MBA ✓ #2020

Yes, I finally graduated from IIM Rohtak, completing my MBA in March 2020. If I say that it was just post-graduation & a degree completed, then it will be a huge injustice to the amazing journey I had over the last five years.

The journey started during my final year in B.Tech, on a random call with my brother in the middle of the night who asked me what next? Somehow, over the call we discovered, MBA is what I wanted to pursue. I love such talks where we go about talking about anything & everything. I decided to give it a try. 

A failed-attempt & one final successful try is what it took to get into my now Alma mater.

During my final try, I had a full-time job and weekend coaching classes. Life suddenly had a purpose. It was a challenge to prove myself that I can do well in a national level exam.

That one-year of juggling between 9 hours at a full-time job in a startup with 3 hours of morning study, 6-hour weekend classes + 1 hour of traveling + 3 hours of mock every Saturday & Sunday; all this made me stretch myself to the max or at least I thought so at that time. 

I spent so much time in my coaching institute at Time that I knew almost every helping staff member working there. The coaching center & its library were practically my home for 12 hours every Saturday & Sunday. The local tea-shop bhaiya would even let me pay him later, next ‘weekend’ if someday I didn’t have change. For those who know me, if I find a place very interesting, I would definitely find a tea-shop near it. :D

After securing a good percentile in CAT-17 and clearing the interview round, I finally secured admission in an IIM. 

I had proved to myself that I could start & finally finish things as a whole if I set my mind to it. This one exam and its preparation made me change the way I saw myself & the targets I set. 

Talking about the two years in the MBA, they were absolutely amazing. The starting few days of the induction program, then the super-challenging ‘committee-selection’ rounds, 10 totally unknown subjects in the first term, and a hostel. The first three months at the campus are a bit blurry yet a very important memory of mine. 

Here are some highlights in short : 

1. Survived the induction program beautifully. :) 

2. Got into Placement committee: This was something that makes up a lot of what I learned and did in my MBA. Life suddenly had a bigger purpose. I worked in an office everyday :) and business formals were my everyday wear! The midnight meetings, deciding on the strategy for the coming placement season, setting out targets, and working with a superb team gave me an experience I would cherish for life & some very close friends. The joy of getting a company converted, seeing batchmates & seniors/juniors placed, and their invitations for their placement parties! 

3. Made amazing friends. I made some amazing friends thanks to the committee and group projects! The with reason or without reason parties with my ‘party group’, long walks in the beautiful campus, random visits to the dhabas, and the ride to D-Park! 

4. Tried to study well and in-depth & breadth, for the first time. I challenged myself to study hard. If there was one important lesson I had learned, it was that if one has to know a topic and be good it then it is very important to read & learn about the basics. I literally had a ‘Library-gang’! Where we would meet every night and do all-nighter till early morning, just working on a single assignment or reading random articles & books. 

5. Participated in events, competitions, made countless presentations, some good projects, and some all-night projects, attended Guest Lectures, met some industry leaders, found mentors, repeated the loop of try-fail-try till you reach an acceptable level, rode on bike for the first time, went on a grad trip and had multiple farewells. 

In short, the two years taught me there are no limits to what one could do if one sets his or her mind on a task. 

What is more important than how messy the start be, it should have a beautiful end! :)

With this, I believe, I can now look back and call myself an Alumni.

#adios #iimr #iimncr #iimrohtak #alumni #convocation #mba #mbastories