Homecoming?

In my earlier blog​, I mentioned bumping into an IMD MBA alumnus and since I’ve had many of my classmates ask me who this mystery alumnus is…here’s a blog from the man himself - Today’s guest entry is by Aman Modi (IMD MBA 2012) who was one of the bloggers last year and also a great advisor to many of us during the application process. Aman always has some great insights to share and I am glad we all have the opportunity to hear from him through his guest entry! It was great seeing him and other MBA 2012 alumni on campus and I hope we get to bump into many of them again in the future!

Homecoming…?

As I drove into Lausanne on 7 February, 2013, I couldn’t help but notice that it was exactly two months since graduation. 

But for IMD, Lausanne would have been a rather unremarkable place for me and I wouldn’t even have batted an eyelid on passing by. But because of IMD, it became “home” for a year, a place where I experienced a life-changing year and formed lifelong friendships.  I saw some of those friends on Thursday night, and it felt like a homecoming of sorts.  Since I was only going to be in Lausanne for a few more hours and there were a few more friends to meet, we decided to meet for lunch, and naturally, IMD restaurant was chosen as the venue, since it is the place we all knew best, and would allow us the chance to greet a few more familiar faces.

It was odd, then, that walking on to the IMD campus was as awkward as it was.  There was nostalgia, of course, and memories came flooding back, but what made me uncomfortable was that I wasn’t sure I belonged there.

To be honest, I don’t even know if I belong on this blog anymore, and so, I must thank Vikas, Hammad and Natalia for the enormous privilege of allowing me to share my thoughts.  When I saw Vikas, I mentioned to him that walking into the dungeons was surreal and it was like seeing my ex-girlfriend be someone else’s wife.

A short word for the class for 2013 here: while it’s tough, enjoy every moment, as the year will be gone before you realise.  As I discovered, even the smallest things matter.  I saw someone else’s name on was used to be my locker (the one just to the left of Study Room 11 – you know who you are!), and I honestly don’t remember feeling so possessive about a functional item before.

Having said that, I saw a number of familiar faces; faces that I recognised and faces that recognised me back.  And as that happened and the smiles started appearing all over the place and we shared the happenings in our lives since graduation, I felt a lot more comfortable.  I sat in the cafeteria for the whole afternoon with a friend, and Mireille treated us like we had never left the place.  People kept dropping in all afternoon saying hello, and we were even offered a beer at the Friday staff drinks. 

Now, indeed, it felt like a homecoming.

Aman

IMD MBA 2012