It’s a dream come true for 20-year-old Sanotshi Vani. Hailing from a remote Palakonda village near Rajam, Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, all she wanted to do was study well, get a job and help her mother, who has provided for her against all odds after her father died when she was young.
This first-year B.Sc student of SGCSR College, Rajam, is currently on her way to the United States to study Computer Information Systems (CIS) /Computer Science (CS) course at Scottsdale Community College, Arizona.
Ms. Vani has been chosen under the U.S. Community College Initiative Programme (CCIP), which supports students from developing countries to undergo a 10-month non-degree course in a specified field of study with the help of G.M.R. Varalakshmi Foundation (GMRVF), a corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of the GMR Group.
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“I am going to the U.S. to learn a skill and come fully-equipped to take care of my family. I am thankful to the U.S. government and GMRVF for all the guidance,” she said. In fact, she is the eighth GMRVF-facilitated student to make it to CCIP. Since 2015, six others from Rajam village and one from Shamshabad here were chosen for the programme.
Under the CCIP, students from underprivileged backgrounds can study non-degree courses in agriculture, applied engineering, business management and administration, information technology, media, public safety and tourism and hospitality management. All the expenses including airfare, lodging, boarding, books and medical aid of the selected candidates are borne by the U.S. government along with monthly stipend for other incidental expenses during their stay.
“We are happy that students from GMRVF institutes are breaking barriers and making a mark for themselves. We are also thankful to the U.S. government for this platform for students to get global exposure,” said GMRVF executive director-CSR Meena Raghunathan.
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Achieving big
M. Praveen Kumar from Rajam was the first student chosen for the CCIP in 2015 under GMRVF umbrella. He did MBA from Northern Virginia (NOVA) Community College and is pursuing higher education.
Three girls were chosen in 2016-17 – B. Sandhya Rani, who chose agriculture and geospatial technology at Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and is now pursuing PG (Zoology) at Andhra University; G. Sindhuja studied sustainable agriculture at Santa Rosa Junior College, California, and is pursuing PG; and D. Ramalakshmi, who studied hospitality management at Kirkwood Community College, and is working as sales associate at GMR Hyderabad duty-free shop.
Another girl Shaikh Haseena, who was selected in 2017-18, did a course in geospatial technology in agriculture from Kirkwood Community College and is working with Geokno India Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad. Her batchmate A. Kaveri did hospitality and event management from Northern Virginia (NOVA) Community College and is employed in Shared Services Centre here.
In 2018-19, another girl V. Sai Krishna Sruthi from Rajam was selected who studied computer information systems (CIS) from Bunker Hill Community College, Massachusetts, and is now pursing graduation here.
The GMRVF is one of the four partners of the U.S. Consulate, Hyderabad, for selection of such candidates.