By: Riya Mahanta

12, 13, 15, 16 and 18…No these are not just any numbers. These are the ages of the students on your very own Suneha Team. The team that keeps you informed about everything going on in the Nishkam Tv world and also keeps you connected to the community social, cultural and religious happenings. The Suneha newsletter team comprising of middle school and high school students along with a youth college advisor, not only work every quarter to inform the Sangat in a timely and interesting manner, but also bring connections across the Sikhi world together on this one platform. Harneet Kaur, Riya Mahanta, Agam Kukreja, Simrit Singh, Jasman Padam along with new team members Bhumeet Singh and Jasjot Padam work with advisors Amanpreet Kaur and Simerpreet Kaur to produce the content. Every 1-3 months, the team produces a newsletter with an overarching theme, consisting of articles on different topics, achievements, and events happening within our Sangat and Sikh Community.  

“The primary role of the Newsletter team is to research, compose and publish articles from a Sikh lens perspective about topics that are relevant in today’s world, “advisor Amanpreet Kaur said. “It was commendable to see how diligently the kids from our team worked and kept everyone connected throughout these unprecedented times.”

The first edition of the newsletter was in August of 2019, and so far, there have been 11 editions (this being the 12th). The team has grown since then, and hopes to keep growing. This month alone, two members have joined – Bhumeet Singh and Jasjot Padam. 

“The Suneha family is one that is close to my heart not only because it’s gratifying to see the kids develop into the wonderful writers and editors they are, but also because it brings back memories of my own teenage where I was part of my father’s business journal team,” advisor Simerpreet Kaur said. 

The team meets via Zoom meetings once every three months to brainstorm ideas, pick topics, and ask questions. As a team, members try to rotate through topics like the cover story and Sikh organizations. By doing this, everyone gets experience writing the different types of pieces.  

The team has recently started to use a form of peer review, where articles are given feedback by members of the team before they are published. This is a good way to incorporate new members and to help them learn about techniques and tips the senior members give them. 

“Kids not only learn to enhance their writing skills but also learn attributes like communication skills, collaboration, accountability, teamwork, and time management leading to their overall growth and personality development,” Amanpreet Kaur further added. 

“While learning the technical writing skills, these kids have become great collaborators, speakers, interviewers as well as teammates who are always willing to help one another,” Simerpreet Kaur added. 

The team is looking forward to continue producing newsletters and learning skills to improve their writing.  

Harneet Kaur: I joined the newsletter team because I have an immense passion for writing and was intrigued by the opportunity to build a portfolio of writing while also doing seva for Nishkam TV.  The most inspiring and my absolute favorite part of being on the team is being able to collaborate with my peers and advisers who also have the same passion and being able to learn more about Sikhism along the way.  

Riya Mahanta: My favorite part about being on the newsletter team is being able to apply the journalistic elements I learned from a journalism course I took in school as well as experience from writing for my school newspaper. I have been on the team for two years now and can’t wait to see how much the team expands and grows. Everyone is so hard working, engaged, and eager to write articles and the advisers are always there to provide guidance and answer any questions that I have. 

Simrit Singh:  I joined the newsletter team because I thought it would be an opportunity for me to get involved in the Sikh community. Since then, I have gotten more and more involved , and learned more about Sikhism.

Agam Kukreja: My favorite part about being on this team is being able to see your work, almost unchanged in such a professional setting. It really gives you a sense of responsibility and motivation to continue in this amazing team! 

Jasman Padam: I joined the newsletter team because I wanted to learn how to research properly and express it in an article. I was inspired by the interesting articles written by the other members, which brought a different perspective to my mind about the different issues going on in the world and their connection to Sikhi. 

Bhumeet Singh Bhatia: I joined the newsletter team for Nishkam TV because I thought it would be a new experience for me. I love to read about Sikh organizations helping out a community or something related to our Sikhi background. I thought that the newsletter team would help me explore Sikhism. 

Jasjot Padam: Something that inspired me to join this team is the fact that I can learn more about Sikhi, technology, and writing articles. As I spend more time on this team, I hope that I can use and learn more photography skills. 

Here are the link to all the previous eleven volumes of newsletters from August 2019 through May 2021:  https://nishkam.tv/newsletters/

Link to the current edition: https://conta.cc/3mgfm3s

Posts Only

View all posts