Ralston Lobo - From Bengaluru to Oestrich-Winkel
Yana Immis
Mr. Ralston Lobo has successfully started his Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht in Östrich-Winkel (January 2020)
“Dreams do come true my friends!
You just need 10% luck, 15% skill and 75% determination to run towards your goal.
I believe Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it!
Having been brought up in a multinational diversified country like the United Arab Emirates, I previously spent a lot of time among people of different backgrounds be it Asians, Europeans, Africans, Americans; where I not only understood their views of life through their own journeys but also studied and fell in love with their personalities, lifestyles, cultures, languages, and traditions.
My exposure back then towards the automotive industry and towards the football world was certainly one of my major driving forces to land in Germany someday.
Be it seeing the Audi’s or the Porsche’s zoom past me or even staying up late early morning to watch Borussia Dortmund football matches certainly fueled my desire to relocate and study in this country.
On moving back to India to complete my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering in Bangalore, I worked for 3 years gaining experience in the field of Supply Chain and Operations in Manufacturing/Production Industry along with Sales and Marketing in an IT Industry. Even though everything was sailing smoothly, I knew it was time I channelized myself to live the dream the little boy in me always looked towards.
By Mid July 2019, I started my lookout towards Europe be it Germany, Netherlands or France. I did keep certain tick boxes in my mind while hunting for the right destination
1. A good college with a valuable ROI…
…in terms of quality of education, living expenses and world renowned reputation in the global market
2. The Right Industry fit for me…
…not only as per my profile professionally but also the right location in terms of living, food, culture, adventures and memories to make since I am a travel buff!
On looking at various factors be it through my skillset or even my personality, I realized pursuing my MBA (Master of Business Administration) would be the right course to upgrade my skill set and Deutschland would certainly be the right country to look towards.
That’s when I first began my research. Now as I looked around back in July-August, I started shortlisting colleges which would fit my above criterion for the 2020 Summer Intake as I made my mind that I need to move out as soon as possible.
I went through all sources for my research be it QS Global MBA, MBA Studies, MBA Crystal ball, Quora or Reddit Reviews, Linked-In alumni checkups and even visited the college websites personally to get a hint of what would be in store for me!
Somewhere along this research I was certainly a little worried looking at college deadlines…
It was during this period where one of my random researches led me to Mrs. Yana Immis. I found her on Quora first back in August, grabbed her details, visited her website, put a little tour around and drafted an E-mail while sending it across to her.
To be honest, Yes. I was a little skeptical on whether this would work or not!
I did my little research on her as well, be it stalking her LinkedIn Profile, Facebook or even Instagram. Meanwhile she was in the initial stages of setting up her YouTube page as well.
Her arrival was certainly a blessing in disguise to me! Initially we spoke via Emails; she shared a well scrutinized list of colleges based on my profile and desire.
I even spoke to quite a few friends of mine who had been trying to head towards some of the top colleges in Europe for almost a year and as positive as they were to me, they did tell me that they didn’t want to burst my bubble but this gut decision of mine to head out by Spring would be an almost impossible dream to achieve.
I still recollect this incident where one day, I was nervous and worried whether I would be able to even submit my applications on time as I had work pressure alongside to cater to and I almost broke down and gave up I suppose as I believed the deadlines and everything would be really unrealistic to match up to…
…but Yana never let me fall down. She called me…
We had almost an hour’s chat with regards to next steps, colleges, life across on this side of the world and why I should not put my head down.
She became a close friend, more like my very own HABIBI than a counselor supporting me in my applications. She got me tearing up in joy with her positive attitude and life experiences while teaching me that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!
She did teach and instill certain important traits in me:
Believe in yourself and never fear or give up!
If you give your heart and soul to achieve your goals, even the roughest of times can be countered with a calm, composed and determined mind
Smile and be positive at all times!
By September 2019, I decided to quit my job and give my 100% on my application process looking ahead at the crunch timeline I had.
Based on my requirements, I finally shortlisted on two colleges - EBS Universität and Munich Business School.
