The Monthly Turns Back Time With BSB Alum

Join Aditya Arun as he interviews some of BSB’s graduates as the Year 13’s finish off college applications and start planning for the future.

Kunal Kewalram:

Kunal was a BSB student from September 2008 to June 2012. He studied History and ICT for

AS Level and Business, Government & Politics and Mathematics for his A-level subjects. He graduated from Richmond University - The American University in London with a BA in Business Administration, International Business and Managerial Economics. He also earned a Masters degree in International Business with specialization in Finance, Project and Risk Management from the Hult International Business School. He is currently working as a director at Kewalram & Sons and Quality Education School. Kunal brings in the experience and skill in the Business field as we spoke to him about his life after BSB.

• What do you miss about BSB?

“Being a school student was just something else, I miss all the fun I had in my free (periods), especially playing cards in the common rooms. It was so fun hanging out with people of different cultures. I was in BSB for all my life so it was something really close to my heart.”

• What experiences did you have in BSB that you felt gave you transferable skills in your current leadership roles?

“The whole environment I was in with all the mixing of different cultures, nationalities really helped me become more open to meeting new people when I moved to London. It helped me adapt to the different world out there from the comfort zone I was in Bahrain. Stepping out of this bubble, I learnt to make my friends a family of my own. I learnt that I won't be pampered anymore in London. Being in BSB, being with that set of students or being pushed by the teachers to do better, we all wanted to get out there and learn more.”

• What advice would you give students who would like to pursue a career in business?

“When it comes down to choosing your career, you have to keep trying things. I think the first thing everyone should do is as many summer jobs and internships as you can… get the real feel of how the working environment and culture is. It gives you the right step to identify your interests. Office life is really different from how they show it in movies eg. Wolf of Wall Street.”

• Did you have a favourite teacher or a particular memory from BSB that is most significant to you?

“A lot of the teachers we had like Mrs Gregory and Mr Bannister were very friendly and supportive. Even Ms Kelby, the music teacher, was really supportive and always pushed us to do better. My friends and I formed a band in school and we thought we were so cool, and moments like going to music rooms for band practice were really fun. It was all the teachers that gave us a lot of support, even Mr Spicer encouraged us. We also got the right guidance in getting internships and because of that I was able to identify my interests in business. This really helped me boost my confidence.”

Faris Tangestani

Faris is a BSB alum currently residing Holland. He studied ICT, Geography and Business in his GCSEs, and Geography, History and Business for A-Level. He graduated from Leiden

University, Netherlands with a BA in International Studies. He is, however, currently working as a software developer in Holland. Having conversed with Faris about his interesting projects and life after BSB, the students at BSB can gain a new perspective.

• What's the most interesting project you've worked on?

“About 2 years ago, I worked with the police in Holland and Deloitte as a software developer. They needed to set up some chat bots for the police. If people were shooting fireworks and causing disturbances, they could report it through this chat bot. I built this program with 2 other people. It was cool to visit different places in Holland like the police academy and learn more about the country while working on this project.”

• If you could go back in time to your school years, what would you do differently or want to experience again?

“I believe what's said and done, just accept how it went and move on. I wasn't academically the best student. I could pay more attention to that, especially at A-level. I wasnt that focused. The most important part for me was definitely the people you meet because BSB is a super international school. The students end up going everywhere so you have friends all around the world. I'm really grateful for my timeline. There were some cool things… in our time we had to wear business attire. I found it cool and felt that it taught us some discipline. Generally speaking it was the international part that I loved about BSB.”

• What advice would you give sixth formers? What should they focus on?

“The decisions you make now, like your A level subjects won't be what you're doing your whole life. Be open to change and don't worry if you fail. The first year of university I did law which I didn't like at all. I then moved to political science and even though I didn't pursue a career in it, I found it really interesting.”

• Could you describe your experience when progressing from school to university education?

“In school everything was planned out for you. You have to be there for a set amount of hours and do the given work and leave at a certain time. There's a set regiment. In university it's much freer. You have to set up your own schedule and learn how to plan your work. It's freer but you have way more responsibility. Learning to manage my time was probably the biggest jump for me.”

• When did the realisation of what you wanted to do actually hit you?

“What I'm doing now, I didn't really know until last year. I’m working in a job which I enjoy and pays well however maybe in the future I could change. My first year in university I did law,... I had to read a lot which I didn't enjoy. Eventually I realised this wasn't for me. I switched universities to a different city for International Studies. I really enjoyed it and did well and then I graduated. Even then I wasn't sure where to work. But I saw an ad for some tech thing and I was like ‘I really like computers why not check this out?’ Eventually I ended up on this path and I did the bootcamp, learnt a lot about coding applications- and now I'm doing that.”

Karina Abdieva

Karina was a BSB student for 11 years until June 2018. She did a mix of home-school and online school after leaving BSB for 2 years. She took Geography, Business and Drama for I

GCSE and Business, Economics and Accounting for her A-Levels. She is currently a local model working with reputable makeup artists, brands and photographers in Bahrain.

• How many years have you spent at BSB, and what was your most memorable moment?

“I was in BSB for 11 years. I would always love drama, like I would always remember getting on stage in drama and seeing the lights hit my eye with all these emotions rush to me, which was such an amazing feeling. I felt that really helped boost my communication skills, and overall was just a fun subject.”

• If you could go back in time to your school years, what would you want to relive?

“Academically speaking I would focus more on science because now I would think about things I learnt in school and think about how interesting they were. I would love to do all those physical experiments again. In terms of everything else I would just want to go back to those break times and spend it with my friends again. I really miss that.”

• Were you confident that you want to do a modelling career since a young age or was it something that came up later?

“It came out right after my GCSE exams. I didn't really expect it, I always wanted to do it but I felt very limited. I would think about not having the time because of school and all these other responsibilities. But after leaving BSB I had more time to think about it and it just happened. It was so unexpected. I don't see myself doing modelling in the long run however. At first I thought it's so easy and fun. But after a few years I realised it's not something I want to do for a long time. I want to pursue something in the business field. Trying all these new things is really important. That's why I feel like change is hard but change is good.”

Nathan Senior

Nathan is a BSB alum who works in the aviation sector. He chose A-Level Economics and BTEC Business and BTEC ICT. He took part in the Royal Air Force Cadets (Air Training Corps) which is a youth organisation that gives knowledge about Aviation, the British Air Force and additional military experiences. Currently, he is in Commercial Flight Training, on his way to becoming an airline pilot. Additionally during the pandemic, he attended aviation security and management seminars.

• What would you say are the key differences between life at school and life at university/job?

“I had to become very independent during flight training. It was just a lot of work that suddenly got piled on. In school you are more dependent on your teachers and there’s a fixed set of things to do.”

• Were you confident that you wanted to pursue a piloting career since a young age? If not, how often did you change your career plans?

“I always enjoyed seeing aeroplanes fly around as a child. My father worked in the air force, so since a young age I've always been curious and interested in this field.”

• What advice would you give students who want to pursue a career in aviation?

“A lot of practice in mental maths is very important. They expect you to be on top of your game in quick maths and problem solving. It's important to train your mind and you aren't even allowed to use calculators in exams. Eventually if you keep working hard and reading a lot it would definitely help. Working on flight simulators also helps to give a basic understanding of how the controls work.”

Aditya Arun, 13E