From a school funfair to JW Marriott: Sanskruti finds her calling
She had never made bhel in her life. But standing at a Walnut School Funfair stall with a group of classmates, Sanskruti Kulkarni decided to try — she’d watched it done often enough to know the steps. Within an hour, the stall had sold out.
That afternoon did more than empty a tray of bhel. It showed Sanskruti how much she loved working with food.
Sanskruti joined Walnut School, Shivane, in Std. 6 and completed Std. 10 in 2022. By Stds. 8 and 9, the interest sparked at that stall had become a question she was taking seriously: could this be a career? She began researching hotel management courses, the qualifications they asked for, and where they could lead. By Std. 10, she had her answer — she wanted to study at the Maharashtra State Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (MSIHMCT).
She took her first formal step by enrolling in the MCVC course after Std. 10, studying hotel management subjects through Stds. 11 and 12. The more she studied, the more sure she became. She performed well in her Board examinations and scored strongly in the Hotel Management CET and entrance tests, earning admission to the very institution she had set her sights on years earlier.
From a question to a plan
Today, Sanskruti is in the third year of the four-year Bachelor of Hotel Management and Catering Technology programme, completing her industrial internship at JW Marriott Pune.
The moment it came full circle
It was there, mid-shift, that the story came full circle. Arpita Ma’am and her family came in to dine one afternoon while she was on duty. For educators at Walnut who had once watched a nervous student take a chance on a Funfair stall, seeing her now — confident, in uniform, working the field she’d chosen — was a deeply proud moment.
Sanskruti’s journey is what happens when students are given room to explore, participate, and discover what genuinely excites them. A school activity revealed an interest; her own research gave it direction; her determination turned it into a path.
The girl who once took a chance on making bhel is now training at one of Pune’s leading hotels, with an exciting world ahead of her.
Sanskruti’s story is one example of how school activities shape real career paths. Explore Walnut School’s complete extra-curricular programme.