Ken (Class of 2010) with Dean Christina Ahmadjian

At the recent Hitotsubashi ICS Commencement ceremony, two-year MBA student Tendulkar "Ken" Vinayak was announced winner of the Dean's Award, a recognition given to the student with the highest achievement in the core MBA courses at Hitotsubashi ICS.

Ken describes his current Hitotsubashi ICS MBA experience: "life has changed dramatically and for the better. All the distant dreams are now within reach and no goal appears unachievable. This change in attitude is the biggest change that has happened thanks to this past year at ICS and I am sure that I am not the only student in our batch who thinks so. I now feel like I can expand our horizons in countless ways and always be reaching for more." Quoting Zig Ziglar, Ken added, "Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

Although Ken has another year at Hitotsubashi ICS before he graduates, he is already beginning to reap the benefits of his MBA experience and has received two different job offers from top international consulting firms. "It’s difficult to pinpoint one or two biggest takeaways from ICS. I feel that ICS has given me all the necessary knowledge, information, mental preparedness and inspiration to achieve my goals in the future. I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to be taught by professors and visiting guest speakers renowned in the business world in Japan and internationally, and share these precious learning moments with the brightest minds from different parts of the world. I strongly believe that this knowledge and global network with talented people will be an asset for my future career."

Ken seemed surprised when he was announced winner of the Dean's Award. When asked how it felt to be considered the highest academic achiever in his graduating class, he said, " I was overwhelmed and pleasantly surprised. Our class has many talented students from all over the world and to receive the Dean’s Award among them is a great honor for me. I believe that along with this pat on the back comes a responsibility to represent Hitotsubashi ICS well on the global front. I hope that I can live up to heightened expectations that the ICS community has of me."

In his second year at ICS, Ken intends to enjoy life as a student and undertake research about business topics of personal interest. On his two job offers, he commented, "Right after graduation, I plan to accept one of the offers and start directly contributing to the society by solving business problems."