$200 And A Dream Took This MBA Student From A Small Town To The Global Stage

When Abhishek Dhanraj boarded his flight from Bihar, India to pursue an MBA at William & Mary, his father celebrated by handing out sweets across their hometown. 

The gesture, small and symbolic, belied a much bigger truth: For a boy raised in one of the lowest-literacy regions in Bihar, this wasn’t just a personal milestone — it was proof that education can break generations of poverty, and that ambition doesn’t require privilege, just opportunity.

Now, Dhanraj is pursuing his MBA at the Mason School of Business. This summer, he will join Amazon as an operations manager intern through its prestigious Pathways MBA program — a role he never dreamed possible growing up in a community where most children leave school early to work labor jobs.

“No one believed education was within reach,” Dhanraj says. “People thought it was too expensive, too far. They thought you had to choose between survival and school.”

A $200 BET THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

Dhanraj was born and raised in Ghorasahan where the literacy rate hovers around 50%. In a region plagued by generational poverty and limited infrastructure, his parents had unwavering belief in his potential. When he asked for just $200 to apply for the national engineering entrance exam, they said yes.

It paid off. Dhanraj ranked among the top 1,000 students out of a million applicants and earned a seat — and a scholarship — at Jadavpur University, one of the country’s most respected engineering schools. He completed his chemical engineering degree with minimal resources but maximum grit.

“That $200 changed the course of my life,” he says.

FIRST-GENERATION STUDENT, FIRST-GENERATION EMPLOYEE

After graduating, Dhanraj took a job with Berger Paints, one of India’s largest publicly listed companies. But instead of placing him in a typical engineering role, the company gave him a rare opportunity: to build an entirely new division from scratch.

The challenge was enormous. Berger was expanding into industrial and automotive paints, and Dhanraj was tasked with product development, supply chain planning, go-to-market strategy, and sales — all without a formal business education. Nonetheless, in time he would launch 40 products and scale the division into a $100 million business.

“It was like getting an MBA from the field,” he says. “But I knew I needed more. I needed structure. I needed to understand the theory behind what I was already doing.”

CHOOSING WILLIAM & MARY — AND WHY A SMALL PROGRAM MATTERED 

When Dhanraj decided to pursue an MBA in the U.S., he didn’t apply to Harvard or Stanford. Instead, he looked for a place where foundational learning, mentorship, and inclusive community came first.

He found it at William & Mary.

“I’d already lived the real-world experience. What I needed was rigorous classroom learning and a place where minority students are welcomed,” he says. “William & Mary was ranked highly in teaching quality. It’s public, affordable, and deeply personal. That’s what stood out to me.”

He also earned a generous scholarship — a major factor for a student funding his education independently, without corporate sponsorship. Reinforcing his decision is the fact that William & Mary is widely recognized as a “Public Ivy,” a school that offers an Ivy League-level education at a much lower cost.

AMAZON COMES CALLING 

Dhanraj didn’t arrive at William & Mary with dreams of Amazon — or any big-name employer. “I was just hoping to get a job that helped me pay off my loans,” he says. But seeing second-year classmates land at companies like JPMorgan, Capital One, and Amazon changed his mindset.

He applied for Amazon’s Pathways Operations Manager program, a competitive leadership pipeline aimed at grooming future senior managers. The process was intense: a writing assessment, two hours of back-to-back interviews with distribution center directors, and a deep dive into Amazon’s 16 leadership principles.

Two weeks later, he got the offer. This summer, Dhanraj will join Amazon in Atlanta — a global hub for operations and supply chain — through the Pathways MBA internship.

“When I told my family, my father lit up the city again,” he laughs. “More sweets.”

A MESSAGE FOR FUTURE MBAs

Dhanraj knows his story stands out — and that many aspiring MBAs from underserved communities still believe graduate business education is out of reach. That’s why he shares his story.

“It’s okay to be scared. But take the leap,” he says. “Education changes everything. Maybe not immediately. But eventually. Invest in yourself.”

For students considering programs outside the M7 or Ivy League, Dhanraj offers one piece of advice: Don’t chase brands — chase fit.

“A small program gave me everything I needed,” he says. “Support, structure, community — and professors who helped me turn my life into a story I could finally tell.”

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