Every week we come across stories of youngsters making news with exciting achievements in both academic and non-academic spheres. Reading about their journeys and the odds they have faced is inspiring and leaves us with the hope that the citizens of the future have the potential to make a difference. Here is a look at some Indian students who have made a mark.
Malavath Poorna and Sadhanapally Anand Kumar
Climbing Mount Everest is seen as the ultimate achievement for any climber, but when two teens achieve the feat, it is nothing short of awe-inspiring. On May 25, 20`14, these two youngsters from Andhra Pradesh reached the summit of the world’s peak, and planted a national flag, along with the flag of their school’s society.
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Thirteen-year-old Poorna became the youngest girl in the world to scale the peak, and when she got there, she said, “The world is very small”. The daughter of agricultural labourers, she belongs to a Scheduled Tribe community from Nizamabad.
Sadhanpally Anand Kumar (18), hails from Khammam, and the two are students of AP Social Welfare Residential Education Institutions Society (APSWREIS). They were selected after a course on mountaineering training, and prepared for a month and a half before starting on their expedition which lasted 53 days.
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At 13, most of us would have been in middle school, slogging over some subject or the other. But not Sushma Verma. She was on her way to being the youngest student to pursue a Master’s degree. This child prodigy from Lucknow finished her class X exams at the age of seven, and went on to get a degree in Zoology and Botany from CMS Degree College. When she secured admission for a postgraduate degree in Microbiology, the daughter of a daily wage labourer hit an obstacle - funds.
When the story of her achievements and problem received media attention, donations and help flowed in from various quarters, including private donors and organisations like Sulabh International. With the financial problem sorted out, she began her course in September 2013.
Himadrish Suwan
RTI activism has come a long way in India, and one of the names we associate with it is Arvind Kejriwal. Making an early start in activism is Himadrish Suwan, a student of Delhi University. The Ranchi boy has filed over 100 Right to Information (RTI) appeals since the time he was in school. The 17-year-old won the Young Achievers’ Award by the International Association of Educators for World Peace, for his media activism in October 2014. He is also an active citizen journalist and blogger, who says he enjoys experimenting with different ‘kinds of information that can be sought through RTI appeals’. He is studying Political Science at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College.
Sahil Doshi
Reducing the carbon footprint is a pressing environmental issue which is being tackled in various ways.
Sahil Doshi, a young Indian-American student did his bit to find a solution by designing an eco-friendly device, which generates power for households. His design won him the title of ‘America’s Top Young Scientist’ in October 2014. The Pittsburgh resident won $25000 and a student adventure trip.
The device named PolluCell converts carbon dioxide to electricity, thereby reducing CO2 levels, as well producing a useful form of energy. According to a statement, he was inspired by the 1.2 billion people worldwide who lack access to electricity and the rising levels of toxic air pollution, and was determined to create an energy storage device that could help lower harmful greenhouse gases while generating electricity for those in need.
Shubham Banerjee
Last year 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee came across a flyer which changed his life. A flyer to raise funds for the visually impaired got him thinking about how they are able to read.
He asked his father, who asked him to Google it, and through his research he learnt about Braille and also realised how expensive Braille printers were. A year later, he has just received a huge investment from Intel for developing a low cost printer for Braille. The California teenager, inspired by his find, used his Lego Robotics kit to build a Braille printer, which worked well and won him the Tech Award 2014, and took him to the White House Maker Faire. The product impressed Intel which announced that it would invest in Banerjee’s startup Braigo Labs and help him develop a regular prototype, and make it ready for sale from next year. The teen wants to specialise in ‘engineering in medicine’ when he grows up.