Friday, May 23, 2014

The Grand Finale

The Grand Finale of my. International MBA at IE, the graduation day, the day of last post for this blog, the four hundred and sixteenth day, the day to receive acknowledgement and appreciation and certification for all the hard work put in past thirteen months, the day to remember, to reflect, to rejoice, the day when I officially become an alumni and join 40,000 others at the IE alumni association.

When we started from Madrid towards Segovia, it was raining. Many in India believe that rain on an auspicious and/or important occasion is a good omen. And if that was not enough, when we reached Segovia, we saw a rainbow in the sky - full of colors, full of joy, full of hope, full of excitement, full of accomplishment.
And then, as soon as we walked down with our diplomas and transcripts, the sky was clear and it was warm and sunny all around. The sunshine of achievements, the brightness of future ahead.
Thinking of metaphors and good omens and signs, there were many. And yes, not to mention, we graduated from the same place where Columbus had sought permission from the queen of Spain for his Voyage - the voyage that led to discovery of the Americas. To top it all, the biggest factor that made me feel really good was to receive my MBA transcript and diploma in presence of my parents, and of course my new found friends and their families.

Jeff who taught us how to make business sense out of many non-market events from the decisions that governments make, to the choices that people make, and who received most votes from my section A2, was voted as the best professor for the year. Phillip received award for the best student, and from what I have come to know him, in the classes we took together, in our interactions inside and outside the school, I had a feeling that he should be the one to receive this award. Natalie delivered an extra dose of emotions in what was already an excited arena, and I could see tears in eyes of many, as she spoke about the spirit of IE, of togetherness, of helping each other, of being socially responsible and of being thankful to our families, friends, peers and all those who have helped us in the past and will be there for us in the future.

There are many mixed emotions that gather in my mind this day, from thoughts of the day I decided to go for an MBA, thoughts of all criticisms, and of the love that has made me what I am today. More on the reflection on some other, at some other place. Today, it was the day to "Keep Calm and Graduate"

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