MBA Success Story – Yogender Singh
Student to Teacher to Student
Sometimes, a student becomes a teacher. Sometimes, the teacher learns from the student, and becomes a student himself.
But this is the story of someone who went from being a student, to a teacher, and back again to being a student. This is the story of Yogender Singh.
Yogender Singh
Yogender’s journey began as a student in his village in Jharkhand. Yogender’s father was a rickshaw –puller, while his mother, a homemaker. Yogender used to live with his parents and his six siblings. He used to attend the Government School near his home, where he lived. He studied up till class 8 and then changed his schooling to another school that was 8 kilometres away. Being the eldest among his siblings, Yogender had the responsibility of earning dough for his family and thus, used to take out the cattle to graze, after his classes. At that point in his life, his tryst with struggle began (at a very young age).
Fast-forward a few years, when Yogender balanced his life as a student and as a teacher. After Class 10, Yogender started taking tuitions for students younger than him. As a result, Yogender could take care of his household expenses. This sense of responsibility in the boy was one of the key factors in shaping his life ahead. While balancing this life as a student and a teacher, he was advised by a well-wisher (now his father-in-law) to take the exam for a Polytechnic Diploma. Yogender did as advised and got selected. This made Yogender quite famous in his village.
His father-in-law agreed to fund his education and Yogender was back to learning and studying again. He left the coaching life and started working, so as to support his family at the same time. Now Yogender wanted a permanent solution. That is to say, he wanted to earn well enough to support his family in a strong way. Having six siblings meant that expenses would eventually increase. Yogender knew about IIM and decided to give a shot in the CAT. He took coaching for a few months to prepare for the exam.
Now we all know where this story is going.
Yes, Yogender cleared the CAT and eventually got a seat in IIM-Lucknow. This is the point where people’s struggles come to an end. However, in spite of getting a seat in such a prestigious institution, Yogender had decided to go back to his village. Why? Well, Yogender had spent almost all of his money on his sister’s wedding. Studying for two years meant that
Just like Yogender Singh make your IIM dream complete
- a) he had to pay for his fees and
- b) he also had to stop earning and focus on academics…..which would have again burdened his home financially
Luckily, his father-in-law came to the rescue once more, and along with funding some of his fees, helped Yogender to get a student loan. And so, the son of a rickshaw-puller was going to enter the gates of an IIM.
Yogender is currently living his life as a student again, in IIM-Lucknow, pursuing his MBA in Operations & Marketing. Although we are all students, with life being our teacher, the amount of experience Yogender has gained in life is tremendous. Right from childhood, Yogender has juggled responsibilities with his work and education and it seems that this is nothing, as compared to what he will achieve in the future.
What we learn from Yogender is that if we truly want to achieve something, our efforts have to be 100%. No excuses, no giving up and no regrets.
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