Interview with Sandeep Soni, BMS Alumni, Chinai College

Name – Sandeep Soni

Graduated BMS in the year – 2011

College – Chinai College

Currently doing/working – Project Coordinator in ILMME Foundation and Asst. Manager in  mydentist

Tell us something about yourself

Since childhood I had an urge to achieve, actually earn if rightly said. I always aspired high in my life and strived to earn it independently. I did my schooling from BMC School till class 7. After class 7^th I secured 14^th position in entrance examination test of Ruia School out of 700 students and got admission there, for further studies. When I was in class 10^th I made a decision to self support my further education financially. Therefore, I started working part time in evenings and nights. I completed my graduation in Management Studies. Now it has been around 7years I am in the field of Marketing, Sales and Events. I knew my strength and focused always in the same direction. I am leading Mumbai Project of ILMME Foundation since last 2 years.

Tell us something about your BMS college

My most memorable moment in my 3 years of BMS was when I was given the opportunity to head the College Festival Event from 2009-2011. I was studies but I have enjoyed everything that is mostly not expected out of a studies boy. I was involved in bunking lectures, sometimes part of mass bunking, was a back bencher, I hardly remember in third year I attended 7:30’s 1^st lecture. My exit from college was also a memorable time as I scored highest in International Marketing in my college. It was not memorable just because I stood top but because of the subject I topped in. Marketing has been my interest area, I was partially associated with it practically due to my part time jobs and this much was expected out of me from myself.

When did you join BMS? Which year you graduated BMS?  How did you start your career? What was the first step after completing BMS? What are you doing currently?

I joined BMS course in the academic year 2008-09 and graduated in 2011. If I share about my career it started off when I was in class 10^th because I wanted to be economically independent. I began as a field promoter and my field was railway stations, railway bridges, jogging parks, and so on. Early morning 4a.m. I had to be on field, and due to my skills I went growing in same sector from field promoter to field supervisor to event coordinator. I myself did my marketing by performing really well. My hunger for money was less than my hunger for learning and performing well. And this attitude got me an offer from Grand Hyatt for a post of part time supervisor in hotel, especially for events. All this happened within 3 years of span. And when I entered into BMS course, I came across a person Sanjay Srinivas who is the director of an award winning movie “God Lives in The Himalayas”. He had a company named Chequered Flag Entertainment and wanted me to work for his CSR department as an event coordinator and I accepted his offer. When I was in my last year of graduation, Sanjay Srinivas closed his company and opened a full-fledged NGO known as I Love My Mother Earth Foundation and I continued as an event coordinator there as well. ILMME Foundation offered me a fulltime Program coordinator post after I was graduated. So this was my first step after completing BMS. Currently, I am a Project coordinator in ILMME Foundation and Asst. Manager in mydentist.

Who in your life has influenced you the most?

My eldest brother-in-law is whom I have got influenced with the most. Coincidentally his name is also Sandeep Soni. After his graduation he went to the sector of transportation. He gave 14-16hrs of his hard as well as smart work each day to his ambitions. He had a goal and he not mere just dreamt but gave his extreme efforts to turn those dreams into reality. At the age of thirty he has everything in his life that a man desires of.

Has BMS course really helped you in the corporate world or in MBA? As BMS alumni, what changes would you like to bring in management education? Do you think internship/work experience is a must before pursuing MBA?

Yes, definitely BMS course has helped me in my journey of success. In 3 years we had more than 40 subjects and each subject had a Ppt. Presentations assignment for internals. This helped bar my confidence to a level that my very first presentation with our stakeholder cracked the deal. According to me in third year the projects that we submit, should come into process in 4^th semester itself. Definitely not loading students, but at least began with the identification of broader category and to an extent of finalizing project topic. In vacations then students must be given opportunity to do internship in organisation relevant to their project topics. So that not only bookish knowledge but students get exposure to practicality of the market. To me internship/work experience is not must before MBA, but surely very important. It is always an added advantage if before MBA one has work experience. I can compare it to my BMS course, as I was working before joining the course; it always added me to live the subjects. I already had practical knowledge of the market; lectures came to me as organised and systematized form of my market.

What message would you like to give to the current BMS batches?

Never take stress. Have fun, do study on time, and have set timings for studies. Gain as much as practical knowledge possible. Be updated with current affairs of world. Enjoy all these.