‘Confidence I built in school is what I carry today in office’

Vaibhav Sharma, an alumnus of Apeejay School, Charkhi Dadri (Class of 2016), now serves as a Probationary Officer with the State Bank of India in Surat. From comparing school events to captaining teams and now handling loan recoveries and fraud cases for one of Asia’s largest banks, he traces it all back to the exposure and confidence his school years gave him.

What are some of your fondest memories of your time at the school?

A lot of them, honestly. I used to compete at school events sometimes, and that gave me a lot of on-stage exposure early on. I also took part in debates, speeches and other competitions. 

On the sports side, I played hockey from Class 6-7 onwards — the school actually had hockey classes at the time. And I have memories tied to the badges we used to get: I was a marshal in Class 9 and captain in Class 10, and I also held a scholar badge for academics. There was a science park in the school too, which is where my interest in science and experiments really started.

If you had to describe your school life in three words, what would they be?

Confidence, exposure and competitiveness. Those three things stayed with me long after I left school.

What did you enjoy most about being a student here?

The on-stage activities — compering, debates, speeches — and sports, especially hockey. Those are the things I actively looked forward to and still remember clearly.

How would you describe the teachers who taught you, and how has their contribution played out in your professional journey?

The overall teaching and learning environment was very comprehensive, and it gave us a lot of exposure and better learning ability compared to other schools in our region. My mother has actually been an English teacher at the same school for years. It’s part of why I recommend Apeejay to people even today when they ask me about schools for their children.

How did the school encourage you to explore your interests and talents?

Through a mix of things — debate competitions gave me confidence in public speaking, the hockey classes let me pursue sports seriously, and the science park sparked my interest in physics. This is why eventually, I went on to study Physics in college. There were also inter-school competitions that pushed us to be competitive with students from other schools.

Was there a particular activity, subject, club or opportunity at school that helped you discover something about yourself?

Two things, really. The science park is what got me interested in physics — I later did Physics Honours at Ramjas College, Delhi University, because of that early spark. And the hockey classes in school are the reason I still play the sport today — I’m part of the State Bank of India’s Gandhi Nagar Circle hockey team now. We even represented the bank in Bangalore. If I hadn’t played hockey in school, I would never have picked it up again for SBI.

In what ways do you think the school shaped the person you are today?

Comparing our school to others in the Charkhi Dadri region at the time, we were far ahead — in sports, academics and extracurriculars. That comprehensive, competitive environment shaped how I approach things even now. The confidence I built through all those activities is something I carry into my work every day, whether it’s public speaking in front of clients or handling difficult situations on the job.

Where are you working currently, and what is your job role?

I’m currently working as a Probationary Officer (Credit Officer) with the State Bank of India in Surat. My day-to-day includes supervising clerical work like cheque transfers and NEFT/RTGS transactions, and stepping in for the branch’s account officer when needed. A large part of my role also involves loan recovery — visiting the residences or offices of customers who haven’t paid, understanding why, and taking the next steps if needed, including filing suits in cases of continued default. I also handle fraud cases that come up at the branch.

Getting here wasn’t a straight path. After my schooling, I did graduation and initially prepared for the UPSC exam, which I couldn’t clear. I then moved to banking exams — RRB PO, IBPS PO, SBI PO and others — and cleared all of them. I eventually chose SBI PO because of the bank’s scale, global presence, better pay and opportunities like foreign postings that other banks couldn’t match.

For anyone preparing for SBI PO, my advice would be to practice consistently — I relied heavily on mock tests and books like Arun Sharma’s for quant, and worked on English basics since that wasn’t my strongest area. For the interview stage, it helps to prepare topics like the Negotiable Instruments Act, types of cheques, and current affairs — for me, that meant reading up on COVID-19 and financial terms like PRR and SLR, since that was the hot topic at the time. There’s no substitute for steady, structured practice at every stage — prelims, mains, group exercise and interview.