Blazing A Trail: One Last Look At The MBA, What I’ve Learnt And How I’ve Grown

The minute hand slid past 3:30 pm. The professor had wound down his lecture and without much fanfare, my last MBA class came to its end. I looked to my friends sitting next to me: Patrick and Feche. Both were in my stream during my first year at London Business School and had quickly become some of my closest friends on the programme.

“So that’s it, huh?”

Nods. Shrugs. Wry grins.

“We should probably take a photo or something.”

With lessons completed and graduation celebrations still a few weeks away, it’s no surprise that most campus conversations turn toward memories of the programme or hopes for life beyond business school. There is a nostalgic mood on campus and my classmates are reveling in the final few months inside the MBA bubble.

Like those conversations, this column too, feels like an important one to write. It is a timely exercise in reflection and a chance to convey what I’ve learned and gained from two of the most impactful years of my life. Some of these factors were expected, very much within the MBA brochure we all read before accepting our place on the programme. Others were more surprising, but resonate even more intensely as I look back over the programme.

THE EXPECTED: INSPIRING PEOPLE, FANTASTIC PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

I’m sure every reflective piece ever written about the MBA experience has started with an ode to the author’s classmates. Mine is no different. At no other point in my life have I been exposed to such a diverse group of talented, ambitious and hard-working individuals. During the course of the programme, I’ve seen my classmates successfully run fantastic student clubs and events, start their own businesses, learn new skills, and have a go at new hobbies. While their accomplishments were already inspiring entering the MBA, it’s clear to see that this is only the start of the great things they will go on to do. With the global nature of the cohort, we’ll have close friends to call on in every major city in the world – I don’t think there are many people who can say that! I can’t wait to see what the MBA Class of 2024 goes on to achieve in years to come. The opportunities to learn from London Business School’s stellar host of faculty and staff has also been phenomenal. The fact that I would feel comfortable reaching out to any of these professors or faculty later in life speaks to the effort and personality they put into their work.

London Business School been a rewarding experience from a professional standpoint for me too. My first year was spent working hard on a personal entrepreneurial venture: Sapia. Through the Launchpad accelerator, I was able to validate my idea, pitch it to a wide audience, and build the foundations that will be important for it to grow into the future. I hosted a podcast on entrepreneurship, facilitated executive education courses with participants from around the world, and have thoroughly enjoyed the chance to write this column. I learned great new skills during my internships within the Strategy team at American Express and the Innovation team at Worley. I’m looking forward to taking up a fulltime role at American Express when I graduate this summer. The MBA has exposed me to a plethora of professional opportunities I never would have had otherwise.

THE UNEXPECTED: TRUCKLOADS OF PERSONAL GROWTH AND LASTING MEMORIES

While I knew that the MBA would enable me to learn plenty of skills that are useful in a professional environment, I didn’t realise I’d grow so much in a personal context too. The ability to try new things, form deep connections with people from all over the world, and learn about new ways of experiencing life in such a concentrated dose is not a common life occurrence. I feel like two years on, I’m more sure of who I am and how my personality fits into the world.

At my core, I’m an unashamed optimist; positivity seems to come out in most interactions I have with the people around me. The wide-ranging conversations that are made at London Business School have helped confirm that I really love being that way too. Healthy optimism transcends borders and cultures. It breeds inclusivity and humour, and gives connections an opportunity to deepen and enrich. Each interaction is a fragment of the legacy I want to leave behind and I’m really glad I’ve settled into who I am throughout the course of the MBA. What I’ve also understood, though, is that my optimism leads to a surety and conviction behind my actions and opinions that may not always be in people’s comfort zones – both in personal or professional contexts. I’m going to continue adapting my approach to make sure other people’s opinions are heard and that we are forging the same path together, at the same pace.

I’m also more certain of what a ‘life well lived’ really means for me. This is helping me to better shape the choices I make, to fit that future. While I enjoy my work and striving towards my professional goals, I’ve realised I get just as much joy from meeting new people and understanding new ways of living – from being creative, active and seeing the world from the path less trodden. I’m surer now than ever that a holistically well-lived life means finding a balance between my family, my career and the appetite for life. Finding that balance won’t be easy, but I’ll live a much more fulfilling life if I do.

“SO, THAT’S IT, HUH?”

It’s difficult to find the words to wrap up a reflection of these past few pivotal years of my life. I can only imagine what other benefits and learnings the London Business School experience has provided that my classmates and I will only come to realise as the years go by.

Still, I want to return to the people at London Business School. None of these learnings would have been possible without the great friendships I’ve been lucky to find and the memories we’ve made together. What makes me most proud to call myself a member of the London Business School Class of 2024 is not just the calibre of my classmates but the strength of their character. There are so many genuinely good people on the cohort who won’t just be remembered for what they have done and will do, but for the people they are as they go on to do it. The MBA is not an easy experience –  at times it’s tiring and its stressful. It’s humbling to see how my classmates have helped each other through these times and how close we’ve become as we approach the end. It is such a privilege to be part of such a phenomenal group of individuals.

It’s also important to note that we would never have been able to go on such a valuable journey without the support of London Business School’s great scholarships programme. I was a lucky recipient of the London Business School Fund scholarship and the school’s current Forever Forward fundraising campaign continues to strengthen the breadth and depth of the scholarship support that the school can offer. I’m really pleased to hear that even more deserving students will be able to go on such a valuable journey as the years go on.

It’s been such a pleasure writing these columns and I have to thank my MBA Programme Director Helen Foley for the opportunity to do so. Also, many thanks to Jeff Schmitt from Poets and Quants and Maria Brookes-Labonne from LBS, editors who’ve helped make my writing far more impactful and picked up far more typos than they should ever have to deal with.

If you want to hear more about the MBA experience, feel free to contact me on Linkedin.

What a wonderful ride it has been.

Sharvan is a former strategy consultant and LBS scholarship recipient from Auckland, New Zealand. He spent four years working on important problems across a variety of industries, including helping to establish New Zealand’s national COVID-19 contact tracing service.

Sharvan is now about to graduate from his MBA from LBS and is thrilled that he had the opportunity to do it. It’s a choice he would make again in a heartbeat.

DON’T MISS:

BLAZING A TRAIL: CULTIVATING CURIOSITY THROUGH AN MBA

BLAZING A TRAIL: FINDING INSPIRATION IN GHANA