Born to Fly
She has that never give up attitude that always keeps her spirits high. Be it any given situation in life, she overcomes the obstacles to reach her goal. Meet Preksha Suhalka, who is currently working with Infosys, Bengaluru, as their Senior Associate Consultant. In the coming years, she wishes to climb the corporate ladder of success slowly and steadily, and for that, she is ready to give her heart and soul. In a conversation with the Corporate Citizen Magazine, Preksha talks about her journey so far, shares a few tips to her juniors on how to prepare for the campus placement, and much more.
When you want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you achieve it. Be it her goal of getting out of her hometown Udaipur, Rajasthan for a better future or getting placed in her desired company with a good package – she believed in herself and grabbed the opportunities that life showered upon her. “Just wanting something is not enough. You have to give in your sweat and tears, burn the midnight oil, and run against all the odds to make it happen,” she smiled.
Born in the small town of Zawar, Preksha was raised in a protected family. Although the town was small, her dreams weren’t. “Right from my childhood, I envisioned doing something big. For me, breaking all the barriers to become an independent woman formed the foundation of my character,” she added.
Growing beyond boundaries
As a child, Preksha was pretty earnest. She had to study hard to get good grades. “Since the very beginning, I knew what I wanted from life, which is why it was easy for me to never give up. I worked hard for the exams. After school, I used to spend hours doing the homework. My mother helped with all the subjects,” reminisced Preksha. With all the hard work put in, little Preksha topped her exams. And that added to her happiness.
Barely 12, Preksha understood that school in her small town wasn’t providing her with the impetus to grow. “It was a tough decision but, I had to move out of the town to explore what the city schools had in the offing for me. I was looking for a competition which this school wasn’t offering. Hence, I moved to Udaipur, and stayed with my maternal grandparents,” she said, while further adding, “Competition is good. It pushes us to give our best, and more importantly, it drives us out of our comfort zone. I agree it is difficult to embrace change, but once you make up your mind, nothing can stop you. In the beginning, the shift was complicated for me. But I found a way to get accustomed to it. This change was something that I was looking for. The city surely gave wings to little Preksha’s dreams.”
"Just wanting something is not enough. You have to give in your sweat and tears, burn the midnight oil, and run against all the odds to make it happen"
Getting closer
After completing her BCom from Udaipur, Preksha moved to Pune to pursue her MBA in Finance. However, the shift to Pune wasn’t easy for her. “I had to persuade my parents to send me Pune for my further studies. It took a lot of time but looking at my passion they agreed to do so,” she said. Now her only motive was to study well and get placed in a good organisation that offers a great package. She penned down her priority list and prepared accordingly. “I did not sit for all the company that came to our campus. My focus was clear, I was a looking for finance organisation that offered me a great experience. So far, I sat for 10 of them before getting placed. The struggle was real, but I never once thought of giving up,” she said.
Talking about her campus placement preparation, she informed, “I kept myself updated by daily reading the newspaper. For the aptitude round, I spent 2-3 hours after my college to solve the papers. When I assessed my experience, I realised a few things about myself. And to get placed, I had to work on them.” Finally, her dream came true. She got placed with Infosys as their Associate Consultant – Strategy, Planning, and Operations. Consistency is the key, she said. By doing so, she moved up the ladder of success, and currently, she is promoted as their Senior Associate Consultant.
Talking about her future, Preksha said, “My aim is to keep faith in myself and work hard to achieve my goals. Professionally I wish to grow as much as possible. A few years down the line, I hope to start an NGO that supports the dreams of young girls who need my help.”
Tips on how to prepare for campus placement and more
Invest in important things: Be it a student or a working professional, one must invest their time in doing something that they love. And the most important thing is to secure your future. To do so, you need to keep investing your money. Saving money enables you to enjoy security in your life.
Time management: Managing your time allows you to complete bigger tasks in less amount of time. That said and done, students should give importance to all the subjects. This process will reap the sweet fruits of success in the future.
Long term goal vs short term goal: Every student’s dream is to get placed in a good company that offers them a great package. This happens to be their long term goal. And to achieve that, they should break this goal into shorter goals. For instance, to get placed in their dream organisation, their short term goal should be to score well in exams and to gather as much knowledge as possible. This, in turn, will lead them to their ultimate goal.
Celebrate your small feats: Don’t get disheartened by failure. Be optimistic, your time to shine will come. Instead, celebrate the small achievements in your life. This shows that you are grateful and in doing so, you will surely get motivated to do better in life.
Always go with your guts: It’s not wrong to consult others to make a decision. However, the only person that knows you the best is you. Listen to what everyone has to say, but trust your instincts.