a dedicated career development program and fellowship aimed at college students whereas DexChallenges focuses on identifying and developing youngsters in remote districts. Dexterity Classrooms, on the other hand, trains students, teachers and parents in new age skills, knowledge and competencies. Its Young Professionals Development Program (YPDP) trains leaders for corporations and organisations in India and globally. 

(CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story stated Sharad Vivek Sagar was recently elected as the student union president of Harvard. This has now been corrected. He was elected last year.)

Also read: How this Yale University graduate landed a job with World Bank and then with IMF

Also read: Suniel Shetty's five guiding principles helped him make transitions in life. These may help you too