Racing to the Finish Line

You know its not going to be a podium finish, but you still run the race like mad, just because you need to be ackowledged that you ran the race. Here I am 5 45 in the morning, doing my last set of presentations, case assignments and tests. The course ends on 23rd, and we have a test on 24th. After that its a briefing session for the next 5 days with our junior batch, and on 30th, we get royally kicked out of college, via a convocation. Sometimes, the 1 year MBA itself becomes a drag, given the number of days that we spend sleepless nights, the 2 year course must be a test of patience. I might flunk in yesterday’s FSAV exam, and if that wasnt enough there’s Investment Banking’s end term tommorow. There’s only so many D’s and F’s that I can afford. I hope I get a D in FSAV, that leaves me affording one more D in Investment banking. 3 D’s and I still pass the course.God Save me!

Great Lakes Awarded by CII-Young Indians

It gives the community at Great Lakes immense pleasure to inform you that we are closing this year’s account with CII-Young Indians(YI) on an extraordinarily positive note. Here is what happened a few hours before:

1. Great Lakes awarded the “Best college” in Chennai chapter. Achieving this feat right in the first year(this is the first year of our association with CII) was just remarkable…

2. R. Athmanathan  was awarded “Best Student” in Chennai chapter.

SoHere are details of Great Lakes’s contribution towards organising the following events in conjunction with CII-Young Indians

SUMMARY OF YI/CSR EVENTS

1	Blood Donation @ Great Lakes	May 26, 2007	This camp was organised in association with the Lions club of chennai. More than 60 people turned up for the event and 52 of them were able to donate their blood. The event was organised in the campus only by arranging for a fully equipped van for blood donation.
2	EcoMagination contest – Young Indians Event	August 6, 2007	This was the first event to kick off the association with CII and hence was very vital for the relationship with CII. We rose up to the occasion and did a splendid job and hence were able to become one of the most active colleges in chennai region. The objective of Ecomagination competition for school students was to create awareness and encourage students to think about conservation and sustainability measures that can be incorporated within their school/community for a better tomorrow. Competition Topic “How to make your school campus environment friendly and energy efficient?” Students were  required to come up with effective and innovative ideas that can be easily implemented within their own school campus to make it green. The winning school received a grant for Rs. 5,00,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs) towards the implementation of the various green ideas suggested by them in their own school campus. YI members promoted the event across a hundred schools in chennai. The effort did pay off. It helped Great Lakes establish a strong relationship with CII.
3	Citizen’s run	September 30, 2007	Great Lakers were a part of a marathon which was for a special cause. This marathon called the ‘Citizens’ run’ was organised collectively by NGOs in chennai. The funds generated from this event were distributed amongst the participating NGOs. CII was the organising partner and Great Lakes is proud to have been associated with such an event. DETAILS: Young Indians (Yi) for the 2nd year joined hands with Citizens Run Trust to conduct the 10th Citizens Run’ on Sunday, 30th September, 2007. The Citizens” Run Trust has consciously sought to empower those organizations and individuals engaged in social welfare work, who lack the resources for a significant presentation of their work to a larger society. Many dedicated groups are unable to tap into the charitable impulses of ordinary people and donors merely because they cannot articulate their achievements in appropriate method. Such groups are in dire need of support in the form of both, resources and recognition as encouragement of their work. Little known NGOs and initiatives working to better the lives of people in various ways are sought out and supported through the Citizens Run Trust. This Citizens Run Trust has so far helped 38 NGOs and has distributed Rs.52,65,928/- till date. The idea of the Citizens’ Run was born with the hope of getting both young and old, the expensively shod and the barefoot runner to put their energy and money into a meaningful contribution to society at large. The Citizens’ Run Trust has been organizing a cross city run every year since 1996 in which people from different milieus in Chennai participate. The clearly expressed aim of the Run is to gain awareness and support for small voluntary non-government organizations actively engaged in quality work for the welfare of the socially, economically and physically disadvantaged. Great Lakes, with its participation in the event, has proved that it is always ready for any contribution towards the society.
4	Young Indians Summit – GOA	October 31, 2007	This was the first annual conference of CII-YI students Net. We did rule the show there as well. It started off with some sessions on management and ended with an awarenes session on AIDS by an eminent doctor from Mumbai. We managed to get permission to screen our documentary on Right to Information Act in front of an audience which consisted of CII members and students from MDI Gurgaon, MICA Ahmedabad, NMIMS Mumbai, CBS Chennai and many others. The documentary was applauded by all in the audience as they realised the importance of this act called RTI. We met some important people which included vice presidents of some major firms as well as former chiefs of CII. All in all, it was a great branding opportunity for Great Lakes.
5	Sale of RASA products at YALE Conference		The yale conference attracts the best of talent in the research fraternity. CSR club used this platform  to sell the products made by ‘differently abled’ people from an NGO called RASA(Ramana Sunritya aalaya). The even was a huge success with almost 80% of the items sold off. People felt a sense of purpose when they bought these special products made by RASA. Great Lakers,too, contrbuted to this noble cause.
6	Know India Program – In Association with ministry of overseas affairs – Panel Discussion	December 24, 2007	We put up a wonderful show at the panel discussion on ‘India’ organized by CII. The discussion had 35 students from countries across the globe including US, Canada, African countries, Israel, Italy and many more. We(Four of us from Great Lakes) were the only ones who were representing India. CII was impressed with our performance and invited us to a rural tamilnadu tour along with the delegates. This has reinforced our relationship with CII. This was a very valuable experience in the sense that such diversity of cultures would be very difficult to come across. Also, these students, who were all of Indian origin, were very impressed with our role in the whole scheme of things. In fact, some of them are still in touch with us. One more feather to our cap….
7	Rural Induction program for People of Indian Origin – KIP	December 30, 2007	This was an extension of the panel discussion held a week earlier. In fact, we were invited for this session primarily because of our peformance in the panel discussion. It was a great experience and certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity to mingle with such a diverse crowd. Just to give a background, these guys(All from Indian origin, but most of them have never been to India) are here as part of ‘Know India Program’ organized by Ministry of Overseas affairs in association with NYKS and CII-YI. We, at YI, would be working on building a sustainable business model by integrating NYKS n YI for rural development. Here is what we did: – Induction on the Indian political system i.e. the panchayats, MLAs etc – Moderating a group discussion(students, panchayat members n self help group women) on Youth empowerment to narrow the rural urban divide. Got some wonderful solutions. Solutions ranging from agriculture co-op societies, selling value added products(say idli or upma instead of rice), village adoption by urban university students, youth panchayat etc were discussed. Other topics were women empowerment, Democracy. n Field trip to villages near Cheyyur – focus areas being agriculture, education, traditional occupations n why youth is not ready to carry them forward, art, spirituality n religion, healthcare etc. Got some new insights from the way these guys think. Learning Points: –People from outside the system can give some valuable inputs based on their experiences. –What makes a difference is the attitude. Example: All the while during the discussion, the panchayat members were cynical of all the solutions given by the students. The only response used to be ‘cannot be done’. –Whereas the students used to say ‘everything is possible’. –Even though they may not know much about India, the students still relate to the Indian culture. Stick to the basics. –At one point of time they even accepted that they are ABCDs(American born confused desis). Accept reality.
8	Movie – Inconvenient Truth for YI members	January 19, 2008	An Ice Breaker for Young Indians at Four Frames theatre.
9	Tamilnadu Vision 2025 – Conference In association with pricewaterhouse coopers	February 7, 2008	A panel discussion organised by CII but with the help of pricewaterhouse coopers. A good discussion and again we prove a point.
10	Young Indians Summit – Chennai	February 16, 2008	The annual summit of Young Indians was held in Chennai this year. The net(Students) Summit was held in Goa last year. Young Indians contributed towards a presentation and logistics of the event. The event was chaired by Mr. Kamath from ICICI Bank. Our Presentation was one of the best and was appreciated by CII.

