GREATER NOIDA: Dreams start small. Ask Sudiksha Bhati , student and winner of a Rs 1.92 crore scholarship in a college in the US. Sudiksha, whose father runs a small dhaba and mother is a homemaker, used to dream about studying in a school when financial constraints forced her to drop out in 2009.Today, the 17-year-old is waiting for her visa, for a four-year Bachelor’s course in entrepreneurship at the prestigious Babson College in Massachusetts, often ranked the most prestigious entrepreneurship college in the United States. The college has admitted 24 other Indian students this year. “We have already formed a WhatsApp group and am in touch with all of them,” she says.“I never look at challenges as obstacles... they are opportunities,” says Sudiksha, the toast of her village in Dadri. Till yesterday, the budding entrepreneur was being feted as the CBSE Bulandshahr district topper with 98% score and tall aspirations.The eldest of six siblings, Sudiksha started her journey young, when circumstances led to her father, Jitendra Bhati, having to take her out of school. Jitendra, who comes from a family of farmers, had started a business in 2004, but faced losses in 2009. As the business floundered, he had to sell off his land to start a tea stall. Keeping her in school was the last priority.Sudiksha, or Sonu as she is fondly called, remembers how her studies suffered as her father couldn’t afford to pay school fees. “My school fees had been pending for a year. I was the Class II topper, but I was told I would get my trophy and report card only when I pay my school fees,” Sudiksha remembers.She was out of school for some time, but the urge to study kept her going. “Initially, I was very upset with my father and blamed him for my not being able to study. However, a few days later, I went to the government school and sought admission,” said the gutsy girl.She was admitted to the government primary school in her village, Dhoom Manikpur, where she studied till Class V. Her bright academic credentials soon forced her father to think of a better school. He got Sudiksha books to prepare for the entrance exam to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya and Vidyagyan Leadership Academy in Bulandshahr.In 2011, Sudiksha was admitted to the latter, where she studied till Class XII, free of cost. “My school gave me immense support throughout. My teachers not only guided me all these years, they also helped me pass the tests required for the scholarship,” said Sudiksha.It was, however, a summer academic programme at the Iacocca Institute in Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in July 2016, which led Sudiksha to dream of going abroad. She was one of the 76 students from India selected by the institute. “The experience was transformative. I decided I wanted to go to the US for future studies,” she said. In April 2017, Sudiksha started preparing for the SAT exam — which assesses a student’s readiness for admission in a US college, and TOEFL.“My school helped us prepare and funded the tests, besides exempting us from regular Class XII periods, just to help us clear the exam,” she said. Sudiksha, along with three other students of the school, have got scholarships in different colleges of US.Sudiksha understands the responsibility of going abroad to study. “My father is concerned I will stay away from the family for four years,” she said. “Everybody is asking if I’ll return… I’ll definitely be back, as everything that matters is here,” Sudiksha signs off.

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