Bryan MBA Student Wins Singing Competition

Bryan MBAs can do more than just select stocks for an investment portfolio and calculate rates of returns. They can also sing. Or at least Rutvee Shah can. The rising second-year student from the day program recently took first place in a singing competition hosted by the India Association of the Triad.

The competition had two rounds and six of the nineteen performers advanced from the first to second round where the top three performers were selected for prizes. For her first place finish, Rutvee received a trophy and a $250 prize. The second place finisher was also a UNCG student.

What made her performance all the more impressive is that Rutvee only found out about the competition hours before taking the stage. Despite the time constraint, she seized the opportunity and in less than two hours she was able to register, select her music, and rehearse before performing in front of a live audience and panel of judges.

Rutvee, an international student from Ahmedabad, the largest city in the state of Gujarat in India, has been singing competitively since she was a child. As a high school student in 2002, she made her first trip to the United States where she won an India Waves singing competition in California.

In addition to her mellifluous voice, Rutvee is also trained in the classical Indian dance form called Bharatanatyam and has performed her Arangetram, an accomplishment that requires years of training.

-May 2009