By John Marshall | Project Leader
A few updates from Mission: University Central.
As a new school year kicks off again, we are proud to share that three new Mission kids are off on their University adventure; Cynthia, Jyoti and Rohit all are now enrolled at Dev Bhoomi University in Dehradun. Cynthia dreams of becoming an air hostess and will earn her Bachelors of Business first. Jytoi has her sights set on starting her own business one day and will dive into her business studies to learn all she can. And Rohit dreams of working with aircraft so he's pursueing a BTech degree in Aerospace Engineering.
It has become a routine send off, as the latest 12th class graduates ship off to college, but we don’t want to take this kind of big moment for granted. In fact, looking back now, these latest students mark the 38th, 39th & 40th members of our Mission: University program, none of which would have been possible without generous supporters like you.
In addition to this good news, I want to share two stories that show just what these kids are capable of.
The first involves Kelly. She graduated from Uttaranchal University this spring, completing her epic 5-year law degree. She was one of the very best students in her school, finishing in the top five. What’s more, she recently took the Indian bar exam and passed on her first try. She is officially an advocate, dreaming of one day working at the UN.
What she found though is that…all schools are not created equally. We didn’t know this when we enrolled; we’d never sponsored a law student before. But India is even more elitist than the USA. There are basically 10 schools you should go to if you want access to any elite jobs. It’s like the Ivy League here in America, but even more so.
So Kelly recently did something pretty bold. She applied for and took an entrance exam to attend a post graduate program at the very top University in India. It’s called The National Law School, based in Bangalore and is even called “The Harvard of The South.” Naturally, it is INCREDIBLY competitive. At the one test site she attended, she was up against literally tens of thousands of high-level students. In her own words, “I worked really hard for this exam. I gave it my 100%. I drank more coffee in two months than my 5 years of college combined.”
In the end, incredibly, she finished 30th! But even this wasn’t enough. There were only 27 open seats for the program she wanted so she missed it by three! Indian colleges do not do any interviews or make exceptions for exceptional students. Admission is all based on test results. The top 27 students with the highest marks on the exam get into the National Law School of Bangalore’s Master’s program. That’s it.
That said, Kelly has been offered a slot at the Symbiosis International School in Pune, another of the Indian “Ivy League” schools. Kind of like Yale or Princeton. It’s a two year program at a school famous for 100% placement in elite positions. And most remarkably of all, Kelly’s sponsors are supporting her on this next big step. We could not be more proud of her!
As for the second story, it involves Job.
Job recently graduated from one of the top government colleges in India: Lucknow University. But like Kelly, the story for Job and his dreams does not stop there.
In an incredibly bold move, Job decided to try and earn his masters in Law in Italy of all places. The University of Tuscia to be exact. Naturally, this is an incredibly competitive program, not just for India but for the entire world. Smart, hopeful students from all over were competing for a few full scholarships, requiring Zoom interviews and a hundred hoops to jump through.
To his credit, Job took all of this one step at a time, gathering transcripts and diplomas and certified letters and recommendations and bank statements and on and on, traveling all over the country, back and forth to obtain official stamps and signatures. He also aced the interview portion of his application and has…I’m proud to report…been granted a FULL SCHOLARSHIP to study in Europe!
He still has his VISA application interview that will happen shortly, but with all the supporting documents and a scholarship waiting for him, that should be a formality. Job has been studying Italian and is excited to take this next big step.
A few updates from Mission: University Central.
As a new school year kicks off again, we are proud to share that three new Mission kids are off on their University adventure; Cynthia, Jyoti and Rohit all are now enrolled at Dev Bhoomi University in Dehradun. Cynthia dreams of becoming an air hostess and will earn her … first. Jytoi has her sights set on starting her own business and will dive into her business studies to learn all she can. And Rohit dreams of being a pilot, focusing on … for now.
It has become a routine send off, as the latest 12th class graduates ship off to college, but we don’t want to take this kind of big moment for granted. In fact, looking back now, these latest students mark the 38th, 39th & 40th members of our Mission: University program, none of which would have been possible without generous supporters like you.
In addition to this good news, I want to share two stories that show just what these kids are capable of.
The first involves Kelly. She graduated from Uttaranchal University this spring, completing her epic 5-year law degree. She was one of the very top students in her school, finishing in the top five. What’s more, she recently took the Indian bar exam and passed on her first try. She is officially an advocate, dreaming of one day working at the UN.
What she found though is that…all schools are not created equally. We didn’t know this when we enrolled; we’d never sponsored a law student before. But India is even more elitist than the USA. There are basically 10 schools you should go to if you want access to any elite jobs. It’s like the Ivy League here in America, but even more so.
So Kelly recently did something pretty bold. She applied for and took an entrance exam to attend a post graduate program at the very top University in India. It’s called The National Law School, based in Bangalore and is even called “The Harvard of The South.” Naturally, it is INCREDIBLY competitive. At the one test site she attended, she was up against literally tens of thousands of high-level students. In her own words, “I worked really hard for this exam. I gave it my 100%. I drank more coffee in two months than my 5 years of college combined.”
