The weird feeling of coming back to college post summer internship -By Palash Jhawar from MDI Gurgaon
A typical management student enters a B-school with a number of aspirations in his mind and dreams in his heart. You are elated because after a long battle of CAT, GDs, and PIs you have made it to one of the top B-schools of the country. Your parents are proud of you, your siblings hate you for raising the bar. People whom you have never met come to you for advice, and you are happy because you know that this degree is the key to a whole different level in life. That is when the problems start.
Post summer internship: The contrast
You suddenly realize the competition, the academic rigor, the sleepless nights and all the other shenanigans. And that is when you are faced with the first milestone of MBA, the summer placements. After a number of unsuccessful PIs and GDs, I did crack the interview with Walmart India. That feeling of euphoria is something which I will cherish for the rest of my life. The next few months flew by as we eagerly looked forward to the next stepping stone of our MBA, the summer internship.
My internship at Walmart India was a mix of hard work, party, research, team lunches, reports, coffee breaks, surveys. Did I mention hard work? Anyway, the 8 weeks came to an end and soon enough it was time to go back to college. My first few days at MDI, post summer internship felt weird! I went to Walmart as a fresher but I took corporate culture like a duck does in water. Saying that I merely had to adjust to the 8:30 AM classes would be an understatement. I had gotten so used to implementation and creation that coming back to the role of a student took real effort and time. I guess that’s partially due to the fact that my internship ended a week later than everybody else’s. The classes had even started before my last day at Walmart as an intern.
The weird change
Coming back to college post summer internship, you notice a lot of changes in people. Your classmates and colleagues suddenly seem much more mature than what they were about 2 months ago. The conversations are a lot more intellectual now. And if you are familiar with the stipends at top B-schools, people actually have a significant bank balance now. The weekend trips have turned to weeklong trips, economy hotels to 5-star resorts, Dhaba lunches to a premium buffet. There is one important topic which gains momentum post internships, the PPOs. Pre-placement offers are the talk of the town. People end up doing unofficial surveys regarding the possibility of a PPO of everyone and those who end up getting a PPO just after the internship are considered rockstars.
When juniors pool in
Every fad does come to an end and soon we end up following the same routine of classes, case studies and late-night trips to the canteen. That is when another wave hits us in the form of Junior batch. Initially, it’s not easy because they are everywhere, literally everywhere. Your mess, your canteen, your football ground, everywhere. It’s like getting an annoying sibling you did not ask for. That is when you start interacting with them. You get to know their dreams, hopes, and aspirations. You start giving unsolicited advice on topics that you had difficulties in.
Moreover, you show them the ins and outs of the college, the inside information on professors and subjects. You start mentoring them and preparing them for every issue that you faced in your initial days at B-school.
Soon enough, when you find yourself lecturing about how to crack the statistics exam, you get hit by a wave of déjà vu. You suddenly remember the same exact moment from your first year when your seniors had lectured you about the same thing. That wave of nostalgia is mixed with a tinge of sadness, the dejected feeling you get when you realize that your MBA is actually a lot closer to the end. You did not even realize when the past year flew by. That is when you start appreciating each and every moment of your college life. That is when you realize that these will be the best two years of your life. I know I did.
This article was submitted as an entry to Become an Author with Dare2Compete.