jsj

Life at Great Lakes-The past year!

Life in the past year has been a roller coaster ride at Great Lakes. Life has seen the joys, the moments of exhilaration, the darker moments and disappointments also. When one comes to a B school, every body comes with the aim of becoming a transformed person who then goes on to make his mark later in life. Transformation- The English dictionary defines it as , especially extreme psychological or character change, as in the context and vocabulary, but a B schooler wants something more. Well to get an idea, how’s this for that something more? Financial transformations on the paycheque from being software engineer to a strategy consultant/investment banker. A Bschoolers life ideally revolves around first getting subscribed to the fact that this one year is going to be a no-pay year, and they would have to keep costs low, and manage accounts well. They are into the second month at B school and their accounts seemed to be managed well so far, until Financial/Management Accounting comes and reminds them that there is lot more to accounting than what meets the eye. They start to pay closer attention to terminologies like CREDIT and DEBIT, by looking hard at their online bank accounts, and figuring out that life could be so much more easier without so much complex accounting. If those were the first instances of troubling your normal life, here comes the killer whale in the dreaded Stats. Statistics, made us realise how important was it to stay afloat on the sea of numbers and formulae, and we all started paying serious attention to that ubiquitous software called Microsoft Excel that you borrowed from your friend. Apart from all this was to wait in Eastern Philosophy for the noose to be hung around your neck when your chance came to answer, and it was in those moments that I discovered my strengths of predicting my probability of answering a question right was far closer to what Aryabhatta called zero, and depended on arbit and desperate participation to get some points against your name.

