What do you do after you have scrambled 16 kilometres up and down the side of a mountain, through ice-cold waters, mud pits, subterranean catacombs, and numerous other barbed wire infused obstacles? Why, run through a field of electrified wires of course!
Ivey MBA 2013 Tough Mudders: From left to right (back row) – Rob Mackenzie, John Hibberd, John Foley, Chris Goulakos, Justin Leathem, Greg Critchley, James Manning, Charles-Edouard Morin, (middle row) Ramli Solidum, Karim Lallani, Caitlin Gora, Rishi Sahel, Edgar Vergara, Haley Jeffery, Alana MacEwan, (front row) John Cooper, Max Rosenfeld, Sekh Samuel
Are we masochists? No, we are MBA students at the Richard Ivey School of Business.
Last month, eighteen of my classmates and I joined forces to conquer Tough Mudder: a gruelling obstacle course set on Mount St. Louis, outside of Barrie, Ont., designed to test all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. Tough Mudder aims to push you to your breaking point and then hold you there for a while. There are obstacles designed to test everyone, no matter how strong, fit, or mentally tough they are.
– Uncomfortable with heights? There are numerous obstacles just for you, including “Walk The Plank”, which forces you to jump from a height of two stories into a muddy pool carved into the ground below.
– Uncomfortable with live electrical wires? Try crawling across an ice-cold pool through a cluster of them. Not to mention “Electroshock Therapy”, a field of live wires – some carrying as much as 10,000 volts of electric shock.
– Uncomfortable with getting dirty? Maybe you should stick to marathons.
The obstacle, which tested my mental grit, was surprisingly “Trench Warfare”. I was not even aware that I had a fear of enclosed spaces until I was staring into a 15 meter long, underground tunnel, which was just barely big enough to squirm through. After looking in, unable to see light at the other end, my heart started pounding and I wriggled out. Before I said anything, one of my teammates, Rob Mackenzie, looked at me and said, “We’re doing this. Follow me; I’ll see you on the other side”. Supported by my team, I made it through. In my mind, this story is a reflection of life at Ivey.
Since most of us have uprooted our lives to come study away from “the real world”, we have gotten to know each other quite intimately. We know what one another is capable of and we push each other to be the best we can. Each of us came here full of ambition and potential; together we strive to leave better than we came in. They say that you are only as good as the company you keep. If that is true, I cannot think of 150 people I would rather have around me.
Rishi Sahel is a registered professional engineer with an undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Alberta. After graduating, Rishi worked for a medical software company where he was engaged in multiple functions, including Engineering Product Manager and Business Development manager. Most recently, he was involved in constructing a distribution network in India and the Middle East. Currently co-president of the Ivey Management Consulting Club, Rishi looks forward to transitioning into management consulting.