Surbhi Sikri

My Story

I am originally from a small town in North India. After graduating as an engineer, I started working as a Technology Analyst at Deloitte in Bangalore. I enjoyed working in the fast-paced consulting environment and knew that I would thrive there. While I found the technical analysis and execution aspects of my job engaging and challenging, I felt more motivated to apply my creative problem-solving skills in initiation and planning phases of new projects. I knew that an MBA would help me develop the required business skill-set to accelerate my career.

Why Carlson?

My career took an exponential trajectory in 4-years I spent at Deloitte, but impact was limited to the realm of IT. So, I decided to pursue an MBA to hone my business skills. I spent all my academic and professional life in India, so wanted to get global exposure and learn about the international environment of business. I looked at 3-4 business schools in U.S. and decided on Carlson for a few reasons: smaller class size, career opportunities in consulting, emphasis on
experiential learning, and the School’s location. I connected with current students, alumni, and career coaches to get more insights and with every conversation I felt more positive about my decision.

My Carlson Experience

My experience at Carlson has been fulfilling, both from an academic and personality development standpoint. The cultural diversity of the program has enriched my overall business school learning experience. One of the reasons why I chose Carlson was because of the School’s location. Minneapolis is home to various large and small companies, offering a great business environment and excellent opportunities to build professional networks. Having traveled to big
cities in both coasts, I found Minnesotans to be very warm and welcoming. Besides, the city has a lot of beautiful lakes and a great food and art scene, which make up for the cold winter weather.