Mystory@Shovan Mohanty: How I chose my course and college

I never had interest in Science subjects. I was more interested to go for Arts. My parents wanted me to take up Science but I wanted to study Arts, and I finally landed up in Commerce. I completed my 10th from Stewart School and my higher secondary in Commerce stream from DAV Public School, Cuttack. I got to learn new subjects like Economics, Business Studies, Accountancy, etc. Economics turned out to be my best friend. I was very excited to study each of its chapters and scored good grades in it. I have no regrets about choosing Commerce as my stream in Higher Secondary as it gave me immense pleasure and joy. The outcome was fruitful as well. I secured 85% in my boards and was damn happy.

As all my friends were planning then to study outside Odisha, that created a zeal in me to go outside the state too. There are no good undergraduate management colleges in Odisha. I convinced my parents about my decision to study BBA and searched for different colleges offering the course. I got to know about UPES from a cousin, who was pursuing her LLB from there. I got to know that College of Management and Energy Studies, UPES, Dehradun provides BBA programs in 8 different specializations. I went through each program and found BBA Digital Marketing the most interesting. The course structure, the career prospects and most importantly the uniqueness of the course attracted me. And UPES was and is the only college in India to provide a full-time degree course in Digital Marketing at an undergraduate level that makes me and my fellow classmates being the first set of Digital Marketers of our country.

How I cracked college admission

The admission criteria for BBA at UPES was a Group Discussion followed by a Personal Interview. I was very confident about the Group Discussion. I went inside the room where the discussion was to take place, along with nine other students. The discussion was conducted by the Associate Dean. He gave the topic "India should attack Pakistan to end Terrorism" and gave us 5 minutes to think. Then the discussion started and everyone participated in it.

Then it was time for Personal Interview. He first asked me to give him my introduction,
followed by the reasons for joining UPES instead of my family business.

Apart from UPES, I had applied for BBA in Christ University, Bangalore and cracked the interview but due to some personal problems I could not get admission in it. Then I applied for Symbiosis, Pune but couldn't get through. And finally I went for UPES.

To be very honest, I had never prepared for any GD, PI or Exam. The only thing that I kept in my mind was to be confident and fearless.

My college experience

I am a very sincere and disciplined person, so I don't like bunking classes and attend each and every class. Apart from that, as I'm the Class Representative of my batch, I have a lot of work such as appointments with the faculties, conveying the messages from the faculties to students and vice versa, getting various documents and undertakings signed by the students and managing time table. As I'm a Discipline Committee member of my college, I have to keep a check on the students' uniforms and the campus discipline. The Discipline Committee takes utmost care that every event takes place properly in the campus.

Sometimes I also help my juniors in their studies and also take their sessions to clear their doubts and problems. I am also a volunteer of my college's CSR vertical. Here I work for community service and spread general awareness on various social issues. I am very active in replying to queries in Shiksha.com as I am the Campus Representative. Apart from that, being the first batch of Digital Marketing, I'm going to open the official club of Digital Marketing in my college. For this I'm working very hard nowadays. Meanwhile I make sure to get time to have fun with my friends on campus and of course during lunch too. This is how I spend my time in college :)

About the Author:

I am Shovan Mohanty and I hail from the Land of Silver City i.e. Cuttack. It is a small town in Odisha. Right now I am doing my BBA in Digital Marketing from UPES, Dehradun. I was the Captain of my House in my School and now I am the Class Representative of my class. I’m also a Campus Representative of my college for Shiksha Campus Connect program. I like to sketch and draw. For me it's a way of venting out my emotions. I keep an optimistic approach towards life. I feel that whatever happens, happens for a good reason.

 

Mystory is a new Shiksha initiative to provide students a unique platform to share their experiences right from college admission to career selection. Here’s your chance to get published on India’s leading education portal. We’ll be happy to publish your story.   Write in to us at: mystory@shiksha.com