LUCKNOW: The new cohort of budding managers at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L) has an interesting tale of a teacher who walked into the campus as a student of PGP in management last week.
Meet 26-year-old Saathvik Kappala who was among the top 3% of candidates qualifying NET for assistant professorship in 2019 and then taught public administration to college students for a year before Covid-19 hit the world.
Hailing from Hyderabad, Saathvik took to online teaching. Simultaneously, he appeared for the civil services exam thrice, but failed. “This was a turning point in my life. Carl Jung’s quote, ‘The world will ask you who you are, and if you don’t know, the world will tell you’, struck a chord with me. This was the time to redefine who I was, else I stood the risk of being a product of circumstances,” Saathvik said.
That’s when the idea of pursuing an MBA and having a corporate career struck this young teacher. Beginning 2022, he started preparing for CAT. “Unlike UPSC, CAT was totally different. It was mentally rigorous for me. Even the paper was difficult and I was unsure of whether I would make it to a top IIM. I was on cloud nine when the results came,” said Saathvik, who secured 96 percentile.
“The journey has been quite enriching. One has to go through the valley of disappointment to touch the peaks of success. I feel if not for the public sector, I will now be leading from the front in the private sector,” he said.
Recalling his experience with interviewers, Saathvik said, “The interviewers were confused. I was diligent and stood my ground. I gave honest answers. As a teacher, my communication and critical thinking skills helped interviewers understand my side of getting into a B-school.”
Son of marketing executive K Rajeevan and teacher Srivani, Saathvik credited his parents for supporting his decision. Chairperson, student affairs, Prof Priyanka Sharma said, “We are proud to share the inspiring journey of our student who defied conventional expectations and made his way to IIM Lucknow. As a former professor, he breaks stereotypes, highlighting the strength of diversity.”
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