The Modern School, A Name so close to my Heart:

I spent 14 years of my life & education, right from Kinder-Garten to class 12^th in Modern school (now VMWC), which makes it a very special place for me. A major part of whatever good I am is because of this school, especially the teachers and the tension-free atmosphere that I was provided with.

After securing the First position in the school in 2010 (link: http://www.vidyatreemodern.in/results-2010/), my life has been even more wonderful, thanks to the institution that nurtured me for more than a decade and made me into what I am today. I never got an opportunity to formally thank my teachers and school enough until recently, I realized that the contributions of this school are way too much to be just implied and need to be expressly stated. I feel blessed to have been a part of this place which believes in making you grow as an individual rather than just getting good marks (and you get good marks too here, by the way).

A lot of us do not realise how important our schooling is, and quite frankly, I only learnt the extent of importance of it when I left the school and went on to become a Chartered Accountant (CA). After my Intermediate, having done above par, I opted for what is considered to be one of the tougher examination in India, the CA course. After clearing the written examinations of Level 2 (Intermediate), I went for an interview (my First Interview) in Ernst and Young (EY), which is arguably considered to be the best Global Accounting firm in the World (and part of the “Big 4” Accounting firms). My competitors included people who not only secured more marks than me at all academic levels, but also people who were borne and brought up in large metropolitan cities of India, graduating from the likes of SRCC, LSR and the others. Like a typical 20 year old, I started evaluating my chances against them, and it seemed bleak at best. But as the story unfolded, out of all of us, there were only 2 people that eventually joined EY and I was one of them. I couldn’t really figure out why or how that happened, until I realised it was largely because of how the values of my family and school had brought me up. I remembered the time in my last year with school (2010), where I was representing the school in a National Level Event organized by IIM-Lucknow, where I was given one day notice to prepare and participate, but eventually ended up securing the Top position in Finance Management event (link: http://www.vidyatreemodern.in/school-news-and-events/ocumen-2010/). This was all because, all these years, I had already been preparing myself to be one of the bests, thanks to my par excellence teachers (Kapoor Sir, Meena Ma’am, Shiwani Ma’am, Ruchita Ma’am, Jaya Ma’am, Manish Sir, Rajeev Sir, Trisha Ma’am, Soni Ma’am, to name a few since I was here for 14 years!!!)  and school.

From Learning without cramming, to Excellence without mental stress, and Discipline without fear to Relationships with unconditional regards, it all started making sense to me. I realized that had I not been able to inculcate the core values of my school, I would’ve landed up being an average human being with a regular 9-5 job. Instead, I’m working with the best professionals across the Globe and adding value to the firm and economy since almost 5 years now.

Additionally, the school always believed in an all-round development, and since I was a part of this for all my childhood, I became an all-rounder too. I have played multiple sports at district and club levels for more than a decade, have represented school at National Level events (quiz, debates, spelling bee, chess etc. ), sing and play instruments (guitar and keyboard) in my free time, and am a certified professional in the Finance field. All of this could not have been possible without the Modern School. I owe my success to them and my family.

If that wasn’t enough, Modern School gave me friends for a lifetime. About 70% of my close friends are my friends since school days and I’m still in touch with all (read: most) of them :D. In fact, around 10 days back, I attended marriage of my childhood best friend from school (since 20 years now), who tied the knot with her high school sweetheart (also from The Modern School). We could not have asked for more.

I can write novels about the Modern school and my school life, but will stop here for obvious reasons :p. I’m indebted to the school for making my life how it is today. I’ve always been there for my peers and juniors of school, whenever they’ve needed me (would give references, if required :p), and would continue to do so till the All Mighty allows me. I would love to be a part of An Annual Day/Sports Day/Carnival celebration as a part of the jury/guest list and reconnect with the school vibes again. Cheers!