NEXT STEP… IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!
“Life is a storm that will test you unceasingly. Don’t wait for calm waters that may not arrive. Derive purpose from resilience. Learn to sail the raging sea”.
This is the aphorism that the young software engineer in TCS Sruthi Prathipati, who has successfully completed her education after braving formidable odds, lives by.
Unlike most of the students of her peer group, who slip into depression, give up on education, Sruthi has set an example with her persistent diligence to realise her dreams, fighting the destitution her bereaved family faced with the sudden demise of her father.
She found her way across troubled waters built bridges, and moved beyond despair and inertia. Sruthi shares her success story, which she scripted with the invaluable support of NSF.
Here is Sruthi’s story in her own words…
I am Sruthi Prathpati, working with TCS as a software Engineer. Prior to expressing my gratitude towards NSF, I would like to share my story.
I was, of course, one of the students who dreamed of something big, got pressured into pursuing the most inevitable career choice, i.e. Engineering! But, within engineering, the choice of Computer Science Engineering was absolutely my choice and my father was my inspiration. He was a ration shop dealer. He believed that education is the only way to prosperity. Therefore, he worked hard for our future and took utmost care to ensure we pursued academics. We are three children and ours is a close-knit family. I am the eldest of the three. I have sister and a brother. I was always good in academics and never wanted to let my father down. With a good EAMCET (Engineering admission test) rank, I secured admission in JNTU (Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University), Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh, India) in 2015.
In December 2015, my father passed away. It was a major blow to my family. The whole family system was thrown off by insurmountable pain. My shocked mother was not in a state to believe that her companion was no more. Bogged down by the situation, I decided to give up my studies. By that time, I had only completed my first semester. I was left with no choice other than leaving my education midway due to our financial situation.
Next Step ahead!
At that time, it was Next Step Foundation (NSF) that had come to my rescue. NSF provided me the scholarship from my first year of B.Tech to its completion. The financial support of NSF meant so much to me and I find it hard to express my gratitude in just a short page.
One day, Mrs. Madhu and Mr. Sudhakar visited our college. The day I got a chance to meet the inspiring couple is the most memorable day in my life. They treated us as their peers and they motivated me to make the most of my educational experience. The scholarship helped me financially; but the interaction motivated me to climb the ladder of success.
Now, I finally secured a job with a good global technology organisation – Tata Consultancy Services.
NSF helped me when I need it most, and inspired me to pay forward to the society in the future.
Provide free education and training to children without such access: enabling them to grow into self-sufficient and economically independent adults.