Empowering a Generation: How Ramita Anand Cultivates Crucial Life Skills in Pre-adolescents with ElevateRA

Ramita Anand, trained teacher (with a Science and Special Educational Needs specialisation), mother, author, and podcast host, founder of ElevateRA mentoring services in 2020, aimed to empower and work with pre-adolescents on crucial life skills. Today’s evolving modern world is leaving many young folks facing challenges that, hinder self-worth, academic and social progress. Ramita is on a mission to employ preventative educational tools to set up girls with a strong foundation.

Passionate about helping young pupil’s well-being, ElevateRA originated to work in conjunction with the conventional approaches in education, to equip young folks with the skills of confidence, empathy, resilience, emotional intelligence, and kindness, that will serve them throughout their lives.

Ramita has nearly 20 years of international teaching experience and has been the Department Head of Learning support and enrichment at leading academic schools in the UK. She is the mother of a teen girl and boy who has his own learning challenges. Her experience in education and parenting has given her a unique platform from which she has created mentoring services for young girls.

For more details, visit their website here.

Here we sit down with Ramita, to know a bit more about her journey as an entrepreneur.

Q. How did you get started as an entrepreneur? What inspired you?

Ramita: I trained as a middle-year teacher in Vancouver, Canada and was recruited to teach in London, where I worked in primary education and then moved on to working with pupils with learning differences. I took some time to do a master’s between teaching and before having a family of my own as I have always been interested in science and healthcare. I moved to New York, where I began teaching but then was offered a career in pharma communications.

I did this for a short while before having my own kids and once my youngest was in school, I began teaching part-time again. I did this until 2019 and then began my own venture in 2020 as part of our family’s move to Singapore. I have been growing and running Elevate.RA since then, the platform now includes seven series of podcast episodes, several published articles, my own book, and a school’s programme alongside the one-to-one and small group mentorship programme. Each phase, job, school, and city I have lived and worked in has been an instrumental stepping stone in shaping the career path I have had. It’s been incredibly rewarding with important learning experiences.

Q. What has kept you motivated on this journey?

Ramita: My experiences in my tween and adolescent years were instrumental in shaping the adult I have become. When I was 13 years old, I lost my mother to cancer. This was undoubtedly the darkest episode of my life. My teenage years were spent without my mother, who had been my role model, best friend, and teacher. I was also charged with caring for my two younger siblings while my father worked, which was not always an easy task, to say the least.

I firmly believe that it was the confidence and self-belief instilled in me by my mother that helped me pursue my own passion for education. Because of my own experience, I truly understand how tricky the teen years can be and how it feels to be the odd one out. I was often the only girl who did not have her mother at matches or recitals, and that loneliness is still familiar to me. I have a great deal of empathy for young girls who face challenges and must grow up along a path that may look different from their peers. No girl should feel alone on this journey.

Working in education and pursuing a career to help others in their most vulnerable times has been my way of addressing these personal challenges. As a young teen who struggled with loss, as a teacher trained in additional needs as well as middle and primary school education in diverse schools, and as the mother of a neurodiverse child, I draw on my own story to support parents, educators, and other professionals working with girls in early adolescence.

Q. What’s one thing in your routine that you do consistently that has made a huge difference in your personal or business life?

Ramita: I joined the early to rise club, to begin my day with journalling, meditation and some movement. This sets me up for a much more balanced day and I feel I can take on whatever comes my way with greater poise, as I know I have made the space for myself to tackle it.

Q. Who are your mentors and inspirations? What have you learned from them?

Ramita: This would have to be hands down my mama. She always taught me how to find the bright side to situations, use laughter as the best medicine, got me into my love for dancing, and was a massive advocate for education and striving for my best. She has inspired me to follow her lead in creating a home where there is always great food, loud family gatherings, and meaningful connections.

Life with love and laughter, with deep connections is what she role-modelled for us, and I use her as my north star always. I have learned not to take myself too seriously, to keep learning from others, and to live with curiosity.

Q. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?

Ramita: Getting my book published, and it becoming an Amazon Best Seller was pretty rewarding.

I never saw myself as an author. In fact, I laughed when someone even suggested the idea that I might write my personal journey down for others to learn from. I had not appreciated what a lonely place many of us parents can find ourselves in, especially when experiencing loss of any kind.

Sharing my story was not easy. I had to be honest and vulnerable, which I believe to be the most daunting part of telling any story. To have the book purchased and appreciated by so many families around the world fills me with hope and optimism for the future of our girls.

Having it shortlisted for the British Book Awards was a mega moment also!

Q. How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?

Ramita: I have to say I do rely on my social media accounts, expanding my network with teachers and head teachers, parent forums and workshops, and word of mouth from Elevate pupils and their families. Having features such as this one helps too!

Q. What have been your biggest failures or challenges?

Ramita: My greatest challenge to date has been accepting and working through my son’s diagnosis of autism. It shook me to my core to learn he may not speak, read or live the life any mother would dream of for their child.

Q. How did this failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

Ramita: I have taken so much from my earlier experiences in learning to parent from unconditional love and not fear. It still continues to teach me the value of patience and kindness, what parts of life are most precious to me and most of all the power of hard work, consistency, effort, drive and willpower.

We have worked endlessly on finding ways to help our son thrive and fulfil his potential on his own journey — not by any other standards or expectations set by others. It is not always easy, but he has exceeded the worst-case scenarios that the doctors first gave us. This has shed a strong light on the way I teach pupils, my belief in neuroplasticity and how we can overcome challenges to find positives if we allow ourselves to look for them.

Q. If someone was to create a TV show about you, what would it be about and what would it be called?

Ramita: This is a great question! I think it might have to be about my love (okay borderline obsession) for shopping, fashion and interiors alongside girls’ education of course. Featuring my need for organisation and order — while having “FUN”!

There’s definitely a show in here about a good girl teacher, who plays by the rules but can learn to let go and embrace the messiness, and spontaneity of life, I am learning but think this might resonate with a few others too :)

To keep up to date with Ramita and her journey, connect with her on LinkedIn, and Instagram.