My First Class at B-School: A Surprising Start

I had always wondered what the first class of a B School would feel like and, boy-oh-boy,  was I surprised. Coming back to class after working for more than a decade was both daunting and exciting at the same time. I was pretty sure and half-joked to myself  that I was going to be the “Senior Citizen” of my entire cohort, being surrounded with people almost half my age. I knew that I had to strike a balance between learning from them but also sharing my own experiences and feedback on their work. 

As an Indian engineer, I also assumed that I would need serious lessons in professional development. Back home, most of the Indian engineers would be highly intelligent in their field but will probably lack the courage to speak up, especially in groups. In contrast, I was expecting my peers in the US to be far more outspoken and be comfortable with self expression. 

To my luck, our very first class was with Dr. Lori D Kendall and it was on professional development. At that moment, I knew I had come to the right school and right program. The topic of discussion was on the art of giving presentations - one of the most dreaded tasks of every engineer, myself included; but Dr. Kendall  made it not only engaging, interactive but even enjoyable. 

Her unique style of narrating her own lived examples made it so easy to connect to the real life scenarios,  and it resonated with me on so many different levels. She emphasized how the devil truly lies in the details. We rarely think of simple but critical things, like say a mismatch between fonts between different computers or the microphone battery dying at the wrong time. We often assume that these things will work seamlessly but when they don’t, the entire presentation can go down quickly.  This level of practical insight was both eye-opening and immediately applicable.

One of the most important pieces of topic that she touched upon was mental and physical health. Such topics are absolutely never spoken about back in India and it's considered a taboo to speak about such issues. But to hear about it and openly acknowledge in it the very first class made it refreshing and reassuring. It set the right tone that the MBA journey is much more than academics. It would also be about personal growth, resilience, and holistic development.

Walking out of that first class, I knew I was in the right place, ready to embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead.