Category: I grew up in a small town called Patna, the capital city of Bihar, India. To give you an idea of where I grew up, let me give you some background. Even though Bihar enjoyed tremendous wealth and knowledge centuries ago, it is now famous as one of the most poorest, backward and lawless states of India. May be that explains why I have tendency to break rules – you will understand when you meet me ;)
I spent 16 years of my life growing up in Patna, where as a girl I was treated as a second class citizen by the society. Thankfully for me, my parents treated me as the Indian Princess I am today! They never once made me feel that I was inferior to boys or that my options were limited. In many ways, they brought me up as their son.
The Lucky Break
When I was 16 and had completed by high school (up to Sophomore Year equivalent to US system), I had my eyes set on one of the most prestigious schools in Delhi to complete Intermediate College (Junior and Senior Year). I was itching to get out of Bihar and live in a “real” city. Delhi was as BIG as it could get for me in the year 2000. But fate had something else in store for me. “Just for fun” I had applied to United World College, started by Nelson Mandela & Queen Noor – an international boarding school with 13 locations in the world and students from over 150 countries. It has an International Baccalaureate curriculum, which is similar to AP curriculum. Turned out I had topped the selection process amongst the 2000 Indian applicants and was offered a full scholarship to United World College in Singapore! That’s where I was confronted by my pre-conceived notions and prejudices regarding people from different countries, races, and religions. It was an eye-opening and life-altering experience for me.
Day 6 was a half-day of sorts, with the first four hours of the day split equally between Strategy and Finance. The second half of the day was dedicated to optional corporate and cultural tours.
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