 |
Shivam Anand- Engineer, Samsung R&D, Bangalore |
“When in 11th standard I finally decided to be a researcher, I knew I wanted DU for doing my bachelors in Chemistry honours. There was a girl who was always the school topper. When the elections for ‘Prefect’ took place, I was asked,’ What will you change in the school if you’re given this position?’ I answered that I will change the topper of the school. Now, rumors spread everywhere and I was under peer pressure of proving myself. So I started studying day and night. When the result was announced, the topper was finally changed. The girl lost by just 1 mark. Principal sir congratulated me and said, ‘Keh diya toh kar bhi dikhaya’. At that moment, I felt like dreams were finally coming true. I was ready to take the first step towards my dream of becoming a researcher. My friends Harsh, Rachit and Karamjeet were always and are still there with me.
I had scored 94.25% in 12th boards, which did not satisfy North campus cut off. I got Chemistry honors in Rajdhani college in south campus. I was happy- ‘Bas DU mil gaya!!’
My father was an auto driver. My sisters were already married and I was studying in Delhi. My parents had no one to take care of them back then. After completing one year of my graduation, I got a call from papa asking me to come back home because he was terribly ill and couldn’t do more for the family. I left my dream and came back. I was completely shattered and fell into depression and anxiety.
My father dreamt of me becoming an engineer and so I followed. I started with engineering from Graphic Era University, Dehradun. My fees was managed by my sisters. The first year of college was a boon. I made many friends and the anxiety and depression vanished.
In the second semester, I lost papa. To cope up with the financial needs, I started taking tuitions. Meanwhile, mummy left for Delhi to live with my sister for some time as she needed her. I had to manage the whole house, make my meals by myself, study, and also manage with tuitions. My school and college friends stood by me. Special mention to Aastha, she was always by my side in all the odds. In the second year, I opted for cloud computing because I found my dream of researching could be accomplished there. We were stable and everything was going fine. But life had its own plans. In the 4th semester, on my birthday, a grave mishappening took place which changed my life and made me depressed and anxious. I certainly hate that year of my life and I wish it can be erased with the people involved in it. After this incident, I lost all my friends. People boycotted me but Aastha still stood.
In the 5th semester, I met Aditi. She changed my life. I finally had someone to pour my heart out. I told her all the rumors about me. She completely supported me in all my decisions and corrected me where I was wrong and I was into a much better place. I took education loans for the last two years of my graduation because my sister had her own family to manage and she couldn’t support me with the fees anymore.
Finally, it was time for placements. I appeared for my first interview at TTND with a pure cloud profile. I cleared all the rounds but was rejected in the HR round. I was also rejected in the last rounds of Hitachi and Capgemini. I appeared in around 12 interviews but was rejected in all of them. The only offer letter I had in my hands was of TCS (3.3 LPA), which didn’t satisfy my needs. Aditi stood with me in all of this and made sure I don’t go into depression. The last opportunity for me was the Samsung R&D. I had only 1 week to make myself ready. I was all focused and put in all the efforts to make this work. Aditi woke up all the nights with me that week and made me focus even more. She helped me with everything. Mummy and sisters were also by my side but their way of supporting was different and they also did not hear all my problems. Aditi was there to listen to my tiniest problems.
I was confident and appeared for the interview at Samsung R&D. I cleared all the rounds and the HR was so impressed that he asked me to meet him personally after joining the company. I was on cloud nine. Finally, I could breathe freely. I started getting calls from even those people who hated me.
The success story doesn’t include words; it includes people. And my success story always revolves around my mother, a constant supporter and my life savior; my sisters, my well-wishers; and Aditi, the girl who is the main reason behind my success.
Now, I’m happy and content. I’m studying for GATE because I’ve got this madness of cracking it. I’m finally relaxed and life is at peace. I feel like I’m settled. I’ve understood that hard work surely pays off. I also want to tell everybody, that if life feels hard at some point and there’s darkness all around, just keep working because the sun is about to rise.”
* The views expressed in the above article are of the writer and not Winged club.