------ Describe your career path both immediately upon graduation and

five years post-MBA. Include any roles, industries, or companies that

you will be targeting. How will the W. P. Carey MBA help you accomplish
these goals? (500 words or less)

After completing my MBA, I aim to pursue a career in strategy consulting

firms that continuously challenge me in business strategy, marketing, and
customer growth. The major companies I plan to target are Deloitte, BCG,
GEP, and some boutique firms in the Retail and consumer Goods industry,
specifically around Digital Transformation.

My interest in consulting was sparked during my sister's entrepreneurial

endeavor, where she planned to launch a virtual assistant company. She
had been working on the project for six months but was not able to
attract customers and, hence, finally decided to take the help of a
consultancy firm. My sister was trying to target bootstrapped startups,
and the consultant made her aware of how this fully virtual model won't
work for small startup companies that have varying demands, typically
requiring an in-person presence. The data-driven solutions provided by
the consultant impressed me greatly and inspired me to take up consulting
as a career.

I used to live in Bangalore, which is considered as the silicon-valley of

India. In my locality alone, there were several start-up founders around
me. I have seen many founders and start-ups in my circle struggle in
zero-to-one space. Five years post-MBA, I envision running my boutique
consulting firm catering to start-ups. Having worked in top consulting
firms by then, I believe I’d have gained substantial experience in
leadership and business strategies to be able to help startups scale from
zero to one.

Having my sister and her husband being W.P. Carey Alumni, I have come to
know a great deal about the institute. During my trip to the US last
summer, I had the opportunity to visit several colleges to explore their
MBA programs, including W. P. Carey. While most MBA programs seemed
great, Carey stood out to me. While on the ASU campus, I attended a
seminar for potential MBA graduates, followed by an alumni talk. I also
had the opportunity to interact with the Graduate Student Recruitment
team. Additionally, over the past few weeks, I interacted with many
alumni on LinkedIn to gain a better understanding of the W.P. Carey MBA
program. Some of the names include Asutosh Mishra, Raj Mehta, and Jamelyn
Ebelacker. I received positive feedback from all of them regarding the
courses, the culture and the opportunities available in consulting post-
graduation from W.P Carey.

W.P. Carey’s strong alumni network, small cohort sizes, and personalized
approach to learning make it the ideal fit for my career aspirations. I’m
eager to leverage the Executive Connections Program to gain mentorship
from seasoned professionals. One course I am very intrigued about is 'MGT
588: Sources of Competitive Advantage' and how it will help me create an
edge for my company over others. I have talked with Rajanikant Gajera and
Prashubh Bhardwaj and am looking forward to being a part of the
Consulting Club. The Entrepreneurship Club would also help me gain key
insights about entrepreneurship and network with relevant people.
Ultimately, the W.P. Carey MBA will provide me with the skills and
network to achieve my goal of becoming a consultant, driving growth and
innovation in the consulting field.

------- Business is personal at W. P. Carey, so we’re curious… what are

the top three moments in your life and how will they prepare you for the
MBA experience? (500 words or less)

i) Academic improvement in grade 8

I was in 8th grade when I started experiencing persistent headaches and

started having difficulty reading what was written on the board. My
grades started to plummet and I transformed into a person I barely
recognized - hesitant to speak up in class and wary of participating in
extracurricular activities. Eventually, we decided to see an eye doctor,
where I was diagnosed with myopic eyes and needed corrective glasses for
it. Upon wearing my glasses, my world started changing rapidly. Reading
no longer felt like a daunting task and the headaches were gone for good.
From '35' to '89' in computer, and from '54' to '96' in history, my
grades started improving drastically. I also went on to win elocution
contests and lead group projects. Through this experience, I understood
how important it is to mitigate issues at an early stage before they
become a hazard. We should consistently seek solutions, and not allow
setbacks to define us.

