Major life-skills you can learn in B-School | Garveeta from MDI Gurgaon

0 min read

Here is an account of my experience at MDI Gurgaon and some noteworthy skills which I think one can learn in B-School.

12th June 2019, my parents left me at MDI Gurgaon and went back home. I, who could not spend enough time with them, was sobbing in the corner of my hostel room, like a 5-year-old kid. Suddenly, I felt as if a storm struck the hostel. 

Induction - A time to bond and adjust

"Rush, it's time for the Placecom session. Common, we are late", a girl passed by yelling at everyone. Before I could realize what emotion I was feeling, I was in front of my mirror wearing closed neck formals. All buttoned up, tucked up shirts, blazer put on, high ponytail, eyes deprived of sleep and walking with pin-drop silence. A batch of 300 students marching towards the auditorium, this was the welcome night at B-School. Well! That experience was one of a kind. Thus, I embarked upon my journey of a B-School.

The day used to begin by roommates alarming one another, "Hey! get up. It's 7:00 AM. We need to get ready for classes and sessions." This made me realize, human alarms are the best. I don't remember what happened next. This was because the schedule was so hectic that I could not sense which part of the day I was in, and usually slept around 4 AM. This became my everyday schedule!

Summer Internship - An important milestone

As soon as the induction got over, it was the Summer Internship's preparation that hovered over our life. Those three months were like a nightmare. Those days too began at 7:00 AM but the difference was that this time we had 'Summer Internship' in our lives. From 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM we had classes, followed by interview preparations, auditorium sessions, CV build-up sessions, committee selections, and if some time left, it was dedicated to group studies. When we used to complain about the kind of hectic life we had, the seniors used to say, "It all boils down to how effectively you manage your lifestyle in this rigor." Those words didn't make sense back then because I hardly used to get time to think. But time flew and eventually I realized about the amazing things one can learn in B-School.

It was Summer Internship's interview time. It started with shortlists, followed by rounds of GDs and interviews. After a few rejections, I finally got placed. But it was not the celebration time  as my batch was yet to be placed. The journey of sharing and caring continued and finally on 1st October, 2019 PG Batch was placed. The celebrations were followed with Victory March, DJ nights and holiday for a week! The night after, I had the most peaceful sleep of my life. Though I didn't experience any of this before, that rigor made me realize the 'importance of time and management.'

In my initial days at MDI Gurgaon, I learned how to manage my studies, give exams, score decent marks and along with all this how to get placed for Summer Internships!

And the life began

Life turned to a new page where everything depended upon how effectively I utilized the opportunities. After three months of dedicated efforts, it felt as if all went pretty good. But I didn't want that rigor and enthusiasm to die off. I started taking part in case studies and competitions. Though I didn't win any of those I learned how to make effective presentations. I learned how to build the road map, how to proceed with the research and how to design the ideas in the most presentable manner. There were no classes that taught all this, no official curriculum wherein one would learn them. It all started with, "Hey, I want to do this Case study competition, will you be my team member?" and a new phase of learning began.

It all boiled down to how badly you want to utilize your time in MBA.

Though it is not surprising to find people sleeping in classes, the group studies anyway helped to get the grip of the subject. Earlier, terms like accounting, marketing frameworks, business case models used to bounce off my mind but it's no more the case now. I am not a pro in all these but I definitely know the basics. Being a marketing enthusiast, I took a keen interest in marketing classes and the cases which also prepared us for real-life scenarios. 

Since we are bound to stay focused in class due to surprise tests. It taught us that life would also be full of surprises for a manager and hence I realised that B-Schools make sure we are prepared for all circumstances. 

The list of things one can learn in a B-School is not yet over. There is so much more to take advantage of. Since we all were here to become great leaders and communicators, hence the idea of 'MDI Gurgaon Toastmasters Club' was initiated. I worked as a core executive member of the club, who looked after the functioning and management of the club. The start was not smooth. It took months to get the idea approved but gradually we paced up and today it is a club of 25 dedicated members. No reward or recognition was to be awarded for initiating this cause but we all did this to learn something new. 

B-School not just prepares the professional part but the overall you. Each one of us has 24 hours. What makes us different is how purposefully we use it. I developed new hobbies at MDI like poetry, music, cooking, and photography. It's not easy to stay away from family and fit into a new culture, but a B-School makes sure we learn everything in the best way. It might not seem important if we are living in a 2-sharing or 3-sharing room, or if we are using attached washrooms or common washrooms, but what matters is: What did we learn doing all this? A lot. 

A manager needs to be both sympathetic and empathetic. No book will teach us these qualities. Hence it is via things we learn in B-School that offers different perspectives of life.

When I entered this B-School, I thought MBA is all about books, classes, and placements. But after almost a year, I realized it is a lot more. Real-life cases, surprise tests, placements' rigor, friendships, group studies, late-night laughter, networking, hobbies building, the bonds we make here, the rooms or hostels we live in, everything helps each one of us learn different perspectives of life. 

A B-School tests your patience, rigor, enthusiasm, pro activeness and inspiration to keep moving forward with life.

No wonder when the alums come they say, "Life is a different ball game after MBA. You have two years to prepare yourself for that ball game. Your learning today will define your future. Whether you win or lose, it's all dependent upon the takeaways from what you learn in B-School."

This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author 2.0 with Dare2Compete.