The words bored their eyes on me as I stood immaculately suited-up at the entrance of IIFT Delhi. I took a second to savour the moment, it was just four months ago when I had visited this place for my interview as an aspirant, and finally I had made through it. As is the habit of people of my generation, I wanted to click a selfie capturing the moment but I realised the magic of the moment cannot possibly be captured. I took another look towards the IIFT logo and entered, thoughts constantly colluding my mind as to what should I expect from this place. As soon as I entered I could see the fabled ‘Wings of Wisdom’ statue. The statue was inaugurated by the then President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee in 2013, celebrating IIFT’s 50 years of leadership in international business management. It started dawning on me that I am about to be part of an institute that has a rich and vibrant history.
Over the course of next week, we learnt what it is to be an MBA student, how sacrosanct deadlines are, how to work in tandem with groupmates, how to value opinions and how to think on our feet. We were in for a surprise at the end of the week, a surprise which one can only experience if he/she is an IIFTian.
It has been just three weeks and the journey so far has been intense. Intense in every field whether it is academics, case-studies, co-curriculars, sports or anything else. Between all this hustle bustle, I was selected as a Junior Executive Member of Alumni Relations Committee, a committee that continues the legacy that has been built over the years, a legacy that I am now a part of, a legacy that continuously inspires me to work hard to be worthy of it.
So, what’s so special about the campus? For me it will always be the entrance to IIFT, the golden words ‘IIFT Bhawan’ written with IIFT’s logo over black stone. For me it symbolises the hope that I had carried with me the day I had come for my interview, it symbolises the hard-work that I had put in and is expected of me. The entrance is the portal after passing through which you’re never the same again.
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ABG Company:
Given a chance I would like to work for Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL). This is because I am a sales and marketing enthusiast, and the work ABFRL is doing will be in the area that I am most interested in. ABFRL has already overtaken Shoppers Stop in sales volume and is rapidly growing. It has inked deals that includes global brands as Ted Baker. ABFRL also saw its Q4 profit rise by five times for the March quarter. I believe all these factors combined with the heritage of Aditya Birla Group for over 160+ years will provide a learning exposure like no other. After all the one thing that is common between ABG and IIFT is they know how to carry on their legacy.