After working in the aviation industry for many years, Kalpana became a soft skills trainer to help people fastrack their career progressions by teaching them English communication and behavioral skills.

Dr.  Kalpana Deshpande is an English communication, behavioral and soft-skills trainer. She is the director of ACCESS( Academy for Confident Conversation in English and Soft Skills) in Sangli, Maharashtra.

Kalpana was born in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. She holds a postgraduate diploma in Library Sciences.

Recollecting her childhood, Kalpana says that she had a blessed childhood. Her mother was a very progressive woman and never regretted having two daughters. Her mother always laid emphasis on making her a wholesome individual by providing her with good education and other resources. Besides, she is reminiscent of hearing the Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharta from her maternal grandfather. She says, whatever she is today, it is because of her upbringing only.

Kalpana shares that whenever she would travel by air to her native place in Maharashtra, she would be fascinated by the air hostesses. She even thought of becoming one, but never really took it seriously. Later, when she was preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examinations, she appeared for an interview for the post of air hostess with Air India. She got rejected in the interview. However, she didn’t lose hope and applied for Indian Airlines and got selected as an air hostess by the airline. Later, she quit her job as an air hostess when she realized that she was meant for something else. She then did a diploma in management and also a diploma in child psychology.

Talking about her challenges, Kalpana says, working with the airlines was mentally and physically draining and challenging for her. She would be called up at odd hours. However, working as an air hostess improved her communication and interpersonal skills and also gave her exposure to different people, cultures, and places. Besides, she also had to survive and take care of her children all by herself owing to her husband’s untimely demise.

Kalpana shares that she wanted to quit her job with the airline but her circumstances didn’t allow her. Later, when she gained a bit of stability in her life, she quit her job in the aviation industry and took up a job in the corporate sector instead. She says she was working with an engineering institute, and working there she realized that non-metro engineering students had dreams of working for MNCs but they lacked good communication skills and it acted as an obstacle for them in realizing their dreams.

Realizing the opportunity, in  2012, Kalpana started her own English training institute to help students improve their English communication skills and also their personalities.

Talking about her mistakes, Kalpana says that not preparing for the UPSC exam properly and joining the service industry was a mistake for her. However, she says that her mistakes always taught her a lot and made her a better person.

Kalpana advises youngsters to set their goals at an early age on the basis of their interests and the resources that they have to be able to accomplish them faster.

In her spare time, Kalpana likes to read books. She also likes to watch videos on YouTube.

Her Life Mantra is that values in life should never be compromised. She says your principles and values help you attain your goals in life.

When asked about her role models, Kalpana says she considers Lord Krishna who never compromised on his values and principles as her role model.