Srishti Jain is currently working with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a Senior Associate and was the coordinator for Consult Club at IIM Ahmedabad. Before coming to IIM Ahmedabad, she worked as a Deputy Manager in the Product and Policy team at IIFL Finance. She also did the Young India Fellowship from Ashoka University after her graduation in Finance and Investment Analysis from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.

What does being the ‘PGP Woman All-Rounder’ mean to you? How has the journey been? Being recognized as the PGP Women All Rounder gave me a sense of achievement, and as one of my Professors’ would have put it, it was a title signaling my curiosity and my propensity not to sit still. It gave me a sense of satisfaction and validated my belief to be a generalist in today’s day and age. More than everything else, this award reminded me to be grateful to my parents and the efforts they put into my upbringing – they are the ones who nurtured my curiosity, ensuring that I give my best both inside and outside of the classroom.

However, in my opinion, there is also a flip side to this award. On another level, it is also a signal of the inequality in our society through comments like how it is easier for me to get this award given the smaller consideration set of individuals without thinking about why there is a smaller consideration set in the first place. Of course, I am cognizant of the privilege that I had been born with to have reached where I am today, but I also hope that recognition like this motivates more women and their families to let them pursue education in business and eventually flourishing corporate jobs. Given this award, I hope to motivate many more women to pursue their education and jobs of their liking.

The overall journey has been both humbling and satisfying – I got to know myself better and how I fared in different situations and contexts without ever expecting that my participation which in itself was rewarding will culminate in such a recognition.

During our first year, we were advised by our seniors to prioritize what we wanted to do in our MBA amongst the multiple things and limited time available to us. In retrospect, I have realised that what is crucial to become a generalist is prioritizing different things at different points in the MBA journey. You cannot do it all simultaneously yet, yet you still have enough time to experience and achieve everything you want. While my focus during the first year was on prioritizing academics and playing different sports in my free time, I devoted the second year to better understanding my interests – be it in academia or extracurricular – and club activities. Additionally, dabbling with various activities in college helped me get to know many more of my peers better.

All in all, it has been an enriching experience that well rewarded my curiosity. I got to indulge in activities that I missed out on during my undergraduate education and will cherish as I head into the corporate world.

What are your fondest memories from the campus? Given the unique circumstances of our batch during COVID, many of our campus memories have been made in the virtual world – getting out of bed and immediately switching on Zoom for the 8:30/10:20 class, the terror on WhatsApp groups as we awaited the e-mail for the 2:30/4:45 quiz – but, the bonds and friendships we formed during these virtual moments were definitely real. Consequently, my fondest memories are of spending time with my friends and peers doing various activities on campus. While there are multiple memories, three top the charts for me.

The first and foremost is playing frisbee at LKP – especially in the last term of the first year when all of us would end up on the field after every 11.59.59 pm deadline without fail. The carefree attitude and the camaraderie inherent in the sport we played after every deadline and exam (also during exams) was truly exhilarating.

The second memory is associated with nights that would never end. We would play board games together, explore every nook and cranny of the campus, visit Bhavesh Bhai for the – much required – midnight snack and then end up at LKP to gaze at the stars. Then we would go to the Gajanand poha outlet near campus, which opened at 5:30 am. We would then return to LKP to watch the sky light up before we finally went about our chores for the day.

My third fondest memory from campus is about the time I spent at Vikram Sarabhai Library. I loved to go to the library, choose a particular section, browse through the titles, pick up the ones I found interesting, and go through them in parts in one of the cubicles on the third floor. The time in the library was also spent discussing or empathising with friends as we completed our assignments or prepped for placement interviews. I highly doubt whether access to any libraries in the future will ever match the time I spent at VSL.

Now that I look back at it, many of my fondest memories on campus have been made in and around LKP with my friends, and I am sure I will miss both of these the most.