Journey to IIML: Father’s last words inspired him to chart his success

When Shahil Soni, 23, of Mumbai entered the premises of Indian Institute of Management (IIML), Lucknow, on Thursday to study there, his father’s last words “Tu Khub Padhai Karna” (you study hard) kept ringing in his ears as he took a round of the campus where his classes will start from July 1

When Shahil Soni, 23, of Mumbai entered the premises of Indian Institute of Management (IIML), Lucknow, on Thursday to study there, his father’s last words “Tu Khub Padhai Karna” (you study hard) kept ringing in his ears as he took a round of the campus where his classes will start from July 1.

Shahil Soni reached IIML on June 23. (Sourced)

Belonging to a Marwari family, Shahil was about to complete his bachelor’s course in engineering (BE) when his father, who ran a jewellery retail shop in Mumbai, died in April 2019 due to diabetes-related complications. Unable to bear the shock, Shahil’s grandfather also passed away six months later.

“I graduated from an average college. I have been an average student all along. But it all changed when my dad passed away. His last words were the turning point in my career and there was no looking back,” said Shahil who earlier had no plans of cracking a tough competitive exam like Common Admission Test (CAT).

It was after the death of his father that Shahil decided to get into the best management college in the country. Shahil, who scored 66.29% in graduation, gave his best in CAT 2021 exam to score 99.62 percentile and got admission at IIM, Lucknow.

However, he didn’t settle for the second-best college option he had. He also appeared for SBI PO exam and cleared it with an All-India ranking of 44. Nearly 12 lakh aspirants had appeared in the exam and only 2054 were selected.