Success is not a destination, it is a journey…A one with several ups and downs, yet the driving force throughout being ‘will’ and ‘determination’. on 30th October 2021, we had the good fortune of an interactive session with three young Goan girls who have worked hard and excelled in their arenas. Ma’am Sanjana Prabhu Desai, currently a PhD student at UCLA, USA, Ma’am Anura Prabhu Desai, an international badminton player and Ma’am Richa Lavu Govekar, Goa’s youngest female commercial pilot. They shared among us their vibrant journeys and experiences and answered several questions posed by our dear VPD sir and us, students.
Academic excellence is driven by the pursuit of better opportunities and the willingness to learn. So has Ma’am Sanjana in her areas of interest. She did her bachelor of engineering at Goa College of Engineering in Electronics and Telecommunication engineering. She did master’s Dissertation research work conducted at IIT Bombay. And currently she is pursuing her PhD as a graduate student at University of California, Los Angeles in Geophysics and space physics. She threw light upon her transition from different branches, cited her memories from the institutes she studied at and work life experience in the US. She also talked about her research in the field of asteroids and space physics.
Badminton is a sport of reflexes, stamina and accuracy. The immense focus and fitness needed to excel at this sport is what Ma’am Anura plays her game with. She started her training beginning under sir Govind Navelkar in Ponda and then sir Roy Athaide in Panaji and sir Vinayak Kamat in Margao. Witnessing her amazing performances at tournaments, she was granted the opportunity to continue her coaching at Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy at Bengaluru. She won her first senior national gold medal representing goa in women’s doubles category in 2017.In the same year she bagged a gold medal at the national level in women’s single category. It indeed is a commendable achievement short of words! She talked about her experiences and the fact that in her childhood how she was initially made to go for badminton classes along with her sister and then how her talent was identified and nurtured. She cited many memories in her journey of tireless effort.
The engine is the heart of an airplane but the pilot is its soul. Flighting a plane needs a fearless mind with focused vision. So has Ma’am Richa Lavu Govekar proven to have. She is Goa’s youngest female commercial pilot at the tender age of 21 years. She talked about how her curiosity in space sparked interest in the field of aviation and fueled her dreams of becoming a pilot. She told us about her very memorable day ’7th November 2020’ when she flew solo for the very first time. She then had an interesting discussion about the planes she flew and the technicalities involved in flying with our sir VPD. Ma’am shared her feelings that arise while flying,her motivation to strive for better and the joy she gets in her job.
The three young brave and strong Goan girls have truly inspired us with their valuable words of wisdom and their strides across their individual paths have instilled courage in all of us. The bright scientist, badminton star and fearless pilot answered our queries and helped us broaden our visions. The three from different fields drove home a united message of belief and dedication. On behalf of all Aryaanites I would like to extend my gratitude to them for taking out a piece of their valuable time and broadening our vision of a bright future. We’re also extremely thankful to VPD sir for giving us the opportunities to interact with great personalities and keeping us ever motivated.
Thank you!
Nandita Udupa
11th reg