In our list of India's Best 50 - the 50 Most Employable Students from the Class of 2020-22, we feature MBA students who have walked that extra mile and done that little more to stand out! One of those featured in today's story, Faisal Khan, has shown an incredible amount of passion to achieve his true potential. Read on and find out his story!
The following are Faisal Khan’s set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst MBA graduates to determine the top-50 Most Employable MBA Graduates of the Class of 2022. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated, Faisal's story and profile stood out. Here's his story in his own words.
Name an instance where you wanted something and went out of your comfort zone to achieve it OR Tell us the biggest risk you have taken so far in your life.
The decision to leave a well-paying job to pursue an MBA while I was the sole earner in the family is both an instance where I went way out of my comfort zone to achieve something as well as one of the biggest risks I have ever taken. While I was in the final year of my BTech my father was diagnosed with Stage IV Intestinal Cancer, unfortunately, he passed away before I could finish mine under graduation. Post his demise, I was lucky to get an opportunity to work at one of the leading business groups in the country.Despite the compensation being good and it being the only source of income for our family of three, I felt a strong urge that I am not getting enough opportunities to realize my potential, and the work involved long monotonous hours. Hence, I took the decision of pursuing an MBA. Preparing for an MBA was a task on its own, especially when the work easily got stretched up to 12-14 hours at times, that too, in a remote location in Maharashtra. I studied through the day or night whenever I could find time, saved money during the entire course of 2 years at the job to provide a cushion for the time I would be pursuing the MBA. Thankfully things panned out well, I got admitted to one of the leading institutes in the country, got a good internship during the summers while doing all that ensured that the family didnt suffer at the financial end. Looking back at this instance, I feel a sense of pride and satisfaction for the decisions that Ive taken, the hard work that Ive put in, and thankfully, I was able to turn things around.
When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act.
I was placed at a very remote location in Maharashtra at a manufacturing unit. One of the workmen who worked in my department often consulted me regarding the education of his child. His son had performed extremely well in the 10th boards, and he wanted me to meet him once. On meeting and thereby realizing the potential of the boy, I wanted to help him however I could. I guided him towards the preparation of competitive exams and provided him with all the right resources for his preparation including some financial help by enrolling him for a test series. I was in constant touch with him throughout the two years of his preparation and frequently tutored him on weekends regarding any doubts or concepts. It gives me great satisfaction that I was, in some way, able to contribute to his journey from one of the very remote areas of the country to reach one of the leading engineering institutes in Maharashtra (VJTI Mumbai). I continue to stay in touch with him and seeing the gratification he has for me really humbles me and had made me realize that one small effort at our end can have a huge impact on someone elses life.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
I was working in one of the leading Manufacturing Industries in India and it may be a little surprising but there was still significant inertia in the minds of the operators and managers Whove been in the industry for decades regarding the utility of digitization/automation and its advantages. They were reluctant towards change and often argued about how the investments could be made towards more meaningful ends, rather than just spending it over on some new supporting technology. I, on the other hand, was confident in the changes that these implementations could bring into the day-to-day workings of the department, but my confidence wasnt enough. I had to make others realize the potential of these new changes. This wasnt a part of my job, but I was so invested and motivated for this change, I researched and presented a presentation to the senior leaders. I started by suggesting little improvements and implementations and once they proved to work even better than what they had expected, they became as comfortable and confident on the matter.As a result, we had implemented real-time data monitoring systems and an SMS-based alarm system. These might look like meagre changes but the impact these changes had made was immense given the state in which the department was and Im happy about the impact I had on the area. In total, it prevented 20 major loss incidents, over the course of 18 months, that could have led to the material getting scrapped altogether. In total I was able to save INR 16 Lakh through this project, for this I was recognized with the Start GET (Graduate Engineer Trainee) award by the MD of the organization from the batch of around 110 GETs that joined the organization that year.
What is the one thing you can claim to have some level of expertise or depth of knowledge in - it could be anything - a subject, a sport, a hobby, a venture, an initiative which has led you to do deep work in that field?
Quizzing is one field where I feel I have cultivated some form of expertise. I have always been a curious person; I got my first orientation with quizzing at middle school. I started participating in all kinds and a variety of quizzes, gradually with each passing quiz my curiosity grew, and my performances improved. Things became serious when I, represented our school at a state-level school quiz and ended up winning the tournament, despite being the youngest team participating, there was no turning back for me thereon. I started participating in a host of national as well as state-level quizzes.Once I entered my graduation institute (NIT Raipur) I was disheartened to learn that there were very limited quizzing opportunities at the institute. On interacting with my peers, I realized that there was a decent percentage of the population that would be interested in quizzing if given the opportunity. I took the matter into my own hands and with the help of a few like-minded people, we started a Facebook group focused on quizzing which grew like wildfire, and to nobodys surprise, we soon inaugurated a Quizzing club for NIT Raipur. The club was an instant hit. In no time we were organizing quizzes in collaboration with reputed organizations like the UNICEF and the State police. I also ended up representing the institute at various National level quizzes notably winning the renowned TATA Crucible campus quiz. Today that Facebook group which we had started in 2014, has over 10K active members and is one of Indias largest online quizzing communities. I am proud of the quizzing culture that still prevails at the Institute as a result of that initiative.Quizzing instilled in me the eagerness to be aware of the happenings of the world, the importance of framing one's thoughts lucidly, and to remain calm and work through high-stakes situations. Apart from this, quizzing has facilitated long-lasting friendships and comradery in my life, which Im very glad to have.
If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use it any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?
There is a saying You cannot pour from an empty cup, take care of yourself first thus if I end up with 10 million USD, I will start off by paying off my debts and keeping aside 10% of this fund for myself and my family. Which I will look to invest prudently so I can create more wealth out of the wealth I have received.I will still have a significant amount left with me, I am aware this is a very significant amount but given the magnitude of some of the major issues faced in the current time it is a feeble amount, Thus I would like to spend this money on issues and pursuits that can have a long-lasting impact on the concerned. From my experience, the one issue I feel that leads to a lot of other socio-economic concerns is the massive economic divide between different sects of the society, and I feel as a result of this there is a restriction to equal access to various means that can help these individuals to bridge that gap. For example, access to quality education in India is very expensive and thus I would really want to take measures to improve this access, in various forms such as scholarships, free online content, mentorship, and guidance so that there is an equal shot for everyone irrespective of the privileges they are born with. Apart from that, I would look to aid research and development work for global issues such as climate change and disease prevention and cure. I will always look for opportunities through which I can create a difference and a positive impact by efficiently utilizing the said sum.
Any Other Comments Or Factors You Would Like To Highlight About Yourself?
I have actively participated in and done well in various corporate and BSchool case competitions. I have been the national winner of the Clockspeed 1.0 national level supply chain case competition, runner up in FMS's flagship case competition. Have been the campus runner-up in the Asian Paints case challenge, to name a few. Apart from that, I am also a recipient of the Prime minister's research fellowship 2018 (PMRF) that is offered by the government of India for research opportunities at premier institutes in India.
Read the stories of the other Employable Graduates here!