For Agra girl Monika Sharma, a BTech (aerospace) student of Dehradun 's University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), it was a dream come true, when she along with her 13 teammates from the university, won the prestigious global aerospace competition CanSat held in Texas, US."This was my first international competition which has given me immense exposure and knowledge," said Monika. This is an annual competition organised by the American Astronautical Society (AAS) and American Institute of Astronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) with support from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre and US Naval Research Laboratory . The students competed with those from 39 other institutions from across the world to grab the first position in the largest space-related competition for undergraduate students in the world. When we caught with Monika during her recent visit to the city, she admitted that she was overjoyed. A resident of Ghari Bhadoria, Shahganj, Monika shared, "I am overjoyed and so are my parents. The first person who I called after I won was my dad. I was so excited that I couldn't speak properly. All I mumbled was 'papa first' and he understood! He congratulated me and was of course very happy. He had been texting and motivating me till the time the competition actually began." Her mom, Chandrakanta Sharma, a government teacher, added, "Humhari family mein peheli bar koi bahar ja rahe the, yeh bahut badi baat hai! It's unbelievable." So how did she develop an interest in aeroscience? "I have always been fascinated by aircrafts, my interest in this field grew when I followed the journey of Sunita Williams ," Monika said.Monika with her younger sister Shreya at their home in Agra"I used to collect and keep all the newspaper cuttings of her and followed all the news related to her," said Monika, whose good grades in class 12, especially in Physics, paved the way for future. Monika said she had to move out of Agra to pursue the subject of her choice. "Majority of the people in Agra don't even about aerospace and subjects related to it. There was not much awareness about the subject in the city, but because of my own passion and curiosity, I managed to stay abreast of the field," said Monika, adding, "When my relatives ask me what I am studying now, which branch of engineering, and I tell them 'aerospace', many look unsure. This is because, as I said, about little awareness about the field. For most of them engineering means either computer science, mechanical, electrical and civil engineering."Monika said that in the beginning, her parents also wanted her to stay in Agra and pursue a more conventional course. "I was myself not sure about UPES but after extensive research, decided to go along with it. I think people should explore new fields of studies, especially girls," said Monika, who added that in her course, there are only 10 girls out of 50 students. Talking about her team, which she says is now like a family, she shared, "We had to stimulate a science vehicle powered by solar energy that travels through the planetary atmosphere and samples the atmospheric pressure, temperature, speed etc and sends the readings of the gathered data wirelessly to the ground station. We used basic, everyday articles like inch tapes, rubber bands etc to make our product. It was a team work and it felt out of the world, winning the competition." Monika also said that she loves Dehradun. "I love Doon and my college has a lovely location, overlooking the hills. It's very peaceful and the culture diverse," said Monika. And what does she do when she visits Agra? "I make sure to visit all my friends and hang out with them whenever I am in town!"-- Mahima Chawla

Stay updated with all the Agra Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.