They say Internships are a part of the MBA curriculum. Surely, it is! But for a fresher, it’s an opening wedge. Anything that happens for the first time, brings mixed feelings with it. As the joining date came closer, feelings of excitement, nervousness, curiosity, pride, gratitude and contempt all seemed to cross my heart simultaneously.
It's said the expert in anything was once a beginner. And my exposure to corporate life began with Capgemini, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services. When I was selected to intern at Mumbai as a part of Chrysalis, Capgemini's flagship B-school summer internship program, I had multiple hopes and dreams. With time, all of them came true and more.
“Pressure can burst a pipe, but pressure also makes diamonds. “
Excitement combined with curiosity and a bit of anxiety was the kind of mixed emotion that struck me when I got selected for Aditya Birla Group’s Indian Rayon unit in Gujarat. Excitement for entering into a new realm of the corporate world, curiosity for the suspense of what the two months of internship had in store for me and a bit of anxiety for how able I am to adapt to this new sphere of corporate sustainability. It was a good surprise at first to be selected for such a big corporate house in the country.
The diligent Placement Committee broke the news of my mission for an impeccable internship on the auspicious last day of ‘Navratra’. Excited, Shrestha spoke to her parents about her two-month long internship which will be infused with her mom’s hand-cooked recipe. Nothing was more inducing than a chance to spend more than two months with my parents at Mumbai, which I was craving for since the day of my induction to my engineering college in the year of 2013. I was truly blessed with an internship with a PSU in Mumbai. Imagining a stint in office with the sheer excitement of accomplishing my mother’s dearest dream of serving lunchbox for both father and daughter to start for office at seven in the morning while seeing them off, gave me thrills.
The first year of MBA is a year to remember. First of all, the curriculum is different from that during the graduation days. With loads of group assignments, quizzes, case studies, and most importantly, the constant push to think like a manager they make sure to keep you busy throughout the year. There are people from different backgrounds with various aspirations. You have to accommodate their ways and learn to collaborate with them as fast as possible. After all of these, committees, parties and the extra-curricular activities will prove that MBA is not only studies but much beyond it.
Day One
Once there was a GEM. A GEM which was more than precious and synonymously everyone used to call it “ANMOL”. However, the lustre was latent inside it and the lapidaries (the premier b-schools) were not ready to polish it. Their entire community gave the same three excuses – ANMOL is a General, Male, Engineer and there are too many such GEMs we’ve already polished, so we need more “diversity” now.
