One fateful day earlier this year, my phone rang to the tune of Phantom Planet's song below:
We've been on the run
Driving in the sun
Looking out for number one
California here we come
Right back where we started from
I had no clue the voice on the other side would say "Welcome to the Anderson MBA class of 2014" and make these words so real for me all of a sudden. Yet, thats what happened. I couldn't control my excitement then. I can't, even today! And I owe that to the bunch of amazing people I've already met on facebook through the summer - people who're joining me in the class of 2014 at UCLA Anderson.
Before I trail off on a tangent, let me introduce myself. My name is Ayushman Jain but my friends call me aupsy (long story!). Born and brought up in New Delhi, the political capital of India, I graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from Indian Institute of Technology. I've worked with IBM since the past three years as a software developer in Bangalore, the information technology/pub/lake/garden capital of India. I may come across as the typical geek, but if you read my bio in Jessica's post on the admissions blog, you'll know there's more to me than meets your eagle eye! (The combo pic below shows where I was born and where I studied, respectively)
My linkedIn profile might help you gain more insight into my pre-UCLA professional life. Besides that, I love travelling, dancing and writing. (The combo pic below shows what I've been upto lately - a recent trip to NYC, a Hip Hop show, and N.O.W - a youth magazine I started with friends!)
The months before the program starts have been exhilerating. There's already so much to do, and I haven't even quit my job yet! I've relocated to a new place every year since the past 7 years now, but the move to LA is gonna be the most exciting and challenging one till date, though its not gonna be a culture shock at all for me because I've watched so much of American TV that it feels like I've practically lived there all my life! On a more serious note, while LA itself is a cultural melting pot, UCLA in general has lots of resources to make international students feel at home - the Dashew center, some really cool housing options and a very responsive financial aid office.
While there's already a list of relocation related to-do's right from getting the visa to shopping for stuff I'll carry with myself, a longer and more exciting to-do list is building up in a parallel universe - involving selecting a pre-orientation trip, looking for housing, building up my resume, getting to know my classmates, and so much more thats not even gonna fit into one post! I'll try and write down as much as I can about this whole pre-MBA experience in the days to come before I dive into the crazy busy MBA schedule. Watch this space!
~AYUSHMAN JAIN, MBA '14
You can give me a shoutout on twitter @ayushman_jain and follow @UCLAMBA!
I'll be back with more but until then i'll happily sing..
...Californiaaaaa, here we comeeeee!!!
