My name is Chirmi Varam.
I have just completed my preparatory course at IIT Jodhpur and now I’ll start pursuing material science and engineering at IIT Jammu. I was born in Lungshang village, Ukhrul district, Manipur. I have 5 siblings. My dad is a cultivator and my mom is a homemaker. All my family love, respect, and care for each other in every way we could.

I loved going to school, and even though I was an average student, the love of math made me attend school. My family has always been very supportive, and they had always encouraged me to dream big. I came to know about IIT as the premier institute of engineering After 12th standard I nearly give up on my dream due to financial hardships. But luckily I got selected in SUPER 30, Sibsagar, Assam. I did hard work for one whole year to achieve my goal. There were many challenges in between and I often questioned my capabilities. But the day I got admission into IIT, it was undoubtedly one of the happiest days of my life. My parents' siblings and everyone applauded it. The hard work I put into preparing for the exam was worth it.

My whole prep course was completed in online mode during the lockdown. There will be many challenges when I go to college, but I am confident. At first, it will be a change in friends because I am an introverted person. I am not good at making friends, sudden changes in my surroundings. My hobbies are gardening, crocheting, and reading comics. Every day I spend some time on my hobbies. As of now, I don’t have any concrete career plans as I am focusing on doing my BTech and will cross that bridge when I reach it.

Whatever I plan, the first things that always bothered me was financial issues. When I was in higher secondary school I would purchase only the essentials because my family is a big family and we are not financially stable. The Reach for the Stars scholarship is helping a lot of us. I don’t have to worry my parents paying for my admission fee, hostel fee, and all. I can study in ease without worrying about financial issues. I am very grateful to Prayatna for selecting me. I will value the help they have given me and help me get on the right path.

Journey of my life....
I'm Kumkum Shaw from Purulia, a district of West Bengal famous for its Chhou Dance.

I'm currently pursuing B.Tech in Biotechnology from the National Institute of Technology Durgapur.

At the age of three years, I enrolled in school and continued for 6 years from Shishu Shiksha Niketan. After this, I moved to the state government school of my area named Parbelia Colliery Hindi High school. The turning point of my life comes when I got selected to take admitted to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya ,Purulia through a selection test named JNVST, and continued my study at free of cost from such a renowned Central Government funded institute. It was really a great opportunity for me as I belong to a middle-class family so our financial condition is not so stable. Admission to JNV was really a life-changing opportunity for me not only financially but also in terms of self-discipline, mental and physical health, and personality development. I have completed both secondary and higher secondary education from JNV and secured decent marks. JNV is not a school it's an emotion for every NAVODAYAN. After completing the 12th boards, I was thinking about further studies after which I got selected for CSRL Games 24/7 super 30, Bangalore. I was preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination mains and advance under this scholarship programme. Super30 provides a free residential setup for students that too with a healthy, supportive, and clean environment. Even though those were the pandemic days when no one could have imagined the risk of taking responsibility for thirty students but CSRL did. They did it beyond all our imagination and hope they do the same and better in all upcoming years. A special thanks to CSRL, Games24×7, and our project manager ma'am Miss Sunandana Sharma, who supported and guided us like we were her own.

After this our JEE exams took place and I scored good marks and qualified for quality education in the country.

It is during these days that I fell in love with the city of Bangalore and I wish to visit the Silicon Valley of India again and again.

Through the process of counseling, where I was extensively supported by our trainers at Super 30, I got into NIT Durgapur and I am really glad to have landed at such a reputed college.

I was really worried about college fees but after that, I got selected for the Reach for the Stars scholarship program under Prayatna. At that time, it was vital for me as funding is a major issue. And Prayatna not only helps me financially but also provides me with mentors for my personality development and clears all doubts related to the goals that I wish to achieve. I am really thankful to Prayatna for dragging me out of this difficult situation.

I wish to become a good engineer and a successful woman with an impactful personality so that I can help others to grow in their life, especially girls. I also want to explore my hobbies like painting. I want to travel to many places. My success will not only confide to personal success but also all the people involved and institutions, will succeed. I again want to show my respect and heartfelt thanks to the prestigious organization Prayatna.

My name is Rajnandni Parmar.
I am currently a second-year B.tech student at IIT Guwahati in the Electronics and Electrical department. I was born and brought up in New Tehri, Tehri Garhwal, Uttrakhand. My father is a teacher at Saraswati Vidhya Mandir Inter college in New Tehri, and my mother is a housewife. I have a younger sister, she is in standard 11, in Himjyoti school Dehradun. I also have a younger brother, he is in standard 7, and studies in the same school where my father works. I studied in Saraswati Shishu mandir New Tehri till class 5 then I moved to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) pokhal in class 6th. It is a boarding school and I was there till 12. I was very scared and nervous in the beginning as I was going away from home for the first time at such a young age it was a CBSE school and I was from the Uttrakhand board (a state board school). It was also difficult for me to adjust to academics as the teachings and texts are different.

In standard 9th I went to JNV Chandigarh as a part of the migration policy of Navodaya vidhyalas. Then I came back to class 10th. It was a turning point in my school life as I was an average student till 10th, but I started coming in the top 3 spots of the class.

I scored 93.8% in class 10th boards with 3rd rank. As it was a govt. the school my parents didn’t have to bother about my fees. I never thought that I would make it into IIT. The most I was expecting was to get into NIT. It was a pleasant surprise.

But it was my parents' belief in me, that they put me in CSRL Super 30. I received so many calls from private colleges because I got 96% in class 12th. But I rejected all and took a drop from academics for a year. It was very risky at first but soon I started gaining confidence, that maybe I could clear the exam with flying colours.

Simply because of my parents, teachers, project officers, and friends, I sailed.

When the results were announced, I was at the wedding of my cousin in my village. I couldn’t sleep and be very anxious, and others were dancing but the result was beyond my expectations. But thankfully I was very happy and so were my parents. All my relatives also became elated. I received multiple phone calls from my school teachers and coaching.

Talking about my life in college, I was very excited as I had heard so many things about IIT Guwahati. The campus is very beautiful and there is so much greenery here. The scenic beauty of the hills is also mesmerizing.

My days are usually very busy and managing academics is even more difficult because it is not very straightforward. I am trying and I hope it will turn out great at the end of 4 years.

Other than academics, I play volleyball and I am happy to share that I have been selected for the inter-college IIT volleyball team and representing IIT Guwahati, it is to take place in IIT Roorkee in December.

I am exploring my interests, and I have plans of landing a job after I graduate, to overcome my financial needs, and then I will focus on my passion.