Congratulations to the Class of 2021
Another year at HBS has gone by and we close it with stories of leadership, entrepreneurship and equity. We cover stories of celebration but also difficult topics, worth talking about and leading the much-needed change. I would like to close the academic year by thanking our predecessor team, led by Upoma Dutta (MBA ’21) and Harsha Mulchandani (MBA ’21), for exemplifying what the Harbus stands for: quality, integrity, teamwork, and openness to new ideas. Last year, Dutta closed the final issue of the academic year with one of Robert Frost’s poems; today, I would like to close it with a different one: “The Road Not Taken.” Let us look back to this crazy, different year and be sure, in comfort, that taking the road less traveled by is what made all the difference.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
On a Different Note, the Covid-19 Crisis in India Calls for Your Immediate Help
India is in the throes of a Covid-19 crisis and there have been close to 350,000 new cases and 2,000 deaths per day in the last couple of days. The healthcare system is under tremendous strain and there is a shortage of oxygen cylinders, hospital beds, medicines and other life saving resources. South Asian Business Association Club, in collaboration with multiple MBA schools, is organizing a fundraiser to support NGOs and institutions providing on-ground support, and would love to get your help! The Indian community would be grateful if you could donate what you can and support this cause (https://indiafightscorona.giveindia.org/southasianstudents/).
Noelia Lombardo Gava (MBA ’22) was born in Argentina but identifies herself as a global citizen. She is a biomedical engineer, a management consultant, a storyteller, and a lifelong migrant. She loves the outdoors, diving, yoga, reading, and good debates.