HBS MBA Student studying between classes. Photo: Hensley Carrasco

MBA Grad Shares Life Lessons He Learned At HBS

For Gaurav Bhogale, a Class of 2021 HBS grad, community and diversity are some of the key lessons that his MBA education taught him.

Bhogale discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic helped strengthen bonds during his time at HBS and how his experience contributed to who he is today in a blog post for Harvard’s MBA Voices.

VIRTUAL LEARNING: A UNIQUE BLESSING

With COVID-19 variants shifting classes online again, many are awaiting the day when campuses can truly return to normal. But Bhogale says the pandemic actually helped strengthen the bonds that he made in a virtual learning environment.

“While Covid kept us physically apart for a large part of the second year, it brought us emotionally closer and created a deeper sense of community,” Bhogale writes. “I stumbled during my first Zoom class in August last year – I was still on mute as I made a comment in a Finance class. However, we began to help each other as we made progress. The last two years have given us many great gifts, the biggest of which is creating leaders of tomorrow who will move us into entirely new ways of community building.”

IMPOSTER SYNDROME IS MORE COMMON THAN YOU THINK

Imposter syndrome, or the feeling that you aren’t worthy enough to belong, can make one feel very alone. But it’s actually a more common phenomenon than many think. A key strategy to fighting and overcoming imposter syndrome is to know that you and everyone around you deserves to have a seat at the table.

“During START week (the first week), I sat in Klarman Hall with 900 new admits,” Bhogale writes. “Surrounding me were veterans, entrepreneurs, scientists, activists, artists, among many others. As someone who started business school a few years later than some people choose to and thought that maybe my previous work experience wouldn’t be as applicable. I felt like an impostor but I found over the next two years that impostor syndrome is nearly universal and always unfounded. All of us belong here and have enriched the HBS community in our own special way. I learned that my experience working at Google across many teams and geographies helped enrich the class’s understanding around cases in tech, marketing, and strategy.”

IT’S OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP

Bhogale says that the best advice he received at HBS was to not be ashamed to ask for help. At HBS, the community offers a support network for any and every problem—whether you’re curious about entering a certain industry or even need a job recommendation.

“Over the last two years I’ve found it’s not if you can get the help you need, it’s in how many hours,” Bhogale writes. “This is only possible because the community –including professors, alumni, and classmates – is mission-driven, selfless, and deeply believes in paying it forward.”

Sources: HBS, Inside Higher Ed, Psychology Today, The Journal of Behavioral Science