Khushi Gandhi’s involvement at Rutgers Business School-New Brunswick (RBS) did a lot to prepare her for the corporate world.
While double majoring in Business Analytics and Information Technology (BAIT) and Marketing, Gandhi immersed herself in nearly a dozen clubs and organizations, ascending to top leadership roles in many of them.
“RBS has made me more of a collaborative person, more open to ideas and willing to learn new things,” she said. “I am also much more social now.”
In August, Gandhi will begin working as an associate at Boston Consulting Group in Summit and New York. She interned for the company last summer. “I’m looking forward to gaining experience on projects in many different industries,” she said.
But she is also going into the work world with a confidence gained from her advocacy work in Girl Up, the insights of professional women she met through Women BUILD and her role as student leader.
Gandhi’s experience at Rutgers Business School dispels any notion that commuter students are less engaged. “Just being involved in so many student organizations has been one of my biggest accomplishments,” said the senior, who is minoring in Women and Gender Studies.
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Gandhi attended a STEM-geared magnet high school with an eye on a career in engineering. “I loved problem-solving and math, so it felt like a natural thing,” she said. Her interest, however, shifted to business and marketing, inspired by her entrepreneurial parents.
“Business offered me a way to pursue problem-solving and explore my creativity,” Gandhi said. After she was accepted to RBS, she said she sat in on a class and the energy in the room confirmed she made the right decision. “I found the BAIT major to be the exact thing I was looking for, and one I hadn’t seen offered at other universities,” she said.
Going from a high school with a graduating class of 40 to Rutgers University was a huge change. “I really wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone,” Gandhi said.
Rutgers Business School itself was the first layer of community she found. “It’s tight-knit and strong,” she said. Gandhi immersed herself in organizations that matched her values and gave her room to grow as an individual.
She is most proud of her involvement in Girl Up, the United Nations Foundation’s initiative that advocates for gender equality. A member since high school, Gandhi is now the Mid-Atlantic Regional Team Lead, overseeing clubs and campuses in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. “It’s a core part of who I am,” she said.
Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda “is where I really grew as a leader,” said Gandhi, president of the Rutgers chapter since last May. She called her involvement a transformative experience. Gandhi has cultivated opportunities for students to prepare for and compete in state and national competitions.
Gandhi was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business honor society, which provided another “pocket of community,” she said. “It’s amazing to be surrounded by highly motivated people.”
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A big part of membership in the honor society is giving back to the community. Now president, Gandhi was the director of community service, and had to get creative during the height of the pandemic. “It threw us for a loop for a few weeks,” she said, “but we started virtual food drives and card-writing campaigns.”
Through Women BUILD, Gandhi met female professionals from a variety of industries. “You find that there is no universal experience, and they’ve undergone different challenges,” she said. “It’s so helpful to learn their career progressions, and to have a community of women you can talk to.”
Hearing from women in a variety of fields gave her insights that will help her as she begins her career. Participating in Women BUILD “solidified my commitment to business,” she said. “I gained a lot of clarity learning from so many people.”
Gandhi served as director of community with Women in Business, sat on the student advisory board of Rutgers Institute for Corporate Social Innovation, and served as secretary general of the RBS Dean’s Council. She finished her senior year as a peer mentor and ambassador for the School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program
Her favorite class at RBS was Business Policy and Strategy. “It pushed me to expand my thinking about and analysis of case studies,” she said. “So much of it was discussion-based.”
Gandhi also benefited from the expertise of engaging professors, including assistant professor Sara Parker Lue, who teaches Business Policy and Strategy; Erich Toncre, director of marketing education who teaches Brand Management; and Alexandra Kunish, assistant professor of professional practice in marketing.
Commuting also had its benefits. After long days on campus, Gandhi relished the drive home to unwind and then spending time with her parents and younger sister — and eating “my mom’s amazing food.”
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