"EDHEC Love Story" Interview: Yulia and Abhijit Answer All Our Questions!

At EDHEC Alumni, we love stories. And to celebrate this month of love, we present the story of Yulia and Abhijit, a wonderful EDHEC Alumni couple. 

Here's Yulia, an EDHEC alumna from the 2017 MSc programme who is thriving as an analyst at Amadeus. Yulia enjoys travelling, salsa dancing and indoor climbing, while balancing work and family life with her little Arya. Abhijit (EDHEC Master 2019) is a civil engineer and MiM graduate, works as a commercial programme lead in a healthcare company and is driven by a mission to unlock life's potential. He loves sports, eating out, watching Big Bang Theory and travelling. Yulia and Abhijit agreed to share their story with us. 

When you arrived at EDHEC, did you think you would meet the man/woman of your life?

Yulia: Absolutely not, I thought that only happened in films! There is a saying that "true love is a passion rooted in friendship", which reflects our scenario. I came to EDHEC with a focus on learning, career development and networking. But as it happened, I met a lot of inspiring, talented people and made some very good friends. One of them turned out to be someone very special to me.

Abhijit: I definitely knew I would fall in love. I am a romantic and love socializing. I was not sure whether the love would turn into a lifelong relationship. Disclaimer: I am too excitable in love and hard to manage.  

When did you first see Yulia/Abhijit?

Yulia: Funnily enough, Abhi was the first person I met in Croix/Roubaix. It was at the Parc Barbieux station, where I asked him for directions: he was going to the campus loaded with shopping bags! I guessed that he was also a student who had just moved onto campus. 

Abhijit: The academic year was due to start in September, and we arrived in France in mid-August 2016. I met Yulia at the Roubaix tram stop on 27 Aug 2016. She was with her mother and asked me for directions to a hotel.

Ndlr: Yulia and Abhijit then met by chance at a house-warming party at Abhijit's place. They discovered that they were neighbours in the same building, but on different floors, which was the beginning of their friendship. 

Coming from two different parts of the world, what are the values that bring you together?

Yulia: Respect, honesty, and the importance of family. There are always ups and downs but knowing what is essential to both of us has made our relationship work for 7 years. 

Abhijit: Our love for our parents, our principles of family living and raising kids were strikingly similar. Also, we connected on one core value: Always help those in need.  

What is your favourite memory from EDHEC? 

Yulia: We have so many good memories both together and individually: trips, parties, and night studies with the mandatory pilgrimage to the vending machine on the ground floor of EDHEC (thank God it was open at night!). One of my personal favourites is when we were looking for the bank in Tourcoing and eventually ended up in Belgium. To keep the memory alive, I got a flowerpot as a souvenir before we came back!

Abhijit: This is a tough one; Yulia was in EDHEC for one year, and my course was for three years. So for the best memory "on the EDHEC campus", I used to come back late at night after midnight from an association get-together/party, and Yulia would be studying in the campus open study areas. So, to spend time with her, I studied with her till it got as late as it got. Those were precious moments! 

(This was becoming a weekly routine, and I learned in 2023 that Yulia enjoyed it so much that she continued studying until I came back and joined her).

 What do you think is Yulia's/Abhijit’s best memory?

Yulia: Hmm. Maybe how I made him try sushi for the first time. Joking, definitely not that one. How we went to London with FlixBus? How we moved in together as colocs? Movie nights? His or my graduation? There are way too many great moments we shared.

Abhijit: When I cooked for Madame 😝 or our travels to Paris and London as students: a specific moment, my guess, is when we were talking and looking for my bank branch. We were walking and crossed the France-Belgium border without meaning to. Then we got flowers and drank in a pub to cherish the moment 😊

 What memories do you usually share with your EDHEC friends?

Yulia: We like to remember how we first met, some funny moments and histories we shared, and the challenges we had to overcome as foreign students in France. It has been only 7 years but feels like the “good old times”. 

Abhijit: Rue Solferino pub crawl… House parties at Rihan's and listening to Enrique's music. Travelling abroad and applying for jobs. Brainstorming and problem solving on tough subjects + finishing assignments when we were in the same classes 😊 

You recently had a baby girl. When you talk to her about your life during your studies at EDHEC, what will you tell her?

Yulia : I will tell her that studying at EDHEC was one of the best memories of my 20s. It was a wonderful way to challenge myself and push my boundaries by doing something I had never done before. I will tell her about the amazing people I met along the way and the lessons I learned. I hope it will inspire her to pursue her own dreams and not be afraid to experiment while discovering her passions. 

Abhijit: I will share how EDHEC played a crucial role in my life and the opportunity to get started with my work. It gave me connections and friends I will have for life. Like high school, the memories formed at college/business schools and sharing experiences are what learning is all about. Take bold steps, do an exchange/Erasmus, and keep in touch to see the different paths people take after going through the same business school and programme. Of course, I will also share the story of how I met her AMAZING mother at EDHEC! 😉