I acted as a link between the professors, course faculty & students. This instilled in me leadership skills, says Elton

In school, I was the typical shy student who doesn't talk much. I liked Maths in school and I still do. I secured 82.40% in my Class 10 examination and decided to major in Commerce. Maths and Economics were my favourite subjects. I secured 78.92% in HSC and thought of pursuing Chartered Accountancy (CA). I did clear the Common Proficiency Test (entrance) on the first attempt but then said CA is not my cup of tea, mainly because I didn’t like accounts. In my second year of college, I was introduced to the subject of Advertising and liked it. For the Advertisement project in college, I made a jingle and shot an Ad for a brand. One of my college professors would tell us to read news related to the advertising and marketing sector. She would then pick any one of us to speak and explain the news. This activity helped build up my confidence to speak in front of a crowd. This inculcated in me the habit of reading newspapers. In my last year in college, I was the Head of Certified Courses. This included courses such as Microsoft Excel, Tally ERP, Spanish Language, and Stock Markets which were taught by external course faculty in the college. I acted as a link between the professors, course faculty & students. This instilled in me leadership skills and interpersonal skills. All of this influenced my decision to pursue a Marketing degree as my next step in education. My entire college experience taught me that a BCom degree was insufficient and that I needed to continue my education to gain more knowledge and expertise in the field.

One of my college professors would tell us to read news related to the advertising and marketing sector. She would then pick any one of us to speak and explain the news. This activity helped build up my confidence to speak in front of a crowd.

The thought process of doing an MBA became stronger as Covid 19 pandemic struck. The job market became, even more, tougher as companies were laying off employees and it became harder for me to have a BCom degree to enter the market. I planned and started preparing for the MHT-CET entrance examination which was supposed to be held in March 2021. I enrolled in MT EDUCARE'S CPLC. The best part of the class was that they had online lectures rather than video-recorded lectures. This helped me understand better. I solved as many question papers available to me for my practice. My goal was to give the MHT-CET entrance but the examination getting delayed was a problem as the academic year would move forward. I then decided to give ATMA as the syllabus was more or less similar. I cleared ATMA and then decided that I would move forward with my ATMA score. I tried at NL Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research, L.N.Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research (WeSchool), IES's Management College and Research Centre (IES MCRC), International Institute of Sports Management (IISM), National Academy of Sports Management (NASM), Chetana's Institute of Management and Research and D.Y. Patil Institute of Management Studies (DYPIMS). I got selected in all the colleges and reached the second round i.e interview process. I finally got selected at IESMCRC. I also got selected for IISM and NASM. I was in a sort of a dilemma about whether I should go for a Masters's Degree in Sports Management or a PGDM in Marketing. I had already paid the deposit amount to IESMCRC and was in a fix on either of the three colleges. Sports management would rather be a niche field compared to Marketing, I could jump from Marketing to sports, but couldn’t do the reverse. I was more inclined toward the PGDM Degree. I spoke to my parents, coaching classes sir, my grad college professors and a few of my parent's friends. They gave me valuable suggestions. Finally, I took the decision of going along with IESMCRC and got my admission done there.

My goal was to give the MHT-CET entrance but the examination getting delayed was a problem as the academic year would move forward. I then decided to give ATMA as the syllabus was more or less similar. I cleared ATMA and then decided that I would move forward with my ATMA score.

I basically have a pretty fixed routine for my college life. My college day starts at 9 am and would generally end by 3 pm. During break time, I sit with my friends in the canteen. We usually have our tiffins together share the food brought by everyone and discuss the lectures done on that day. If the lectures end early I spend my time completing some projects or college work while sitting in the classroom. At times I stay back after classes because there are some group projects that require group discussion and all members present, so we meet after the lectures and discuss the project. I am currently pursuing my first year PGDM in Marketing. IESMCRC works on a trimester pattern which generally has six subjects in a semester. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the first two semesters being online had eight and seven subjects respectively. The third semester was the testing phase for us, as we had to select our choice of electives: Finance, Marketing, Human Resource, and Business Analytics. The third semester was the important phase as it would be the base for the next year. I feel the Marketing Strategy lectures in college are the best, as the professor keeps you on your toes. I have got a plethora of knowledge listening to the lectures. Along with my academics, I have also done other courses such as Finlatics (Dealing with stock markets) and a Digital Marketing Unlock course from Google as it was compulsory for our credits. Within the year I took part in various online competitions. I am part of the Quizzes and Debate Club in college which organizes the same. The primary motive to join this club was to gain knowledge on various topics and the secondary being anchoring in these events. I had to juggle my personal and college life while attending lectures, taking part in activities, completing projects, and also looking after the home aspects such as going to market or supervising any repairs etc. This led me to manage my time better and gave me organisational skills. I have gained a lot of real-world information and general knowledge. College offers us Mentoring, so we can connect with a professor and share our problems and overcome our difficulties with their help. As a person, I have gained a lot of self-confidence and an ability to mingle around and talk with people and make friends.

I would want to be an Advertising Manager.

About the author

Elton Fernandes is a BCom graduate from St Andrew's College of Arts Science and Commerce and is currently pursuing PGDM in Marketing from IES's Management College and Research Centre

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha