Kousalya R, Engineering, RV College of Engineering
I am a proud recipient of FFE’s 2012 scholarship. Even though my mother was never formally educated, she was determined to give me a better life and worked hard in the fields every day so that I could go to school and study. She raised me single-handedly in Shimoga, Karnataka, and imparted a strong work ethic in me that transferred to my studies. After years of studying, I scored 95% in my 12th and decided to pursue engineering.

When I was introduced to Mr. Nagaraj, the FFE facilitator who told me about the Program and what it could do for me, I knew there was no turning back. Thanks to the financial help they provided, I was able to fulfill my dream of pursuing engineering in R.V. College of Engineering, one of the best colleges in Karnataka. From here, I was recruited to Buhler India Pvt Ltd, a Swiss tech company that gave me my first taste of engineering. Today, I work at Mysore City Corporation as an Assistant Engineer, and I’m elated to be an FFE alumnus.

I am Rakshitha. I belong to a lower middle-class family consisting of my mother and myself. I lost my father before I turned two, so my mother started working as a knitting teacher to support us. Knowing my mother’s struggles and hardship, I wanted to do everything I could for her. So, I put all my efforts into my studies and scored 94% in PU (Pre-University) with 3995 ranking in CET.

I had a desire to pursue Engineering but we did not have the economic means to fund my education. We heard about FFE and I was introduced to my facilitator Nagesh Babu. I was awarded the scholarship and joined Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering. Since then, FFE has been the backbone of my success. In 3rd year, I was introduced to my mentor Madhumitha through the FFE Mentorship Program where I received corporate and career guidance. Through this mentoring program, I overcame my fear of speaking, interview phobia, stage fright, and gained the confidence to face the placement process in the final year. The college also funded my final year project for its unique and complicated nature. I completed my education in 2015 and now work with Tech Mahindra.

My sincere thanks go to FFE, my facilitator Nagesh Babu, and my mentor Madhumathi for being the backbone of my success. Earlier, I was part of the FFE family as a scholar, but now I can continue to be a part of this wonderful Foundation by contributing the best of my ability for the benefit of future scholars.

After completing 12th standard in 2004, I was in a dilemma about pursuing engineering because of the amount of financial burden it would bring upon my parents. My parents’ annual income was less than 20,000, and the annual expenditure for BE course was nearly 25,000 and my parents had to take care of my elder sister’s education too. However, despite all this my parents encouraged me to pursue BE with the hope of getting money through an educational loan. I had secured a rank within the top five hundred in the Karnataka Common Entrance test, which fetched me an admission in Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore, in Electronics & Communication. Since the banks were unable to provide the loan for paying the fees, we had to arrange the money through the help of family and friends.

Fortunately, one of my uncles was a colleague of Mr. Manjunathiah, my facilitator. He was very helpful and he clearly explained about the FFE scholarship scheme. I applied for FFE scholarship after my first semester classes began and I got approval to receive the scholarship. My facilitator was also a great support to me in my academic progress.

I was brought up in a place where to catch a bus I needed to walk for 5km. I belong to a lower middle-class family with agriculture as the sole source of income. My parents made sure that we got 3 meals a day.

In my 4th standard, I came across this question in a classroom exercise, “What do you want to become in life?” I still remember with clarity that I wrote I wanted to become an engineer. And I worked hard to get a good ranking in state CET exams (1315), and this assured me an engineering seat in the prestigious BMS College of engineering. However, the job was not done yet as one question was unanswered “How do I pay the fees and meet the accommodation expenses?”

The rays of hope started sparkling for me when I got accepted for the scholarship with FFE and my mind became clear with the sense of relief. Their assistance didn’t end with just the tuition, they also offer invaluable guidance. If asked to say the best thing about FFE, I would say it’s not just the money but the money with proper guidance and advice that was provided by them. I was fortunate to have Dr. N R Ramesh as my facilitator.

Today I’m working as an engineer at Delhi Automotive System Private Ltd. I’m able to manage the expenses of my own sister who is currently studying engineering. After her education, I look forward to bearing the expenses for more brothers and sisters from the FFE family.

