I am finally done with MBA… YAY!! I feel on top of the world and have realized how quickly time flies when you are having fun. It was exactly a year ago; I was in distress awaiting the approval of my F1 student visa. The American Embassy in Singapore had approved my visa application, but had not yet issued my visa pending a security check that was being performed in the US. I had quit my job at Teradyne and was on pins and needles waiting for that elusive e-mail from the embassy which I was hoping would read “Congratulations, your visa application has been approved”. Though I was supposed to be preparing for the first week of statistics at Johnson, I was in no mood to study as I was not sure if I would make it in time for the start of the program. Then on the wonderful morning of May 23rd, which was a Friday, Neela checked my inbox and lo and behold, the e-mail was waiting in my inbox. We rushed to the embassy that afternoon and a very nice consular officer made sure that our visas were issued in 40 minutes so that we could fly to NYC that very weekend. I arrived in Ithaca the night before the program started and got on the AMBA treadmill the next morning. I got off the treadmill last Saturday after my Intermediate Accounting final. I have been doing nothing since and it feels awesome. The weather in Ithaca has been phenomenal, which added to the “awesomeness” of it all.
I have also had the opportunity to meet some of the incoming AMBA students who will start their program on May 18th. The program starts a week earlier this year to accommodate some changes to the program format and to make more time for career management center to work with the students as they prepare for a tough recruiting season in the fall. The key to succeeding in this market is to stay focused and aggressively pursue all available opportunities. My experience at the Johnson school has been nothing short of brilliant. I came in as an engineer and am leaving as an engineer who has finally found his calling in the world of business. The Johnson school has provided me with a broad business education that will allow me to be successful in my future endeavors.
I am leaving the Johnson School with a network of friends I can call on for advice or help in the future. The AMBA class is really tight and I am sure this group will go on to achieve great things. I don’t think I would have been successful without the help and support of my wife Neela. She adjusted to life in Ithaca quickly and had to take care of my daughter Sanjana for one year as I was always in school. This allowed me to focus on my classes which otherwise would not have been possible. Sanjana provided the comic relief when I needed to get away from school, especially when she ran behind squirrels at Maplewood where we live. I can be reached at ks654@cornell.edu if anyone wants to send me an e-mail or have any questions regarding the program. This is the K-man signing out for the last time!! Go Big Red!!
