Rtn. Anuradha and the Importance of Listening to Your Friends

by Rtr. Shenali Nuwansala 

Rtn. Anuradha Senanayake was the fourth president of the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Arts, during the year 2013-14. From what I could gather from what she said about her journey with Rotaract was that the club has impacted her life in many amazing ways, and has revealed her own potential to herself. Walking to her first Rotaract meeting just because her friends had asked her along, she had not had the least notion that opening that door to the meeting room would open a door to a whole new world of possibilities, and would be one door she would never regret opening…

Rtn. Anuradha says that although she learnt how to best balance her academic life and club activities while she was the president of the club, when it came to friends she had to try a bit harder to balance personal relationships with the professional. But it is noteworthy how she has helped the club to rise to great heights during her tenure; under her guidance the Club would go on to win many awards: District citations, RI Presidential citations, Most Outstanding Project of the Year, and the President of the month of March 2014. Under her guidance, the club also initiated DebateMate (currently the signature Professional Development project of the Club) and the Kuppiya sessions (now the signature International Services project of the Club). While the club climbed ever greater heights, Rtn. Anuradha too found many opportunities  opening up for her within the Rotaract movement; she was appointed as the Rotaract District Professional Director 2014-15, just after her presidency, and then as the Rotaract District Club Service Director for the years 2015-16. Furthermore, she served the District as the District Rotaract Representative during the year 2017-18, a position held before only by one past president of RotaractArts, Charter president Rtn. Abdul Wahid. Rtn. Anuradha currently serves the Sociology Department of the University of Colombo as a Lecturer.

Rtn. Anuradha had wanted the club ” to make its own mark among all the other clubs in the district” and without a doubt, this has been achieved, what with the club winning silver as the Most Supportive Club and being recognised with silver for being a part of the Most Outstanding Cluster of the year is proof enough that her hopes for the club were taking bloom. She is very proud of the club at present, and says that it is “going places” and is “continuing its amazing work while making a greater impact within the faculty”.

Indeed, with the work of past presidents like Rtn. Anuradha Senanayake forming its foundations, the club is destined to achieve only the best!