Gold medallists make it to top against all odds, set their sights high

For 22-year-old Sowjanya S K, the challenges were plenty. She is today among the toppers in Bangalore University.

Sowjanya will be given six gold medals and prize money during the 52nd Annual Convocation on Friday. This topper from the department of Kannada, has bagged the maximum number of gold medals.

Having lost her father at a tender age, Sowjanya said she had to overcome rough patches in her life. “On the day of my class 10 exams, I lost my dad. Ever since, my mother, who worked as a labourer, saved every single pie to help me and my brother study,” she added.

Sowjanya went on to pursue her degree and post graduation from Government First Grade College, K R Puram. She wishes to pursue her PhD and appear for IAS.

Another gold medallist’s family had a tough time getting three meals a day. Yet, his mother would not let him do a part-time job. A single mother who works as a daily wage labourer is whom Nagaraj attributes his achievements to. He has bagged six gold medals and five cash prizes. Hailing from Baragur village, Koppal district, he came to Bengaluru to pursue civil engineering at UVCE. “I lost my father as a kid. I have an elder sister and two younger sisters. My mother worked in paddy fields to make a living. She earns Rs 200 a day and does not even have a fixed job. There were days when we went to bed hungry. Yet, my mother did not let me work part-time as she believed it would affect my studies.”

Nagaraj’s studies depended solely on scholarships after his PU. He said that Prerana Trust and Devasiri Charitable Trust helped fund his education. “I want to pursue my MTech,” he added. He stood 52nd in PU. 

Sumera Tanveer (26), who hails from Kolar pursued her education from Goldfield College of Education. She has bagged three gold medals and three cash prizes for her BEd.

Having completed her masters in mathematics, she started pursuing her BEd as she was passionate about teaching.

She had also stood fifth in the university in BSc Computer Science. She started teaching at the age of 19. “I would take tuitions for PU students as I believe that the more I teach, the better I will learn. Even while I was pursuing BEd, I took tuitions. I would start revising and prepare my notes only after 10 pm. However, paying attention during classes helped me,” she said. She wants to pursue PhD in mathematics.

Kashifa F has bagged five gold medals and one cash prize. A student of the Department of Chemistry, she pursued her post graduation from Cental College. “We had to prepare for internals every week. Hence, we would revise often. This helped me top the exams,” she added.

She also wishes to pursue her PhD. Among the other gold medallists are Shreeti Garg from Maharani Lakshmi Ammanni College for Women, Nagaraj, Lavanya S B, Jagadish Kumar K L, who have pursued BE from UVCE. Ashwini P, Department of Commerce and Manusha C, VHD Central Institute of Home Science are chosen for the Babasaheb Dr B R Ambedkar Commemoration Gold Medal for SC ST students.
DH News Service

42,245 students to get degrees
As many as 42,245 students are eligible to get their degree certificates during the 52nd annual convocation of Bangalore University on Friday. Among these, 5,104 have passed with distinction.

Addressing reporters on Thursday, vice chancellor B Thimmegowda said that 18,216 students have availed first class results and 12,732 have passed with second class results. Of these, 203 students would be given gold medals. The number of girl students bagging the medals is 145 against 58 by male candidates. A total of 74 cash prizes would be given away during the convocation. This year, 84 PhD students would be eligible to receive their doctorates.

Dr Thimmewgowda said that with the UGC rolling out new regulations mandating that convocations be conducted and degree certificates given by universities within six months of announcing the results, the convocation has been organised early this academic year.