Vidya Bharati alumni from Rajasthan, Mr. Yogesh Vyas talks about how his childhood school helped him to grow into the person he is today

Mr. Yogesh Vyas, a banker by profession with more than 9 years of experience, recently shared how his school had impacted his life and his attachment with the same, via an interview, whose brief extract has been given below: 

Interviewer: Please give us a brief detail about your academic and professional background

Mr. Vyas: I got admitted to Adarsh Vidya Mandir Senior Sec, Barmer in Rajasthan and completed my 10th from there in 2005. As the school did not have classes 11 and 12, I joined a local government school from where I passed my 12th board examination with commerce. After that in 2010, I completed my BBA degree.

Professionally speaking, I got my first job in the banking sector just after completion of my graduation and have been working in the sector for the last 9 and a half years. Presently I am placed with Kotak Mahindra Bank in Ahmedabad zonal office, where I am responsible for managing the Gujarat portfolio.

Interviewer: Can you share something about your family?

Mr. Vyas: Both my parents were in the Rajasthan education department. My father is a retired lecturer and my mother is a school teacher. I have an elder brother, who is also a lecturer. My entire family is associated with the ‘Sangh’ and my siblings are all alumni of Vidya Bharati.

Interviewer: As you have pointed out that most of your family are professionally associated with the education sector, why did you choose the banking sector?

Mr. Vyas: When I had just completed my graduation, I was only 21 years of age. Coming from a Tier 3- 4 town, I did not have much knowledge about the different opportunities, nor did I have anyone to counsel me. So when I was offered the job, I did not think much and accepted it.  My commerce background also helped. At that time small town children had the disadvantage of lack of knowledge as opposed to may be students from a Tier 1 city.

Interviewer:  Are you associated with any kind of social service?

Mr. Vyas: I am not associated with any formal organisation or NGOs, but when someone approaches me for assistance, I try to help them out. During Covid 19 I have been working at local level and helping out to the best of my ability. Being connected with the ‘Sangh’, I often work on different social projects. I am also a regular blood donor and member of the ‘Red Cross Society’.

 

Interviewer: What was your experience at your school like? Did it have any impact on your life?

Mr. Vyas: At our place, there was an English Medium school called Kendra Vidyalaya, where students from only elite families could afford to go. For students belonging to middle class families, Adarsh Vidya Mandir was the best option, as it had a very good educational track record. While growing up, apart from great education, what made the most difference, is the values taught to us by our school that helped to shape our personalities. We were taught to be disciplined, liberal in thoughts and see everyone as our equal.

In our school we were specifically told that no one would bring any fast food and every one should bring ‘Roti- Sabji’ so that students from financially weaker families did not feel left out. We were not allowed to come to school in private cars for the same reasons. These small things did have a lot of positive effects on child psychology. Our teachers encouraged us to participate in various extracurricular activities which helped us to be more social and multi-dimensional in nature.

During parent teacher meetings, the teachers used to visit our homes, which helped them to understand their students better and develop a relationship with the entire families. Their dedication towards their profession was truly inspirational.

Interviewer: Are you still connected with your school and fellow alumni?

Mr. Vyas: The alumni of our school are well connected via social media. In fact recently our school had appealed to all alumni to raise funds for the teacher’s salary during the lockdown period and we were able to come together to raise enough funds to help our school. Our aim is to ensure that the school continues to run smoothly. I am also connected with Vidya Bharati Jodhpur Prant alumni council as well.

Interviewer: Would you like to give any message to the school?

Mr. Vyas: I am very grateful to have received the opportunity to study in a Vidya Bharati school and will carry the values that I had learnt close to my heart. The only suggestion that I would like to share is that, in order to become more competitive, Vidya Bharati schools need to give more stress on English and other foreign languages, so that the students can face the world with confidence.

Vidya Bharati Purv Chatra Parishad thanks Mr. Yogesh Vyas for taking out time and sharing his story with the community.

If you are a Vidya Bharati student and would like to share your thoughts, achievements and experiences, kindly email us at info@vidyabharatialumni.org and we will get in touch with you.