How has your background and life experiences including social, economic, cultural, familial, educational, or other opportunities

s and/or challenges shaped or influenced you as an individual and as a leader? How might you leverage your background to contribute to the Broad MBA community? Limit your response to 750 words. An individuals response to a challenge in life is largely determined by his outlook, the socioeconomic conditions around him, the familial and cultural roots apart from his innate talent to steer himself under such conditions. These responses are the difference between a leaders response and a followers reaction and the difference between an opportunists vision and a common mans apathy. Like the saying goes, even a dead fish can go with the tide, but it takes a live fish with zeal to swim upstream, Ive found myself the best when I challenge the challenges that seem oppressive. Its the same keenness that backs my confidence in contributing to the class wherein adulations and limelight is a way of life. While the rest of my schoolmates and many of my colleagues crib about the incessant need for updating oneself to keep pace with technology, I get excited by such changes and propel myself towards embracing the change. Its this unusual trait in me, also found in very few, that induces me to seek challenges and solve the numerous problems that I may face in such endeavors. Such activities have not only honed my logical and reasoning abilities but have also added a new dimension in me adaptability. Hailing from mechanical engineering background, I was fast to adapt to the work patterns and challenges of IT services industry and practices. My cross functional skill set and experience spanning across manufacturing, IT, Retail supply chain and quality control will help me enhance the learning experience of the class. Practice makes man perfect goes an old adage and 16 years of learning, applying and experimenting with numbers has given me the confidence to quantify many of the issues at hand. At CTS, my affinity for numbers is one of the few factors that have been consistently talked about in the performance appraisals. One of the chief reasons for such proficiency can be directly attributed to the mathematical concept classes that I handled for the schools passing out students. My understanding of these concepts hit a new high when I helped many students upgrade their aptitude test abilities as part of the campus recruitment program. Traversing along with my fathers persistent transfers, Im one of the very few to have studied in 8 different institutions spread across 4 different states, during the 16 years of my studies. India is characterized by the diversity in culture wherein a new culture emerges for every 100 kilometers crossed and the four different provinces clearly have different traditions, demography and socioeconomic patterns. The challenges of having to settle into a new culture and gaining a peer group taught me the finer aspects of relationship building; sustaining them and network expansion. My interpersonal skills today are largely built on my understanding and learnings with reference to appreciating difference in beliefs, tolerating difference in thoughts and proactively curtailing

How has your background and life experiences including social, economic, cultural, familial, educational, or other opportunities and/or challenges shaped or influenced you as an individual and as a leader? How might you leverage your background to contribute to the Broad MBA community? Limit your response to 750 words. negative actions. Im confident that such skills would enable me to win the confidence of my classmates and the community and forge long lasting relationships despite the diversity in terms of age, qualifications, experience and / or cultural upbringing. I never knew the advantages of being a multi-linguist until I became one! Language is the index of a culture and I earnestly believe that language breaks many barriers. As much as the language helps in conversing and express ones view point, the language also greatly helps in understanding diversity, traditions and more importantly the reasons behind why things are so in a particular place. Breaking the ice and Relationship building are greatly enhanced when you can converse in a common language and the word stranger does become a non-entity in the dictionary of true multi-linguist. In less than a month, my class mates can expect me to say hello in their language and converse with them as we though knew each other for years. One momentous contribution I wish to make to my MBA community is the awareness and involvement in the social cause of child education. Witnessing high levels of child labor and impoverishment depriving children of not only basic needs but also education, I volunteered to tutor at poor schools and orphanages. The fulfillment in helping the future of the nation grow into educated individuals is inexplicable. Akin to Teach America and Teach India, Id like promulgate teaching initiatives that would make appropriate use of the management lessons learnt for a good cause. Winning the best outgoing student award, if any, would be my objective during the MBA program.