What made this Professional Shooter, Sailor, and Poet choose a B-school Degree? Ft. FORE Students

B-schools are male-dominated spaces where most engineers make the cut! This is a popular perception when it comes to B-school education in India. To counter that narrative, we have three FORE School of management students today with us, to talk about their journey of being a professional shooter, award-winning sailor, and published author to pursuing an MBA. With 45% female faculty members, more than 40% female students in a batch, and students coming in from 24 different states with 15 varied educational backgrounds, FORE School of Management is proud of its diversity. And to talk about it more, we spoke to these three distinctly different individuals coming from the different wake of life towards a common goal of learning from FORE School of Management. Here are the excerpts.

Shikhar Garg- Sailor 

Q.) An experienced athlete who has represented India in two world championships, how did it all start for sailor Shikhar Garg?
My journey as a sailor began at the age of 9. Being a surfing and sailing enthusiast, my father introduced me to the sport. Back then, I started as a complete beginner. But over time, without even realizing it, I developed a passion for swimming and sailing. Ever since the thrill and adventure, it has brought to me have been beyond my expectations.
Owing to years of practice and mentoring, I was able to secure a place at the Indian National Squad by winning 7 Gold, 2 Silver, and 3 Bronze medals, representing M.P at National Level.
At the International level, I represented India in 2 IODA Asian championships in 2011 (Singapore) and 2012 (Srilanka). I now have 5 International medals in my kitty and recently, I took part in two World Championships held in Poland and Croatia representing India.

Q.) How do you think an active sportsperson is similar to that of a B-school student juggling between assignments, lectures, and placements all at a time?
My sailing experience across the world has taught me how to surf through life in unpredictable situations.
Over the time, I have realized that if we are really passionate about something, then making time for it by juggling between assignments and lectures becomes just a part of the day.

Q.) What are some of the skills or qualities that sailing has taught you that you think are of help while you are on your B-school journey?
Sailing has taught me teamwork and the importance of understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses in a team. Winning the battle requires constantly supporting your team.
It has also taught me accountability for my actions and also enhanced my risk-bearing capacity and situational decision-making.
Most importantly, sailing has helped me open up and connect with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, which has made me more open-minded towards other people’s thoughts and perceptions. It has also improved my communication skills and understanding of varied cultures worldwide.

Pranay Sethi- Published Author Q.) A BTech degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering to pursuing MBA at FORE School of Management? How will you define this shift? 

I went ahead with Marine Engineering after I completed class 12th because of 2 main reasons; First being I wanted to bring discipline into my life and the second, to join the Indian Navy. Now you may say that I could have gone for the NDA exam in order to do that and I did, I cleared it too but unfortunately was not selected during the SSB due to my poor eyesight.
At that point in my life, I had a belief that the best way to do something for the country was to be in the Defense Services. However, 4 years of Btech. Marine Engineering changed my perspective and I realized that the best way to serve the country would be to be in a profession where I can use my skills and abilities to bring about change. After 2 years of my engineering, I realized I wasn’t even interested in engineering and was not able to use my abilities to my potential. So, I started exploring different streams and asked one of my professors to guide me through. 

After careful consideration, I decided to join MBA at FORE School of Management and since the first day, I have felt that this is exactly where I belong, something I had not felt while pursuing engineering. Q.) Not just marine engineering, you have a bit of a poet in you as well. Tell us a bit about your book and when did the poetry bug bit you? 

The title of my book is “Labzon Ke Gulam” which has almost 100 Shayari’s written by me. I wanted to explore writing, but never could. I was going through a very bad phase of my life and I wanted to bring myself up. That is when writing happened to me.  I got constant support to write further and it has become a passion of mine.

