Swami Vivekananda had once said, “We want the education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s own feet.” Aparna Somala seems to be a believer of this saying. For her, education is a way for women to be independent in expressing their thoughts and achieving economic independence. Her faith and hard work helped her win UGAM-Legrand Scholarship Program 2018-19 and live her dream of pursuing an engineering course.
Let’s read more about her journey in this interview and be inspired by her tenacity to reach her goal of higher education. Here’s what she has to say:
Buddy4Study: Tell us a little about your academic and professional journey.
Aparna: I passed Class 10 in the year 2016 and Class 12 in the year 2018. I scored more than 90% marks in both the board exams. After passing Class 12, I got admitted into a B.Tech (Computer Science) programme.
Buddy4Study: What motivated you to pursue a course in Engineering?
Aparna: I am good in Mathematics and am equally interested in Computer Science. Also, in India, there are more career opportunities in the software field. This worked as a great motivating factor for me to pursue Engineering.
Buddy4Study: What were the key challenges faced by you during the course of your journey to reach here?
Aparna: I hail from a very remote village in Andhra Pradesh where there’s a lack of good educational institutions. Also, financial problems seemed to be a deterrent force when I decided to go for higher education.
Buddy4Study: What has been your source of inspiration?
Aparna: Over the years, I have seen how my relatives have grown academically and financially, and I realized how education has played a crucial role in changing their life. This inspired me a lot. I knew I had to pursue higher education in order to grow in my life.
Buddy4Study: How has your family supported you in your venture to pursue this course?
Aparna: My mom and my relatives have always been very supportive. They keep encouraging and motivating me to go for higher studies. I also understand that for girls, education is very important to be independent in their life.
Buddy4Study: How did you come to know about the UGAM-Legrand Scholarship Program? What were the steps followed to avail the scholarship?
Aparna: I came to know about this scholarship through one of my relatives, Raghunatha Reddy, who is working in Cisco Systems, Bangalore. I applied for UGAM-Legrand Scholarship Program through the web portal of Buddy4Study.
Buddy4Study: What are your ambitions in the future and how do you plan to execute them?
Aparna: I want to get a good job in one of the MNCs in the software industry. To achieve that I want to complete my Engineering course with good marks and then attend the interviews.
Buddy4Study: Any piece of advice that you would like to impart to other potential aspirants like you?
Aparna: It was a surprise for me to see that there are organisations like Legrand which supports needy students. You need to explore such opportunities and try to get financial support if required. Talk to different people to find availability of resources and opportunities across India.
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