FEATURE
AN ACCIDENTAL ALUMNI
WORLD AT HER FEET
This son of an Indian film industry empire was preparing for tertiary study in the United Kingdom, until fate and the Gold Coast intervened. FORTUNATE accidents don’t come much bigger than studying at Bond University. But that’s exactly what happened for business administration alumni and Bollywood film distributor Kushagra Jalan. “Ending up at Bond was a sheer coincidence,” says the director of Indiabased Jalan Distributors – a subsidiary of Jalan Business Group (JBG). “It was something absolutely unplanned, and it came majorly as a result of chaos. “I was all set to pursue my education in England and had everything prepared. “I assisted two of my friends with their Bond application forms, which led me to submit my own application. “It was only after making the application that I actually ended up doing research on Bond University and education in Australia.” Jalan was eager to finish studying and join the family-owned JBG; founded by his grandfather 70 years ago. After researching Bond, meeting some of its alumni and learning he would be able to finish a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in two years, “everything just fell into place”. “And there I was, boarding a Qantas flight to Brisbane. “I realise it seems that it was an impulsive and unplanned decision, but a lot of thought was actually put into it and it seemed like a great environment to be in.”
BOND’S south Asia and Africa
He was shy as a child, growing up as part of a traditional, yet not particularly conservative, Hindu family living in Kolkata. “Even though my family was affluent, they always balanced luxuries and the concept and worth of money,” he says. “Which gave us (my sister and me) every possible comfort in life, but still developed in us a mind to think about the value of any luxury.” Schooling at the long-established and respected St Xavier’s College furthered Jalan’s development through interaction with other children of different social and economic classes. Then he says Bond became his “first push into unknown territory”. “It was a place where I was physically on my own and a place where my smallest decisions had a direct consequence on my daily life. “Bond got me from two to six on a scale of 10 on opening up. “My mind was given the freedom and fuel to dream, which is something that I hope will always be my biggest asset.” After finishing the BA in 2004 he started working for JBG so quickly he could not even attend his own graduation ceremony. “My father wanted me to learn on my own rather than making me sit down with him to tell me how it worked. “That’s something that I will always be thankful to him for."
International Regional Manager was a new position when Priya Kamineni took its reigns for Bond University in 2009. It was initially challenging for the MBA graduate who studied half her degree at Bond then finished it in 2003 at Sydney’s Australian Graduate School of Management, after her husband gained work in that city. Kamineni says her first two years as International Regional Manager involved consolidating the market and building relationships. Recently she organised an alumni dinner to which 15 people ranging from prominent alumni to fresh graduates were invited. “I’d love to do more of those sorts of things,” she says. “Bond is doing quite well in India and we’ve tripled the numbers of intakes during my time. “It is a niche university which looks for quality students and in turn attracts students who are looking for quality.” In 2004 Kamineni became a Marketing Consultant at the University of Sydney then in 2006 became a Marketing Manager and Board of Management Member at Thomson Education. When her husband returned to India in 2007 she worked in a book store with him then in 2008 became deputy general manager of a local company. Now four years into her expansive role with Bond she would like to add other regions to her responsibilities.
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