Shlok Seth graduated from Guttman in June 2019 with a Business degree and began his junior year at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY two months later. He’s looking forward to graduating this December, where a job in private wealth management awaits him at Goldman Sachs.
You were in their shoes, so what’s the best advice you can give Guttman students right now?
Network, network, network! Start NOW. Who wants to talk about Elon Musk’s strategy? Who’s interested in the stock market? Who wants to play basketball? Start clubs, even if they last only a couple weeks. Join clubs, find people just like you and for certain, those who aren’t. When I got to Guttman, I knew nobody. So, I joined organizations like the Student Government Association and got to know students on the Legislative Committee and other groups. I met so many smart students. You never know who you will find, what friends you will make, others you can rely on, study with, hang out. From my Guttman experience, I knew as soon as I arrived at Cornell, I had to meet people to create my own network. I mean, there are 23,000 people here. So, I joined a social fraternity. Yes, campus Greek organizations had to clean up their acts and, in my experience, they have. For me, joining the network of this brotherhood has helped me tremendously on so many levels—from helping me find housing, having people to study with, and starting a small business.
What are some “memorable Guttman moments” for you? And give us the good and the bad.
To be honest, there really were only good ones, or at least they’re the ones that I remember. Look, I happen to be an extrovert. But when I arrived at Summer Bridge, I was 18 and an extrovert who lacked confidence. I’m an immigrant. I wasn’t accepted by any college. So, I had a sense of myself that community college couldn’t be that good; it’s where I had to end up. But I am telling you, when I walked across that stage at the end of Spring 2019, I walked as a confident man. My professors, advisors, Financial Aid—they were so patient with me. Oh, I can name every professor I had and each one showed patience with us, taught teamwork AND independence, provided me with the perspective that ‘I can do something.’ I will never forget in my Composition 2 class, Professor Laura Clark went around and met with each student individually about their final essay. Before class, I had just found out I was accepted at Cornell and NYU. She pulled a desk across from me and sat down, asking me what my topic was, and I said, “Can I just tell you something, before we start?” And I told her my news. I will never forget. She burst into tears; she was so happy for me.”
Wow. Yes, I can tell you, Shlok, we’re really invested in our students’ success, however that looks, because each of you is different. And truly amazing.
That’s something I really valued at Guttman. That everyone took the time to know us. One time I went to Ohio with UMOC (United Men of Color). It was fantastic—all these students from all different colleges. But even in that group, I felt different. Everybody there, it seemed to me, were African American or Latino. I come from India. So, I said to Dr. Marcus Allen, “I feel like I’m really standing out here.” And Dr. Allen looked right at me and said, “You are standing out, so stand out in the right way.”
Man, I’m proud of my colleagues. Tell us something we can improve on. We really want the feedback.
I’ll go back to having more clubs. Why don’t you give a survey to every incoming student about their interests? And the students can start those clubs, network. That’s motivating, that you come in the door already knowing something that others also know or want to know. That means a lot. Hey, I was in a pro bono sales and marketing consulting group and I met my three best friends that way.
I also want to say how awesome it was to go on Global Guttman. At Cornell, I had a very well-known marketing professor who was teaching us about entrepreneurship in China. I was contributing things I learned at the tech firms we visited in China, the CEOs we met, what I observed at the Volkswagen factory. And he was like, “How do you know all this information?” He was blown away that my community college took us to study abroad. He absolutely could not believe it.
Thanks, Shlok, for talking to me in the midst of moving apartments in your first week of your last semester. Any final words?
Well, it’s OK. I have all my stuff in these two bags! [Laughing.] I want to thank everyone at Guttman. My family really values education, and I got such a good education there. It helped me change my perspectives, which changed my life entirely. Guttman opens so many doors. Be confident that you can walk through them.
–Dr. Claire King, an inaugural Guttman faculty member, interviewed Shlok Seth en route to meeting his new housemates in Ithaca, NY via Zoom on August 26, 2022.