ii) Launching an Educational Initiative in My Village

This story is about the time my father decided to start a scholarship in

our village to honor my grandfather and great-grandfather, both freedom
fighters in our nation's independence struggle. Tasked with designing and
administering the scholarship test, I was shocked to see most students
struggle with fundamental concepts. Upon further investigation, I found
that rote learning and a lack of guidance were the main reasons.
Moreover, due to limited exposure and the conservative mindset of their
parents, who came from the poorest per capita state in India, none of
them were even aware of the different fields available to them post-
graduation. I decided to stay in my village for a few days to interact
with the kids both in and out of school. I held seminars highlighting
various careers related to entrepreneurship, engineering, the arts, and
medicine. The life lessons I learned here can be applied not just to
education but also to consulting. Through awareness and understanding, we
can provide tailored solutions to any individual's challenges.
Furthermore, people only dream about what they already know exists.
Hence, we must keep expanding our knowledge domain through new
experiences.

iii) Helping a small business flourish

Last year, I was helping a friend's library acquire more customers. To do

so, we cut the monthly price by half and the students came in droves.
After the customer acquisition, we decided to revert the price since the
operational costs and rents were substantial. Soon, many students left
the library, which exposed the flaws in our strategy. Eventually, we made
numerous changes in the library, such as providing more enclosed
individual desks for privacy and avoiding disturbance and making a small
room for group discussions separate from the personal study area.
Furthermore, we optimized the seating structure and ensured bathrooms
were cleaned every 2 hours. All these changes eventually attracted
permanent customers. This experience taught me how different temporary
spikes are from sustainable growth. Lasting success and long-term value
creation is a gradual step-by-step process, and hence, should be
prioritized over quick fixes.

------ ASU established a charter in 2014 that states we are an

institution “measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes
and how they succeed”. What does this statement mean to you?

This charter represents a non-wavering commitment to fairness and

equality of opportunities regardless of gender, race, personal
background, and social class. In my opinion, excellence should be
measured in terms of success in the real world, and how much further an
individual has been able to progress given their starting point,
overcoming the barriers and challenges they had to face in the process.

While working at Goldman Sachs, I had the opportunity to interview a few

college students for summer internships. One particular candidate comes
across my mind when I think about inclusion. This person didn’t look
confident during the interview. He was getting stuck in the problems for
a long time and didn't look like a promising candidate. But when I looked
at his resume, it was obvious he had sound technical knowledge, but the
pressure was getting to him. I diverted the interview and started to get
to know him better. We talked for over half an hour about his hometown,
his movie choices, and his passion and hobbies. I too shared some of my
own experiences at Goldman Sachs to make the conversation balanced and
also told him how valuable the principle of inclusion is at Goldman
Sachs. Consequently, the candidate seemed to have regained his confidence
and we resumed the interview. He was able to solve the problems with
great presence of mind and cleared that particular round of interviews. I
felt glad when I came to know later that he managed to clear all the
rounds and secure the internship. This incident solidified my belief that
nurturing talent should be prioritized over testing perfection.

ASU's motto of focusing on potential and enabling success through

inclusion is the type of environment where I can thrive and contribute
positively. ASU’s charter aligns with my thinking. We must always
remember the saying "Heroes are not born, they are made"!
------- Please provide any additional information you would like to
bring to the attention of the admission committee. (500 words or less)

Having worked as a software engineer at a top finance institute(Goldman

Sachs), I have had the opportunity to interact and work with very
talented people across different teams and roles. Some of these people
were very technically sound, however, those who stood out in Goldman
Sachs were the ones with good soft skills, including teamwork, conflict
resolution, and clear communication. Most of them also happened to be MBA
graduates. I believe an MBA degree will equip me with the essential
leadership skills needed to propel my career from a technical contributor
to a leader, making impacts that matter.

Although I fared well during the one-and-a-half years at Goldman Sachs, I

realized this was not my calling. Despite having survived multiple layoff
rounds, I decided to resign and started exploring different fields. Apart
from some volunteering, I have worked on my marketing and branding skills
with an inclination toward entrepreneurship in the past six to eight
months. While working on this idea, I realized how various components
like product, marketing, operations, and technology come together to make
a company. It made me realize how an MBA could help me develop a better
understanding of the whole system.

On a personal level, I have a deep connection with poetry and history and
would love to interact with folks at ASU regarding these subjects. I have
read all the major poets of both Hindi and Urdu languages and am aware of
the different Sanskrit poets who existed during different eras in ancient
India. I am also very eager to learn about other cultures, and W.P.
Carey, with its diverse cohorts, would be a good place to interact with
people of different cultures.