A few months back, I read “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho and since then, I always used to fantasize about the idea on which the whole story was based on-
“No matter what you do, make sure that you do it because it is what your heart and soul desire”. I can very much relate to it, as coming to IIM Nagpur for me was much of a heart and soul decision than a mind-boggling one.
My journey of MBA started very early specifically from the moment I decided that I will be writing CAT. Sleepless nights and managing work along with the exam preparations was not that easy to manage but as our professors and seniors say – “MBA is all about time management” so it started from there itself.
I still remember the first day when I entered the campus, I was quite happy but little nervous too at the same time. For past three and a half years working in a corporate firm and then suddenly a decision to join a b-school, the thought of it used to make me nervous. Although, the rain that day made it little comforting at the end.
Like any other B-school, the day started with the registration process and documents verification along with the assignment of room keys followed by the orientation program and welcome dinner. While welcoming us in the orientation program, I heard the institute director saying something that quite motivated me -
“Attaining the final goal does not matter that much, but the journey involved in achieving the same matters the most as it helps you to grow from all those dimensions which is physically not possible. MBA is all about learning and unlearning things”.
Another thing that left an impression on me was the induction speech given by our chief guest Nitin Bawankule where he mentioned to always
"Think 10X". We have been told to dream big and think bigger since our childhood, so what makes the difference now? Coming from an eminent personality like him, later realizing that he went through exactly the same curriculum like us 2 decades back and now seeing him reaching this position forced me to rethink what I have been told to follow since my childhood.
P19 batch(what we call here in IIM N) strength was 124 students and remembering each of their names was one of the early problems I faced here.
So calling Ashish as Avinash was quite common. But IIM Nagpur has a solution for even a very small problem like this one. They say MBA is all about networking and we got the taste of it from the first day itself when we were made to work in different groups with different faces each time for the group task been assigned during the clubs orientation program. It forces you to interact with one and all and even discover your team player ability.
Orientation week itself gave us the idea of how much is out there for us to learn during these two years time. People who have stage fright, tend to overthink their decision about doing MBA as an MBA is all about making and giving presentations. Even I had the same fright before I joined IIM N. But I found the process here designed in such a manner that in the orientation week itself you tend to become a greater version of yourself and you can feel the confidence flowing all inside you.
Interesting sessions like the one organized by team “Breakthrough” helped us learn some basic managerial skills required when you work in a group. It taught us how to approach a problem through basic outdoor sports activities.
Last but not least was my favourite of all - the community outreach’s visit organized to “Slum Soccer” organization, an NGO of Nagpur. Visiting the slum areas and getting the opportunity to meet the slum kids, talk to them and finally play soccer with them gave us a refreshing break which was much needed after the hectic orientation program schedules.
That day, I even realized something. For the past five days, I have seen the professional side of my batch-mates, working in groups, doing group tasks, delivering presentations, discussing cases. This visit to slums enabled me to see their other side as well which to my amazement was quite new for me. I saw my batch-mates playing soccer bare feet because the kids with whom we were playing were barefoot and they do not want them to feel any less in any scenario.
I heard seniors saying that the orientation program would be a life-learning experience for you but I always used to wonder, how? I never understood the concept of having a seven days orientation program but now after it has ended, I can say that it was well-equipped. It was fully designed to ensure holistic development of the students as future managers and gave us snapshots of what we would be learning in the coming two years. I talked above about the apprehensions I had in my mind on my first day in IIM N? Well, I can say now that they have been answered pretty well.
I am not a poet but I would like to share a few lines of mine which summarize my journey here till now-
“Manjilein bohot si tai ki hai humne lekin iss manjil ki hamesha se chahat thi,
Raaste thore lambe the magar har mushkil ko paar ki,
Kehte hai rasta upar wala banata hai aur har raaste par rahi ka naam likha hota hai,
Lekin khushnaseeb hai wo log jinko yeh mukaam haasil hota hai"
About the Author
Tithya Sharma is a PGP 1 candidate at IIM Nagpur. She is an Electronics and Communication graduate from Galgotias College of Engineering & Technology, Greater Noida. She possesses work experience of 3.5 years as Senior Systems Engineer at Infosys. She loves playing cricket & badminton during her pass time. She likes cycling too and is a marathon runner.