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Ranjana Maitra '91 MBA travels from Mumbai, India to Chennai, 800 miles away, to large cities and smaller towns across the world's second most populous country, attending college fairs or holding an event at the U.S. Consulate organized by the U.S. India Educational Foundation (USIEF), to talk with prospective students and their families about the University of New Haven.

At the end of her talks, she distributes literature about the University and hands out her business card, should they have questions

And within minutes, or hours, she typically has 15 or 20 texts, another 15 WhatsApp messages, emails, and phone messages from students who want to know more about the experience of studying and living 7,800 miles from home at the University of New Haven.

Maitra wouldn't want it any other way. As the University's Country Head in India, she oversees recruitment of undergraduate and graduate students in India and is helping to build the University's brand, which is one of her core objectives.

"I get back to them right away. My job is to get them the information they need as quickly as possible, and being an alum also helps considerably."Ranjana Maitra '91 MBA

"The students have questions, and, often, their parents have questions," she explains. "I get back to them right away. My job is to get them the information they need as quickly as possible, and being an alum also helps considerably."

What Maitra shares goes well beyond information and can be better described as a palpable and electric passion for the University of New Haven, where she pursued her MBA with a concentration in marketing, graduating in 1991.

She says that she owes a great deal of her success – as an international senior executive with three decades of experience, working in two large global corporations in the healthcare and life sciences industries – to her time at the University.

'Everyone was so supportive'

Maitra vividly recalls the day she arrived in 1989.

She grew up in Rourkela, Odisha, in India and her father, an engineer who earned multiple degrees in the field, and her mother, who received a master's degree in English at , encouraged her and her sister to pursue their education and their dreams. Maitra went on to earn her bachelor's degree in political science at in Rourkela and decided she wanted to pursue an MBA in the United States.

"In those days, it was not very common for girls to go abroad for studying, but I was lucky to have very progressive parents who ensured that both of us would achieve our dreams, and I am ever grateful for that," she says.

She spent months researching colleges in the U.S. and received guidance from the , Kolkata, and chose the University of New Haven because of its excellent hospitality program, eventually deciding instead to pursue an MBA with a concentration in marketing.

"I don't think I would have had the career I had if I had not studied at the University of New Haven."Ranjana Maitra '91 MBA

She chose the University sight unseen, staying the night before at the former Yankee Motel in West Haven where the front desk clerk, sensing her nervousness, made sure she got a ride to the University the following morning. That same warmth and hospitality greeted her at Maxcy Hall, where she met two Indian students in the admissions office who "helped me get a place to stay, open a bank account, shop, and get settled."

Soon she was living off campus with roommates from Nicaragua, Panama, and China, the start of global experience that, she says, helped shape and influence her career. "I don't think I would have had the career I had if I had not studied at the University of New Haven," she says.

"I learned about American culture and about cultures of students from around the world, and everyone was so supportive," she says. "The professors were so caring. You could go to them with a question or issue and they were more than happy to help."

'I'm very passionate about the University of New Haven'

In her second year as an MBA candidate, she was hired as a research assistant by former professor Michael Kublin. "I was told I would not last two days with him, but we got along like a house on fire," she says. "He was a tough teacher and demanded perfection. I learned so much from him."

She also had the chance to experience the Connecticut shoreline, the New Haven cultural scene, the campus, and to discover the beauty of "very cold" New England winters.

"I'm very passionate about the University of New Haven."Ranjana Maitra '91 MBA

What she found, she says, was a home, one she feels as much affection for today, 30 years later. When she returned to the University about eight years ago, she was bowled over by its growth and by the "amazing facilities."

She was struck that, while so much had changed, the essence of the University as a place she made lifelong connections with fellow students and faculty members – had remained constant. Of course, memories rushed back.

"The library, Maxcy Hall, the walk from the University to my apartment, everything held memories and stories, and history and lessons learned," she says. "I'm very passionate about the University of New Haven."

'This is my calling'

She always knew that she would return to India after graduating to be close to her parents and to build her career there. Before graduating, she had an interview in New York City with F.C. Kohli, known as the father of the Indian software industry, who hired her on the spot to work for , the second largest Indian company by market capitalization. She worked there for 11 years, taking on a variety of roles, and started specializing in healthcare.

She later moved on to , , where she was responsible for setting up business units and global centers of delivery excellence around the world for healthcare and life sciences industries and turning around acquired businesses, and she also served as the chief operating officer of Wipro Healthcare IT.

Most recently, she was the global head of life sciences for the business process services for Wipro Ltd. She had major Fortune 500 companies as clients and oversaw 12 delivery centers globally. Wipro Ltd is a global leader in consulting, technology, and business-process services with more than 170,000 employees.

"I feel that my life has come full circle."Ranjana Maitra '91 MBA

Last fall, after working for three decades in the corporate sector, she took a sabbatical "to reinvent myself and do something radically different," she says. An active alumnus, she was talking with President Steven Kaplan about how the University was working to expand its global reach and impact when he asked her if she would be interested in the position of country head in India.

There was, she says, not a moment of hesitation. "It was as if all the pieces came together," she says. "I said `this is my calling, and I want to do it.' I feel that my life has come full circle.'"

She finds that sharing her experience of returning to India after earning her MBA and having a successful career is reassuring to many prospective students and their parents. "It gives them a lot of hope, that you can stay in America, but you don't have to, and you aren't a failure if you don't do that. It eases a lot of pressure for students and their parents."

'Be your own hero'

At one recent talk she told prospective students: "Be your own hero. I never let my gender be my guiding principle, I always did what I wanted to. And, going to the U.S alone, 30 years ago to pursue an MBA – not a common thing back then – made me my own little superhero. What I am today is a result of my unwavering faith in myself. But, like every superhero, I also had a rock-solid back-end support system – my parents and my husband – who encouraged me to live and explore my dreams in every possible way."

This month, she is back in West Haven helping the University's students from India settle in, and then she will return to India to continue recruiting and setting up partnerships with schools and organizations such as the United States India Educational Foundation.

"What I am today is a result of my unwavering faith in myself."Ranjana Maitra '91 MBA

The best moments in her new position happen when a prospective student "sends an email or calls her saying they have applied to the University of New Haven based on my recommendation and that they are looking forward to studying at the University.

"That's a special moment for me," she says.

Related Links

• Undergraduate International Admissions
• Graduate International Admissions