I come from Chamrajanagar district, Karnataka. While I was in grade 10, I lost my father due to a chronic illness. My mother was a teacher with a meager income. With the help of a few relatives, we managed our household and education expense.

When I joined UVCE I met Yuvaraj, who was an FFE scholar then, and through him I came to know about the FFE Scholarship program. I applied and since I met all the criteria I was awarded the scholarship. FFE came as a boon in my life – I could concentrate on my education as my college expenses were now taken care of.

In my fourth year, I was selected for FFE’s Mentorship Program. My mentor was a senior project manager at Intel. The 8 month journey with my mentor has made me a confident person, expanded my social network and groomed me on corporate work ethics. More importantly, it also helped me bag a job offer from giant IT software company, Infosys.

As an FFE student, I contributed towards FFE by participating in FFE events including marathons. Now, as an alumnus, I am contributing a small amount towards the foundation for the past two years and will be a mentor in the future. Today, when I look back, I consider FFE an important milestone in my life.

My father was five-years old when my grandfather expired. My grandmother and father had to suffered a lot and were helpless. My father had to quit his primary education to work as a daily-wage farm worker to support the family. After his marriage, my mother had to work along with my father to overcome the family hurdles. I was the eldest in my family so I decided to get educated and become a doctor.

I was a topper throughout my school days. I got 90.85% marks in 10th and 91.33% marks in 12th. I got admission in B.J. Medical College, a premier medical institution in Pune. I decided to become a distinguished doctor and help society. My teachers saw me as a hard-working student, and hence, they stood by me as mentors from the school days and guided me like my parents.

While studying for MBBS, I applied to Sakal India Foundation, Pune for a scholarship. Here Prof. Karekar and Prof. Muley interviewed me and sent my application to Foundation For Excellence. Due to my academic merit and adverse family financial background, I received the FFE scholarship. This relieved me from financial stress and I could concentrate on my studies and goals exclusively. I completed MBBS & MD (Biochemistry) from B.J. Medical College, Pune. My education helped me transform my family situation – I supported my brother, sister and my wife’s education. It makes me feel good to see them settled in their life. My brother is currently associated with Government of Maharashtra, Health Services, Chopda as Physiotherapist, sister is currently a history teacher in Lokmanya Tilak Vidyalaya, and my wife is an associate professor in Anatomy in PAD, Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College, Pimpri.

During clinical posting, I examined each patient empathetically, participated in all college extracurricular activities like National Service Scheme. I got prizes in academic quiz and received letters of appreciation from Rotary Club for being a Socially Oriented Doctor. Few of my articles about my journey from a student to a doctor were published by SAKAL. I got many letters of congratulations from all over Maharashtra government as I became a doctor after facing adversities in life. I give credit of my success to all my teachers and Foundation For Excellence for awarding me scholarship. FFE boosted my morale for becoming an all-rounder (multi faceted) doctor.

For the past 16 years, I am working with Medical education. Currently, I am associated with B J Medical College as Assistance Professor in Department of Medical Biochemistry. I also hold responsibility in college administration as a Media Coordinator. I have also published several research papers and have been a panel of examiner of few medical universities. As an alumnus of FFE, I was able to conduct several mentoring sessions for FFE students in B J Medical College, Pune. Hence forward, I would like to contribute my time to build a Medical Alumni network for achieving objectives of FFE and also to mentor an FFE students.

I am a 2004 FFE scholar. I was brought up in a small village Bagasara in Gujarat. I belong to a family of farmers. When I got admission into MBBS at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Government Medical College, Rajkot, Gujarat, I was extremely happy, but on the other hand, I knew it would be difficult for my family to support my college fees and other expenses. It was during this dark time that I was introduced to an FFE facilitator, Mr. Thakarshibhai and this completely changed my life. I moved from a place of being stressed about the expenses to a place where i could completely focus on my studies. Thanks to the scholarship awarded by FFE, I did my MD, Medicine, after which I pursued DM Medical Oncology (Cancer specialty course) in 2013. It has been an amazing journey and I have FFE to thank for their selfless service. I want to thank everyone in the FFE family for making my dreams come true.

Today, I have my own clinic in Rajkot and I am practicing as a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Shashwat Haemato-Onco Associates.