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, Rolee Agarwal, has shown an incredible amount of passion to achieve her true potential. Read on and find out her story!
The following are Rolee Agarwal’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, Rolee's story and profile stood out. Here's her story in her 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.
It is when we get out of our comfort zone that we actually learn and grow in life. One such instance was during my work at the firm Affine. I was working for a US Entertainment Studio client. During Christmas, many people on my team were on leave as we did not expect much client work owing to the Christmas break in the US. But surprisingly, some urgent requirements came from the client's side with strict deadlines. There was a manpower crunch in the team. I was new to the team and the tasks required knowledge of technical skills which I haven't learned yet. My manager summoned me and explained that either I would have to come at least 4-5 hours early in the morning every day for a week to take my sessions on the tool from the company's learning unit or he would have to swap me for another person from a different team because we had limited human resources built on the project. I understood that the former option was tougher but then there was an immense learning opportunity involved and a chance to prove myself. I informed my manager about my willingness to take the learning sessions. But it turned out to be very difficult. I had to wake up at 5 in the morning for a week and be at the office by 6 am. From 6 to 10, I had the session and from 10 am to 7 pm, I would work with my team on the deliverable and apply what I had learned. Although the process was difficult, the outcome was very pleasant. My team was able to deliver premium quality work to the client and the stakeholders were very impressed. Not only did I learn the tool very well but also, I was awarded the Spot Award from my company for my dedication and hard work.
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 always try my best to lend my support to people who need it. I would like to share an incident that occurred quite recently. A few days back, it was Durga puja and I was out with my family visiting pandals. While we were waiting to board a cab on our way back home, I noticed a small tuck shop (nukkad shop) with two small girls (hardly 12-13 years) sitting at the counter and no visible adults. The scene made me a bit uncomfortable. I visited the shop and asked for a bottle of water. While waiting for the change, I put out the question. "Hey, who runs the store?". One of them replied, "Our mother does but she is out running errands' '. The explanation sounded fair to me and I quietly left the store. I was in that area again a few days later and decided to visit the store. Again, there were just those 2 girls taking care of the store. I entered the store and asked for a bottle of water again. This time when I asked about their mother, there was an infatuation- "Who are you? What do you want?" To calm them down, I explained who I was and that I intended no harm. It was then that one of the girls explained that the shop was originally owned by their father who sadly passed away due to Covid-19 and since her mother works as a house-help, the responsibility of running the shop has fallen on them. When asked about their schooling, they said that ever since the covid lockdown they had stopped schooling and with the shop's responsibility now, they can't go back. I was very saddened to see their condition and really wanted to help them. Since I am a volunteer with the child protection and rights NGO Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation, I decided to seek their assistance in this matter. I called up my mentors in the NGO and explained to her the entire situation. My mentor took down the details and suggested to me the measures that could be taken. In the days that followed, with the KSCF team, I was able to initiate talks with the girls mother and finally, they were taken to Bal Ashram which is a care centre for the children offering them shelter, education and a safe childhood. This entire experience was really gratifying for me and whenever I speak to these girls and see them happy in this ashram, I feel blessed to have been able to play a small part.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
There is one such instance from the time when I was a part of the Alumni Relations team in my undergraduate college. Alumni meet was the flagship event organised by the team and being the Joint Secretary, I was a part of the core organising team. We had been preparing for months but just the night before the main event, things started getting bad. It started raining and what we thought was just an occasional shower, turned into a storm, ruining tents, decorations and the entire setup. The next morning, it was a terrible sight. We all were in a state of utter shock and had no idea as to what to do next. With all spirits shattered, most of my teammates were of the opinion that the meet should be either postponed or called off. However, the thought of disappointing the alumni who had travelled miles just to be a part of that reunion bothered me and I didn't agree. I tried explaining to my teammates that though the task seemed difficult isn't impossible. I picked up the marker and started noting down everything that required urgent attention. People were divided on their views and ultimately few of them backed out. The remaining team members came forward and supported me and that gave me much confidence. We charted out a plan and went ahead with dividing the work amongst ourselves. We all coordinated and with each other's support could host the meet, in a fairly decent way and our alumni enjoyed it as well.
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?
I am really passionate about books. I had developed this liking in my undergraduate college and have been following it since then. Reading books requires a lot of discipline and patience and apart from introducing a vast sea of knowledge, it increases our concentration and focus. I had the privilege of reading some extraordinary literary pieces. I am mostly interested in fiction and I can say I have a fair idea of this genre of books. Historical fiction, Adventure, Mystery/Crime, Sci-Fi, Suspense/Thriller are my favourite sub-genres in fiction. Whenever I come across a new fiction book, I make sure I research about the author, read the reviews on the book and know all that is there about the book like the trivia, movie adaptations. Whenever I meet a fellow reader, I try to better understand their favourites, opinions on certain fictions and explore new books.
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?
That's a lot of money to have! First of all, I would settle my education loan (doing MBA is expensive :P). With the money left, I would divide it into 4 parts. The first part I would give to my parents. With the investment returns on the high, the second part I will invest in stocks, crypto and real-estates. I have plans of starting my own business and so the third part I will save for my business. The fourth part I will donate to the organisations working on fighting climate change and wildlife protection groups. If there would be any money left after this and prices are reduced, I wish to fly to space on a Blue Origin or SpaceX.
Read the stories of the other Employable Graduates here!