--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was studying at Stanford University…" description: "\"I was studying at Stanford University with two quarters left to go before receiving an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. Then, I got the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/azim-premji-4082_day_i-was-studying-at-stanford-university-wi_2027091.png" --- # I was studying at Stanford University with two quarters… ![“I was studying at Stanford University with two quarters left to go before receiving an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. Then, I got the telephone call from my mother. I had no choice. I went home, and I jumped into the company feet first, right from day one. There was no time to…” quote by Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/azim-premji-4082_day_i-was-studying-at-stanford-university-wi_2027091.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/azim-premji-4082_day_i-was-studying-at-stanford-university-wi_2027091.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/azim-premji-4082_day_i-was-studying-at-stanford-university-wi_2027091.png) > “I was studying at Stanford University with two quarters left to go before receiving an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. Then, I got the telephone call from my mother. I had no choice. I went home, and I jumped into the company feet first, right from day one. There was no time to grieve my father.” [Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azim-premji/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He left his studies to join his family business, prioritizing duty over personal plans. **In simple terms:** He chose family business over finishing degree. Key Takeaway Embrace responsibility when called. Themes duty family career change sacrifice leadership Mood determined reflective Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - family emergency - startup launch - career pivot - personal loss - inheritance responsibility Key Concepts entrepreneurship family obligation career decision Questions to Reflect On - What sacrifices are you willing to make for family? - How do you cope with abrupt life changes? A Different Perspective Balancing personal grief with sudden responsibility is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice Went](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-went-3702391/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Electrical engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electrical-engineering/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Grieve Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grieve-father-3702390/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stanford/) [Stanford university](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stanford-university/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I was 21 and had spent the last few years in Stanford University Engineering School at California. 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I'm black and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issa-rae/my-first-web-series-dorm-diaries-was-a-realistic-mockumentary-about/) [Issa Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issa-rae/) > [I fear - as far as I can tell - that most undergraduate degrees in computer science these days are basically Java vocational training.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/i-fear-as-far-as-i-can-tell-that-most-undergraduate-degrees-in/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Stanford University is so startlingly paradisial, so fragrant and sunny, it's as if you could eat from the trees and live happily forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-auletta/stanford-university-is-so-startlingly-paradisial-so-fragrant-and/) [Ken Auletta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-auletta/) > [“a fertile agricultural valley about twenty-five miles from the Pacific Coast - and both valley and coast would serve as settings for some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-fertile-agricultural-valley-about-twenty-five-miles-from-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/you-have-to-trust-in-something-your-gut-destiny-life-karma-whatever-2/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Madaming is the sort of thing that happens to you - like getting a battlefield commission or becoming the dean of women at Stanford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-stanford/madaming-is-the-sort-of-thing-that-happens-to-you-like-getting-a/) [Sally Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-stanford/) > [Later, at Stanford University, I thought I'd become a lawyer or businessman, but my father came to me and said he thought there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mondavi/later-at-stanford-university-i-thought-i-d-become-a-lawyer-or/) [Robert Mondavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mondavi/) > [I decided to do graduate studies in virology at Stanford University in California because it had a hospital, which made working on clinical applications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rubins/i-decided-to-do-graduate-studies-in-virology-at-stanford-university/) [Kathleen Rubins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rubins/) > [The columnist like myself or people at Stanford University don't wake up in the morning and see their job outsourced. Yet we promote free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-davis-hanson/the-columnist-like-myself-or-people-at-stanford-university-don-t-wake/) [Victor Davis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-davis-hanson/) > [At 17, I went to Stanford University to study engineering. My time was occupied with the required reading and the extracurricular duties of managing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/at-17-i-went-to-stanford-university-to-study-engineering-my-time-was/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [When I was nine, we moved to Stanford University in San Francisco so that my father could do a Ph.D. I went to Terman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lawrence/when-i-was-nine-we-moved-to-stanford-university-in-san-francisco-so/) [Caroline Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lawrence/) > [You're already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/you-re-already-naked-there-is-no-reason-not-to-follow-your-heart/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [In the earlier years when I started this project at Stanford University, everyone told me it was nuts to go and try to reproduce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rothman/in-the-earlier-years-when-i-started-this-project-at-stanford/) [James Rothman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rothman/) ## More by Azim Premji > [We've always seen ourselves as Indian. We've never seen ourselves as Hindus or Muslims or Christians or Buddhists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azim-premji/we-ve-always-seen-ourselves-as-indian-we-ve-never-seen-ourselves-as/) [Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azim-premji/) > [Success is achieved twice. Once in the mind and the second time in the real world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azim-premji/success-is-achieved-twice-once-in-the-mind-and-the-second-time-in-the/) [Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azim-premji/) > [Interestingly, many Indian companies where there's a father-and-son combination are being run as joint CEO organizations because the father has not given up running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azim-premji/interestingly-many-indian-companies-where-there-s-a-father-and-son/) [Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azim-premji/) > [I think that any wealth creates a sense of trusteeship... it is characteristic of the new generation which has created wealth to have some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azim-premji/i-think-that-any-wealth-creates-a-sense-of-trusteeship-it-is/) [Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azim-premji/) > [You have students in America, in Britain, who do not want to be engineers. 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We talked regularly through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-johnson/i-had-developed-a-relationship-with-one-of-the-anti-abortion-sidewalk/) [Abby Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-johnson/) > [I loved the game so much that even though our playing field was muddy and we had many trees on it, I used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-clemente/i-loved-the-game-so-much-that-even-though-our-playing-field-was-muddy/) [Roberto Clemente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-clemente/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I want to make my music and be a happy woman, a good wife, a good mom and one day hopefully have a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leann-rimes/i-want-to-make-my-music-and-be-a-happy-woman-a-good-wife-a-good-mom/) [LeAnn Rimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leann-rimes/) > [Valentine's Day: Rubbing singles' noses in their lack of a mate and the noses of couples in their lack of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-mclaughlin/valentine-s-day-rubbing-singles-noses-in-their-lack-of-a-mate-and-the/) [Emma McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-mclaughlin/) > [One day I woke up and Juventus wanted me, another Manchester United and what I know is that there were approaches made. 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