Yana was not only a meteor of radiating energy with her vigorous and dynamic personality helping me out complete my application but she further rejuvenated and revitalized my own mind to go all out and believe in myself with the goals I set up for myself.
I prepared my applications and with her constant support and a little bit of “Jugaad”…
…(an Indian term of getting things done in some way or the other when the most easy/feasible route isn’t possible) we successfully passed my application documents including my IELTS score onto colleges by October midway!
The Summer Semester 2020 at EBS Universität was set to start by January 20th 2020 which was another hurdle to get through as I needed to not only renew my Passport but further get my GMAT exam done, study German language which I knew was certainly a necessity while hopefully receiving all the necessary documents to process for my visa on time if all went well!
2-3 weeks on submitting my application documents, I received a mail from EBS Team and Yana saying that I would need to head to Mumbai in 2-3 days’ time to help facilitate my application quicker by having a face to face interview with the Associate Dean of EBS.
I closed my eyes and did that right away! I landed in Bombay, Had an amazing interview for 35 minutes or so with Mr. David Windsor and he gave me a green light from his end informing me that I would need to crack GMAT in 2-3 weeks’ time as I would also need sufficient time to start my visa process on receiving the Unconditional Offer Letter, Blocked Account setup etc. to ensure my timely arrival to EBS Universität.
While Duolingo was my most visited webpage at that point to get a good basic grip on learning German due to my short timeline, I had to push my mind towards prepping up for GMAT as I knew this was an essential criterion. I did hit a mini roadblock as my GMAT score wasn’t good enough as expected and wanted it to be…
…this did drop a mini bomb on my head.
I was on the contemplation once again as to whether I should look out for another college for March or even for the Fall Intake during September if this application didn’t go through.
Yana regardless held my hand and didn’t let me fall even though she was on vacation 6000 miles away travelling in Mexico.
The time difference between India, Germany and Mexico was certainly another challenge to work across as I needed to keep my status updated all along.
Yana played a very essential role here as well! She not only got in touch with EBS with regards to my application but she further shared a list of the colleges to me so that I could look towards the fall intake if the worst case scenario did persist.
Regardless, she ensured that I should keep hope and do all that I could from my side.
The constant support I got from Yana who was a strong backbone to me in terms of gunning towards my childhood dream certainly paid off in the end.
I received my unconditional offer letter by Mid-December 2019!
Now it was a race against time considering the Christmas and New Year break at the German Embassy coming along as well!
Be it running around to book my visa application, setting up of my Blocked account, looking out for the right accommodation on relocating to Germany or even getting my documents attested by the German Embassy while ensuring I ticked all the boxes to avoid any further delays or roadblocks along the way as my college was set to begin by January 20th 2020.
The personnel from EBS Universität as well as Yana were really supportive and approachable during this period as they constantly kept in touch and asked me updates on my visa status too.
I eventually did receive my visa by January 20th and I reached Germany and EBS Universität in the morning by 23rd January while even attending my first session of college. This would sound cliché but I fell in love with my university at first sight! The atmosphere around, the professors, the culture, the ambience was perfect!
Looking back at my rollercoaster of a journey now, to be honest, every minute of my energy burnt, road blocks encountered, running and scrambling around with my documents etc. - every little effort I put in with Yana’s constant support was worth it!
There’s a phrase in Hindi – JO BHI HOTA HAI, ACHE KE LIYE HOTA HAI (Whatever Happens, Happens For Good)…
…and I think this entire episode of 4 months not only helped me achieve my goals and dreams but it certainly helped me evolve as a better person altogether!
My personal advice to my fellow friends, students, readers would be to just listen to your heart, follow your passion and be ready for anything that comes across your way! I hope this article and life experience proves as valuable to anyone out there as it did to me.
Yana never treated me like a client. We became friends back then; we still are good friends and forever will be - my entire family whole heartedly expresses their gratitude towards Mrs. Yana for her constant support while I also do apologize for all the times I would’ve annoyed her with all my troubles!
Shukran, Shukriya and Danke my Habibi, Mrs. Yana”
