Congratulations Harmonizers

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Congratulations Harmonizers

6 Jun 2021
- admin
We eagerly wait, mind full of questions, excitement and jitters as prospective MBA graduates. The first two weeks as we joined our new MBA program, we went through our Orientation & induction. Our faculty members enabled us to break the ice very quickly especially with our senior batch – fondly referred to as the Harmonizers. We were excited to learn, to start engaging with the people who lived the life for the last one year, that we were about to experience. Our seniors adored our curiosity and they were more than happy to share their experiences. That is what SOIL does to you, trains you to be ever ready for others and truly live the SOIL values!

We see our seniors, trying to add one more day to their graduation; one more class; one more assignment but as they turn to face the future, we felt the depth of their association with SOIL and we knew all our interactions will be full of emotions and good wishes!

As dawn breaks on a beautiful summer morning, they are yet again woken up by the sound of a phone alarm. As they go about their regular morning routine, they are reflective of the past year in which they have experienced the world whilst staying indoors. As they switch on their laptop, a companion for the past year, they realize, it is not for another class, it is not for another exam, and it certainly is not to discuss another case study, it is to culminate an important chapter and milestone, for today they will be an MBA graduate. While the world stopped, they kept moving on and now their MBA journey comes to an end.

Once a distant dream, an MBA is always the pinnacle of anyone’s formal education. As they graduate, all the Harmonizers and their families are joyous as all those sleepless nights of writing papers and projects, all the last-minute revisions have culminated to this day. The sense of fulfilment, gratitude and accomplishment is a testimony for all their efforts over the past year. They smile when they are reminded of all the moments they were stressed and realize that SOIL has prepared them well for whatever is in store for the future.

We see them all dressed up, sitting along with their parents. The 13th Annual SOIL Convocation ceremony begins and we, the new current batch hope we do them justice by hosting a good show. We prepared a welcome address and our seniors shared their thoughts on the amazing, eye-opening journey that they had and that we were about to embark on. It reminded them of the time when they prepared their own welcome address for their graduating seniors. As the prayer began, we could feel the sense of gratitude they had for all the lessons they learnt through spirituality which helped them blossom into stronger individuals.

Mr. Anil Sachdev, the founder of SOIL Institute of Management addressed the graduating batch he fondly calls the ‘Harmonizers’. His speech was galvanizing and instantly made us look forward to the self-leadership classes that we were going to have with him. The seniors mentioned that after every class, they were inspired to become a great business leader. It also reminded them of the morning circle ritual they had every day, where the faculty and students would get together and start the day connecting with each other on a positive note. This built a sense of community and fostered teamwork.

Our chief guest for the event was Mr. Shikhar Malhotra who is the Executive Director and Board Member of HCL Corporation. . It was empowering to hear from a young leader from the corporate world and gave us a great insight into what lies ahead of us.

The next speaker was Mr. Yogesh Andlay who is one of the most beloved mentors in our batch and is one of the founding members of our institution. He has also been spearheading our entrepreneurship training through the Entrepreneurship Club ‘Ankuram’. His focus has always been on mentoring young entrepreneurs through their start-up journeys and has a soft corner for ‘social enterprises’. The class was really excited to hear from him, and his speech was enthralling.

We, juniors also put-up cultural performances like a beautiful singing medley and a great dance drama. Our performances also included a video where we attempted to relive their entire one-year journey in a couple of minutes. all the virtual classes, the peer learning sessions, celebrations, club activities and all the performances that they had done throughout the year. It also reminded them of all the late-night submissions, presentations, and exam stress. Little did they realize that one year would fly by and they would be on the other side of the stage. We hope our batch enjoys every fleeting moment the upcoming year just like them and can reflect upon these great times when we will be graduating.

The Award Distribution ceremony is always the highlight of the Convocation. These awards are a true recognition for students and a testimony to all our efforts over the past year. These awards gave an opportunity to students to celebrate their excellence across various domains. The first one is the HDS Malhotra award which is given to a student team that has displayed greatest commitment towards the NGO they worked with as part of the Social Innovation Program of SOIL. This program enables students to work in a team towards a cause of their choice, one day a week, through the one year at SOIL. This award is given in honour of Mr. HDS Malhotra who is the chairman of the GoodEarth Foundation.

The VS Mahesh Award is given to the best Research Assistant throughout the course, and this is unanimously chosen by the students, the management, and the faculty. This is given in honour of Mr. VS Mahesh who is a visiting faculty at SOIL Institute of Management and teaches Service Excellence.

