“I will die if you ever leave the house”, – said her grandmother, who had brought up Sakshi from her birth. And that is exactly what fate had in store – her grandmother passed away a few months after Sakshi left home.

The younger of two sisters, Sakshi grew up in a small town named Tonk in Rajasthan. With her mother unwell for long periods, the two sisters took care of the home. This meant the sisters couldn’t leave their small town to pursue higher education. Life though had other plans, and both sisters left Tonk to pursue an MBA at Banasthali University. When her grandma passed away and her family needed her to take charge of home, Sakshi thought, “what is the point of achieving my dreams when my family in unhappy!”. Sakshi’s friends though persuaded her to apply for the YWI initiative, and she was selected.

During the YWI bootcamp, Sakshi initially felt lost. She was smart and could follow the subjects, and the taunts from some peers made her determined. Her biggest takeaway from the boot camp was to “speak up”. She realized knowledge had little value unless one could demonstrate and apply the knowledge.

Sakshi converted her internship at State Street to a full-time role and is currently working in their Investment Management Services business.

Sakshi has had a full makeover. In place of the shy girl, who barely spoke a word when she joined YWI, is a confident woman who deals with colleagues across the world. Sakshi has achieved her goal of making her father proud.