Not letting mental, physical and health crisis dampen their spirit, these students shone in the SSC exams. Here are their stories…
Sadaf Desai: Suffering from paralysis and stroke, 16-yr-old scores 79.88%
Overcoming significant health crisis by scoring 79.88% in the SSC exams on Friday, 16-year-old Sadaf Desai, student of Sheth MA High School, Andheri West was overjoyed to see her results.
Sadaf, who is suffering from paralysis did not let her health condition dampen her courage to appear in the board examination. She used to attend online classes from the hospital.
She shared, “I was diagnosed with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in standard 9 during the lockdown. I attended online lectures from the hospital. After getting discharged,
I couldn’t go to school because I also suffered a stroke due to medical complications, but my teachers came home to teach me and conducted extra lectures just for me online. But I could not pay complete attention due to my medication,” said Desai, who took the assistance of a writer during the exams and is making a slow recovery from her paralysis.
Divya Pavale: Despite battling cancer, Thane girl scores 81.60%
ifteen-year-old Divya Pavale was at the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital, Parel, on Friday for a follow-up with the oncologists when she came to know that she secured 81.60% in her SSC exams. Pavale, a student of Saraswati Secondary School, Naupada, Thane, was undergoing chemotherapy a few days before her practical exams.
“Last year, in April, we had gone to our village for vacations when I was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, which is a rare cancer. Initially we were all worried but I gathered my confidence and decided to face the situation. I was adamant that I will not allow this academic year to go waste just because of this illness,” said Pavale. Although she completed all her treatment by January end, she had not attended school the entire year.
Eknath, her father said that Pavale has always been a smart student.
Bhumika Dhotre: Overcoming loss of dad & grandparents, she scores 88.40%
Preparing for board exams with the pandemic looming over everyone was no easy task, but for 16-year-old Bhumika Dhotre, there was a huge challenge to overcome. The second wave of Covid hit her family hard, and she lost her father as well as her grandparents to the virus in 2021.
Despite the loss, Dhotre kept her focus on studies and managed to score 88.40% in the board exam. “I have tried to balance myself emotionally throughout the past year. I went with my mood and accordingly prepared for the exams. On some days I would wake up at 5 am or 6 am on other days I would study late into the night,” said the teenager, a student of St Anne’s High School in Borivali (W). “I made a study timetable, but couldn’t really get myself to follow it. My mother, who is also a teacher, and my sister both motivated me,” shared Dhotre.