In the end, incredibly, she finished 30th! But even this wasn’t enough. There were only 27 open seats for the program she wanted so she missed it by three! Indian colleges do not do any interviews or make exceptions for exceptional students. Admission is all based on test results. The top 27 students with the highest marks on the exam get into the National Law School of Bangalore’s Master’s program. That’s it.
That said, Kelly has been offered a slot at the Symbiosis International School in Pune, another of the Indian “Ivy League” schools. Kind of like Yale or Princeton. It’s a two year program at a school famous for 100% placement in elite positions. And most remarkably of all, Kelly’s sponsor is supporting her on this next big step. We could not be more proud of her!
The second story involves Job.
He recently graduated from one of the top government colleges in India, Lucknow University. But like Kelly, the story for Job and his dreams does not stop there.
In an incredibly bold move, Job wants to earn his masters in Law in Italy of all places. The University of Tuscia to be exact. Naturally, this is an incredibly competitive program, not just for India but for the entire world. Smart, hopeful students from all over were competing for a few full scholarships, requiring Zoom interviews and a hundred hoops to jump through.
To his credit, Job took all of this one step at a time, gathering transcripts and diplomas and certified letters and recommendations and bank statements and on and on, traveling all over the country, back and forth to obtain official stamps and signatures. He also aced the interview portion of his application and has…I’m proud to report…been granted a FULL SCHOLARSHIP to study in Europe!
He still has his VISA application interview that will happen shortly, but with all the supporting documents and a scholarship waiting for him, that should be a formality. Job has been studying Italian and is excited to take this next big step.
A few updates from Mission: University Central.
As a new school year kicks off again, we are proud to share that three new Mission kids are off on their University adventure; Cynthia, Jyoti and Rohit all are now enrolled at Dev Bhoomi University in Dehradun. Cynthia dreams of becoming an air hostess and will earn her … first. Jytoi has her sights set on starting her own business and will dive into her business studies to learn all she can. And Rohit dreams of being a pilot, focusing on … for now.
It has become a routine send off, as the latest 12th class graduates ship off to college, but we don’t want to take this kind of big moment for granted. In fact, looking back now, these latest students mark the 38th, 39th & 40th members of our Mission: University program, none of which would have been possible without generous supporters like you.
In addition to this good news, I want to share two stories that show just what these kids are capable of.
The first involves Kelly. She graduated from Uttaranchal University this spring, completing her epic 5-year law degree. She was one of the very top students in her school, finishing in the top five. What’s more, she recently took the Indian bar exam and passed on her first try. She is officially an advocate, dreaming of one day working at the UN.
What she found though is that…all schools are not created equally. We didn’t know this when we enrolled; we’d never sponsored a law student before. But India is even more elitist than the USA. There are basically 10 schools you should go to if you want access to any elite jobs. It’s like the Ivy League here in America, but even more so.
So Kelly recently did something pretty bold. She applied for and took an entrance exam to attend a post graduate program at the very top University in India. It’s called The National Law School, based in Bangalore and is even called “The Harvard of The South.” Naturally, it is INCREDIBLY competitive. At the one test site she attended, she was up against literally tens of thousands of high-level students. In her own words, “I worked really hard for this exam. I gave it my 100%. I drank more coffee in two months than my 5 years of college combined.”
In the end, incredibly, she finished 30th! But even this wasn’t enough. There were only 27 open seats for the program she wanted so she missed it by three! Indian colleges do not do any interviews or make exceptions for exceptional students. Admission is all based on test results. The top 27 students with the highest marks on the exam get into the National Law School of Bangalore’s Master’s program. That’s it.
That said, Kelly has been offered a slot at the Symbiosis International School in Pune, another of the Indian “Ivy League” schools. Kind of like Yale or Princeton. It’s a two year program at a school famous for 100% placement in elite positions. And most remarkably of all, Kelly’s sponsor is supporting her on this next big step. We could not be more proud of her!
The second story involves Job.
He recently graduated from one of the top government colleges in India, Lucknow University. But like Kelly, the story for Job and his dreams does not stop there.
In an incredibly bold move, Job wants to earn his masters in Law in Italy of all places. The University of Tuscia to be exact. Naturally, this is an incredibly competitive program, not just for India but for the entire world. Smart, hopeful students from all over were competing for a few full scholarships, requiring Zoom interviews and a hundred hoops to jump through.
To his credit, Job took all of this one step at a time, gathering transcripts and diplomas and certified letters and recommendations and bank statements and on and on, traveling all over the country, back and forth to obtain official stamps and signatures. He also aced the interview portion of his application and has…I’m proud to report…been granted a FULL SCHOLARSHIP to study in Europe!
He still has his VISA application interview that will happen shortly, but with all the supporting documents and a scholarship waiting for him, that should be a formality. Job has been studying Italian and is excited to take this next big step. Buona fortuna, Job. And safe travels.
Job and Kelly are just two examples of what is possible when we work together to give ambitious students a chance they otherwise would not get. For both of them and for the 38 other students who have been given the opportunity, I thank you for your continued support. We simply could not do this work without you.
Should anyone like to be a part of Team Job, please reach out to me at john@teachher.org There will be a few expenses to cover, even with the scholarship so we welcome the support.
Onward,
John
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