Aashka Shah

Columbia Business School

“A courageous young girl paving her way in the healthcare business.”

Hometown: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

 Fun Fact About Yourself: I can eat cheese in ANY form with any cuisine

Undergraduate School and Major: University of California, Davis – Civil Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Aashka Hospitals Ltd. – Chief Coordinator

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Columbia Business School’s MBA curriculum programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The diversity in the school and leadership opportunities led me to choose this course. CBS focuses a lot on diversity and inclusion and the classes and assignments are arranged such that students experience this firsthand every day.

What has been your first impression of the Columbia Business School MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best CBS story so far. The students and faculty at CBS are very helpful and want to see you succeed. During one of the CMC sessions, I asked a second-year student on the panel about internship opportunities in hospital administration and he immediately pulled up slack and gave me literally a contact to connect with right away.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Columbia Business School?  I am particularly interested in the Healthcare Club, Columbia Women in Business Club, Social Impact Club and Golf Club as all these together describe me and summarize my life goals.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I successfully managed NABH audit at the hospital I worked at prior to joining CBS as full time MBA student.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? Having 4 years of work experience in management at a hospital, now I wanted to be fully equipped for business development. I haven’t had formal education in management. After several conversations with family and advisors, I concluded that an MBA was the right next step for me. After receiving my MBA, I want to keep working in the healthcare industry and help solve problems in the industry.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? I would highly recommend prospective students to be aware of the occurrences in their interest of industry as this will allow them to standout as favorable candidates once they start recruiting. Also, I want everyone to know that it’s okay to not know what they want to do in the future or what career paths they want to explore as everything eventually works out if they are willing to put in the effort.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Cornell University

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Columbia Business School’s MBA program? Be passionate about learning and be prepared to answer about what diversity you will bring to the class. Do not worry too much during the interviews. Just be prepared, know your application, and have a good conversation. Be in touch with current students and alumni, they are always willing to help, so reach out whenever you have any questions or concerns.

DRAFT: MEET COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2024