B school life is not all that dull and boring, with exams and pre reads. It depends on how you want to make use of the time post dinner. Dinner at the nearby dhabas became a good networking ground for most folks and conversations frequently hovered upon how one got good North Indian food in Chennai, which would unanimously turn out as the next mass networking joint. When folks were too tired after dinner, and didn’t want to devote their attention to the pre reads that were outstanding from the previous information transaction called Class, a bunch of intelligent folks found out how to form a movie club and play movies in the classrooms that were deserted at night. The MNMC(Mid Night Movie club) had movies of all genres and at times even was the host of many stress breakers like the all night carrom tournament and the Counter Strike networking sessions.While some saw strategy in Kotler and Porter, others swore by Age of Empires. In between the din and chaos of the gamers, were silent souls who in other classrooms would be holding a joint meeting to analyse the case given the previous day even as sleep would threaten their logic and resolve.

3 months into B school, one is used to snooze sessions in between classes (for 15-30 minutes) to catch up on those divine moments of peace, extra snooze sessions in classes, and crazy expectation of profs to accomadate pre reads and case study analyses. We learnt the importance of qualititative multitasking and forming strategic joint ventures, so that the group did well in the next days presentations. We still pride ourselves for becoming detectives at night, solving cases all night, to discover that 10 other groups have done much better than your so-called-solution. I for one started hating the word competition for a while, competition in class rooms, cases, pre reads, and even competition to eat lunch beating the queues. Nirvana for a B schooler is snooze, and some like minded friends to step away into a utopian world for a while, as it relieves the stress of the previous day. Life at Great Lakes has helped us to bond better and fight better, keeping the larger objective in mind.All these interactions have helped us see the corporate world and the possible problems that may arise, and the attitude required to take firm decisions.

6 months into Great Lakes, we braved ourselves for the first monetary and functional competition in the race for internship slots. The internship was a peek into the big bad corporate world and just a reflection to remind you that the world out there is not as linear and utopian as a B schooler starts to think after what he calls his “best strategy” in the cases he used to solve.

9 months into Great Lakes, the Pressure and tension was at a all time high, with heavy courses and assessments, competing with monetary dreams, as placement season looms large. Placement season saw a battle that each one was fighting as an individual and as a team, for that was the most tangible take away from the course apart from the eye opening interactions during the courses. Placement season rained jobs and offers, and once that was over, you hardly have the inclination to put even half the effort into the courses scheduled after placement season. The challenge now is to come to college, and not about offering your 2 paisa worth arbit and desperate class participation.

Now as 15 days remain for the program to end, you realise that all that buzz and activity has now settled down in fine dust, that would leave behind traces of an era that just got over. The Junior Crusaders are passing out… and its time for some new wine in the bottle called B school. Long Live the B Schooler’s Life!

Last Month at Great Lakes

The home stretch….The last lap….The final countdown to the grand finale has begun.

Its been 11 months since we came to Great Lakes, a bunch of greenhorns in the midst of all the smart(!) people. Its been a Great time since. From the outbound to the guest lectures, from SWIM to L’attitude, from Sanghamitra to Goldratt… it’s been an awesome year.

But some things never change; especially in Veeranum.
Kartik Kannan still sleeps, Nihit still loses carrom matches after leading 25-0, Mitesh still wants to be a terrorist in Counter Strike, Vibhor still tries to watch his movies in the midst of chaos and Pahuja wants to switch off the electricity.

Anyways, gotta get back. Last minute exams, assignments and the works…

Great Lakes Team wins the overall Trophy at WCC

Had been to Women’s Christian College for their business fest. Happened to win prizes in Biz quiz, Adzap,Best Manager and Debate. Our team from Great Lakes happened to sweep the awards winning it in every event. We are also awarded the best overall team, and won a trophy for that. The trophy was given to us by Radhika Sarathkumar, who happened to be the chief guest for their event at WCC. Finally the WCC girls were really accomadative and made sure that we were able to participate across events. They have a very good and down to earth event management team, and this is what you expect when you get to a fest. I remember so many colleges displaying a cocky attitude and feigning self importance, but the WCC hospitality was really good. The team from Great Lakes was Myself and my usual quiz partner Sunil Krishna Prasad and we also had Shriram Bharathan, another avid quizzer joining us. 2 group events victories and 2 individual event victories made our day

Brough me back memories to the good old days of engineering when I spent most of my semesters in other engineering colleges, whiling away my time at symposiums and fests. Felt young all over again…





Here are some picures from WCC

The Overall Winners Trophy

Three of us recieving the award from Radhika Sarathkumar at Women’s Christian College.