Lucknow: Beyond medals and academic brilliance, the convocation of Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L) echoed with powerful stories of perseverance, discipline and self-belief as top achievers reflected on their journeys and the values that shaped them.During the ceremony, 807 students were awarded their degrees, including 504 from the Post Graduate Programme in Management (MBA), 55 from the Post Graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management (MBA-ABM), 18 from the Doctoral Programme in Management, 46 from the Post Graduate Programme in Sustainable Management (MBA-SM), 114 from the International Programme in Management for Executives, 64 from the Post Graduate Programme in Management for Working Executives and six from the Executive Fellow Programme in Management.J Soundarya from Chennai, recipient of the Chairman’s Gold Medal for the PGP programme and the IIM 1997 Reshma Sareen Excellence Award for the best girl student, highlighted adaptability as her biggest strength.Vanshita Goenka, winner of the director’s Medalist for holding the second position in the PGP and the IIM 1997 Reshma Sareen Excellence Award for the best girl student, hails from Rajasthan but is based in Delhi, emphasised balance and self-care.From Patna, Bihar, Sanchita, a PGP Chairman’s Medalist for third position in the batch of 2026, credited consistency and classroom engagement for her success. A fresher who now joins a public policy consulting firm.Gargi Mheskar from Pune, winner of the Hari Shankar Singhania Medal for best all-rounder, stood out for her all-encompassing approach. A former member of the women’s cricket and throwball teams of IIM-L, she did her undergraduate course from Pune Institute of Technology, pursued engineering and then shifted to management because she wanted to explore better options.Rounak De from Cooch Behar, West Bengal, won the Chairman’s Gold Medal in PGPSM, topping the sustainable management category, and underscored resilience.“Consistency and persistence matter most—especially when the path is uncertain,” he said.