The Awanish Dev Award is given in honour of Late Mr. Awanish Dev who tragically lost his life in 2012 due to the unrest in the Maruti Suzuki plant. Maruti Suzuki is an important consortium member of SOIL Institute of Management. This unfortunate incident established the immediate need for Transformational Industrial Relations and revolutionary HR Leaders; hence this award is given to the best student in the Transformational IR Course.

The Sudha Andlay Music Award is given to the student who displays the best Musical Intelligence, and this can include either vocals or instruments, and this is chosen by the student and management alike. This award is given in honour of Late Mrs. Sudha Andlay who was known for her excellence in music.

The Saji Nair Award is given to the student who scores the best in B2B Marketing Course. This award is a tribute to Late Mr. Saji Nair who was a visiting faculty and taught B2B Marketing.

The Mr. and Mrs. KK Nohria Inspired Leader Award is a student choice award given to the student who has not only excelled in academics and extracurriculars but has also been an inspiration to their fellow students and has been a great embodiment of the 5 pillars of SOIL – Mindfulness, Compassion, Ethics, Diversity and Sustainability throughout the year. This award is dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. KK Nohria. Mr. Nohria is the founding chairman of SOIL Institute of Management and Mrs. Nohria is a known compassionate leader who is looked upon as a ‘Role Model’.

The Sharon, Priyam, Varun Courage Award is dedicated to Sharon, Priyam and Varun, all of whom are alumni who have faced great personal and medical challenges while they were at SOIL and were inspiration to many other students. This award is given to the student who has faced significant challenges in their life before or after joining SOIL and has shown great courage to overcome them.

The SIP Best NGO Award is a significant award as it recognizes the NGO partner which has helped the students to implement social innovation and understand the nuances of giving back to society. The Social Innovation Program at SOIL is an essential learning opportunity for students and this award recognizes the same.

The Punctuality and 100% Attendance Award is awarded to the student who has had 100% attendance throughout the course. This exhibits mindfulness which is an important pillar of SOIL.

Finally, the Role Model Award is given to 8 students who have the highest aggregate score throughout the entire course. SOIL Institute of Management has an absolute scoring system, and this encourages collaborative working and peer learning.

As we saw the awards being given to the winners, we could see how rightfully deserving they were of the awards they had received. The certificate distribution ceremony is one of the most awaited events of the entire convocation. This was the moment each one of them had worked for over the year and receiving this degree would be the validation they rightly deserve. While the end goal was to receive a degree and get placed in a great organization, they shared that they will be taking away much more than that including great friends, good connections, knowing the importance of collaboration and learning from one another and countless other things for which they were grateful to SOIL. When they heard their names and saw the degree certificate flash across the screen, they were elated and we saw the spark in their parents’ eyes. We felt as if we were graduating from college. We could see them cheering for each other, encouraging everyone to take the spotlight and enjoy their moment.

The Yearbook unveiling was a major highlight in this year’s convocation ceremony and this initiative was taken up by a few students who worked tirelessly on this book and took every step to keep it a surprise for the entire batch and boy was it all worth it! Their journey was encapsulated beautifully in this yearbook. It was celebrated with grandeur and was a true commemoration of their online journey. Even though most of the course was online and they had never even met some of their batchmates, still their bonds were unmistakable to see. They were practically like family for the past year, studying together, celebrated, laughed, and probably even cried over Zoom calls.

The president of the batch went on to give the closing address where he thanked the faculty and management for being a part of their journey and passed the baton to us, the next batch of young, hopeful, and driven minds. He also took an oath on behalf of his entire batch which stated that we would embody the 5 pillars of SOIL throughout our lives and in everything we do. As we saw them take that pledge, we were filled with nothing but gratitude towards our institution for instilling these beliefs in them which will take them a long way.

To conclude this event and our seniors’ MBA journey, our Dean Dr. Neetika Batra gave a very warm and endearing speech, thereafter, drawing the curtain on their fruitful journey. Now, as we sit in our chairs, and open our laptop to start our journeys, we can hold our head up high and say that we will soon be a successful MBA graduate from SOIL Institute of Management.

And with this, Cheers to the 2020-2021 batch of ‘Harmonizers’!

Written by Gayatry R, Palak O, Shikha M, Sneha S, Pallavi P
PGPM, class of 2022