As the days grow sunnier, it means many graduate students will begin the long march to the convocation stage later this year. Each year different students take on a number of leadership roles in the Schulich community that have a direct impact on the quality of experience each grad student has during their time here.

This interview series will provide insight about students’ extracurricular leadership, professional achievements, and personal reflections.

– Frank Paul, Graduate Business Council President, MBA candidate, 2017


Class of 2017 Profile: Meet Sakshi Kanda, MBA Candidate

Part 1: Quick Stats

Age: 25

Hometown: Brampton, Ontario

Undergraduate School and Degree: York University – Biomedical Science and English

Community Work and Leadership Roles: Women In Leadership Mentor, MBA Games Organizing Committee, VP of Women in Capital Markets (Schulich Investment Banking Club), Schulich Finance Case Team (MBA Games)

Fun fact: My dog, Buzo, is obsessed with me (and I’m equally fanatical about my fluffy four-legged child)

Part 2: Business Education & Achievements

Q: Where did you work before coming to Schulich?
A:
I worked in private education, in Program Development.

Q: Why did you choose Schulich?
A: The school’s reputation. I went to York for my undergraduate degree with people who were in the BBA program and they would always speak very highly of Schulich.

Q: Where will you be working after graduation?
A:
TD Securities, Investment Banking

Q: Which achievement are you most proud of in your career to date?
A:
I developed the math curriculum for a start-up education company I was working for. I started the program from scratch without much guidance. It taught me to have faith in myself and believe that I would figure it out – one way or another.

Q: Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during your MBA?
A: Winning the Women in Capital Markets Scholarship
set the stage for my journey at Schulich and catapulted my career in a direction that I had never imagined.

Q: What did you enjoy most about Schulich? 
A: The friends, many of whom feel like family now.

Q: What was the most surprising thing about your MBA? 
A: How safe I felt taking risks, and how supportive, accessible and understanding the professors are.

Q: What was the hardest part of your MBA?
A:
Acclimating to group work with people who you haven’t worked with before. When you don’t know your group members’ strengths and weaknesses, it’s a little tougher to delegate work – but you really can’t do it all on your own at Schulich. You just have to have faith that people will deliver.

Q: Who would you most want to thank for your success?
A: My father. He has always been so supportive of me, no matter what I pursue. He’ll tell me the things I don’t want to hear when I’m in a tough spot, but he’ll also give me the words of encouragement I need when I feel like I can’t go on.

Q: What’s your best advice to a Schulich applicant?
A: Stay true to who you are. Don’t forget what your values are, no matter what you choose to pursue in your academic life or professional career.

Part 3: Fill in the Blank…

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…”
Sakshi: …
I realized I knew very little about business. I had studied everything else from chemistry and physics to English and philosophy. This was the one field I knew next to nothing about.

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would…”
Sakshi:
…be pursuing an entrepreneurial project in the education sector.

Part 4: Fast Favourites

  • Book: Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

  • Movie: Technically not a movie, but any of Louis C.K.’s stand-up specials on Netflix are my favourite.

  • Hobbies: Indoor rock climbing and working out

  • Schulich Professor: Cameron Graham. I’ve had some of my favourite conversations with Professor Graham. He really does his best to make himself available to students outside of class. He even helped me prep for my WCM application while he was out of town, and I will always remember and appreciate that.

  • Schulich courses: Advanced Corporate Finance with Karen Chiykowski, and Managing Globally with Mathias Kipping.

Stay tuned for more profiles of the Schulich class of 2017!