He conveyed his decision to the organization, and they gracefully understood the circumstances under which it was taken. Now that one tough decision had been done with, he had to think about how to tackle the next problem at hand. One week was barely enough to get everything ready and be present in Hyderabad for the final rounds of selection.

Since the interviewing organization had booked his tickets, he still, had time to go back home. After all, one does not miss too many chances of visiting a state as beautiful as Kerala. He had asked his father to courier the documents to him in Kerala.   Meanwhile, he wrote to the Institute, requesting a change in the dates of his interview. The institute obliged, and he had managed to buy himself some much-needed time.

On the appointed day, he was there at the IDPL complex in Hyderabad, where the final two-day selection session was to be conducted. The experience of going through a real life group discussion during his recent job interview kept him in good stead through the GD at IBS. Unknown to him, a surprising incident was to occur in the future concerning this very GD. The rest of the proceedings also went off well and by the end of the second day, he saw his name on the list of aspirants who had secured an opportunity to study at IBS, Hyderabad.

A fish out of water is what the first day at IBS felt. The small town lad was still to find his bearings in cosmopolitan, Hyderabad. With a formal education in the science’s, he had no clue of either commerce or economics. Subjects,which were completely alien to him. But then, if his grandmother could do it, why couldn’t he?

The two-years, he spent at IBS, would turn out to be one of the best. The rigor of the program, the exposure to a group of batch mates so varied in experience, cultures and educational qualifications, to face the realities of the world, gave the lad from Meerut a completely different view of the world than what he had grown up with.From the safe confines of his home and family, where he had spent the past two decades of his life, the two years at IBS taught him more on how to face life’s challenges than his sheltered life ever had.

At IBS most importantly, he learnt the importance of taking risks. He understood the significance of smart work, the value in building lasting relationships and adjusting and thriving in a diverse environment. An environment where he a rank newcomer had to compete with friends who had close to a decade of work experience. He realized that in order to improve and mature, he had to be surrounded by people who were more experienced and knowledgeable than him. That was what the two years at IBS had given him.

He could now appreciate the soundness of the decision that he had taken, when he chose to pursue his education instead of accepting that first job offer.

What the IBS sojourn had given him was unfathomable. IBS had made him a confident man.