Q.) At FORE, what are a few things that you absolutely love? Do you get time to pursue your hobby and what are some of the best moments so far for you at the campus?  The tremendous opportunities that are provided to the students to showcase their talent is the best thing about FORE. We are given the chance to perform, participate and also learn new skills through events and seminars. I do get the time to pursue my hobby because now my hobby isn’t just a part of my life, it’s a part of my peer’s life as well. They encourage me to write and share it with them, which makes me feel motivated to work harder and write even better. It was during GENESIS 2021, that I got to write the theme reveal song perform it as well. It remained special for me personally. Q.) What next for Pranay? What are some things that you are looking forward to after your B-school? 

The next step for me is to enter the business world and develop myself personally as well as professionally into the person I aspire to be. I have a knack for learning and look forward to exploring new things when I join an organization after completing my MBA.
I believe that we should never stop studying and keep learning as much as we can, therefore I have already enrolled myself into a long-distance diploma program from IIT Madras so that I can keep studying and extending my horizons while I work. A different phase of my life would begin after completing MBA, and I will give my best to reach the heights of success that I had always dreamt of.

Akshat Seth- Professional Shooter

Q.) Was it a natural progression for Akshat to go for an MBA after a BCom degree from Hansraj College? 

Yes. After graduating from college, I tried my hands on my family business of handicrafts and catering. Even though I was getting practical experience, I lacked the technical understanding and ground-level insights into the daily execution of routine activities. There I realized the need of getting a higher education to develop the entrepreneurial intellect and sharpen my skills. I was always enthusiastic about my education and I realized the importance of an MBA, so as to develop the business acumen.

Q.) You are a professional musician and a shooter. Tell us a bit about your association with both and how do you think they gel well with the current MBA degree that you are pursuing?

From childhood, I was inclined towards music and at the tender age of 4, I started playing Tabla. I have performed at various platforms including the prestigious Taj Mahotsava held at Agra. I have also been invited as the TEDx speaker and performer at various TEDx events including TEDx IIM Lucknow 2019.
Talking about my other interest, I began shooting in 2010. During my schooling years, I represented Delhi at the School National games four times. Further, I have won various medals in Delhi Interschool and Delhi State Shooting Championship from 2012-2018 and also participated in the National Shooting Championship 7 times.
Recently in 2019, I bagged a Gold and a Silver medal at the Intershoot 2019 held in The Netherlands. I have also participated in the 13th Asian Shooting Championship, Kuwait.
I believe versatility is not just a noun, it’s human nature and I love to call it my personality. Having such a diverse experience helps me to relate many aspects during my MBA degree to real and practical instances. Further MBA is all about exposure, experience, and being adaptive. In both my areas of interest, constant perseverance is a must to get better each day. Shooting improves concentration and focus which is necessary to sustain in any area of life. Whereas music gives me pleasure and calms my mind.

Q.) B-schools often mean a schedule that doesn’t generally allow students to take up many things beyond academics. Is that the case with you, or you get enough time to pursue your hobby and passion at the same time? Honestly, I believe it is all about time management, and for me, it’s a regular practice that matters. I can’t imagine myself not pursuing my hobbies and passion. Music for me is a great stress buster and it helps me to break out from my monotonous schedule. As I also mentioned shooting helps me increase my focus and is a sort of meditation for me. So, I try to balance both music and sports simultaneously with my MBA degree, though the frequency has definitely reduced. Q.) You are currently part of the Finance and Economy Forum at FORE School of Management. How do you think your life has changed since you started your B-school degree and what are some things you are looking forward to in the future?  Being a part of the FORE Family, I have realized the importance of making good relations while maintaining a professional network. I have understood that holistic learning is essential for success. Being a part of the Finance and Economy Forum has given me a lot of hands-on experience working in a team, and has definitely enhanced my knowledge base. I have got the exposure to working on various tasks including making promotional campaigns, designing interactive events, and brainstorming to come up with challenging and brain-tickling case studies. ​I believe that learning is a lifelong process and adding more skillsets to my talent trove will help me grow immensely. To know more about FORE School of Management, Click here. *This is a Promoted feature.