Many aspirants of competitive exams face challenges such as poverty, illness, and financial difficulties in pursuit of their dreams, however, a few can beat the odds and overcome obstacles. This year-end article can serve as your comprehensive source of motivation for succeeding in competitive examinations like the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), or any exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Battling health problems, this Odisha village boy cracks NEET-UG: ‘Steve Jobs quote on connecting dots inspired me’ Meet Sekh Galib Raza from Odisha's Soro Village who despite having urinary tract stricture (a urinary issue) prepared for the medical entrance test (NEET UG) and cracked the exam in 2024. Raza was suffering from this medical problem when he appeared for the NEET UG in 2021 and 2022. Medications could not work for him and the only option he had was to undergo Urethroplasty. Due to poor health conditions, Raza underwent surgery six months before the NEET UG 2023. Unfortunately, Raza was unable to sit for longer hours for his exam preparation. It was during those testing times his sister stood with him and read his notes so that Raza could continue his NEET UG preparation. Unfortunately, he scored 591 and fell short by four marks. This JNU PhD student developed pedagogy inspired from ancient teaching method to educate nursery children In India, we expect a candidate with PhD degree to take up research or join a higher educational institute as a faculty. However, a student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Anagha Anil Kinjavadekar is breaking such notions. This 32-year-old has decided to teach nursery students over graduates, but what prompted her to do this? In the first wave of Covid, she was blessed with a baby. Later for her toddler, she observed a dearth of good teachers at the foundational level and decided to contribute to the solution of this problem by turning to a nursery teacher. It was during her pregnancy that she found interest in childhood education. She started using her skills to research more about pedagogy. As she started working as a nursery teacher/ facilitator, she realised that she could use the skills she had gained during her PhD study in teaching nursery students. ‘I wanted to do it as soon as possible’: UPSC rank 2 holder, who lost mother to cancer during interview preparation Despite losing his mother to cancer a month before the interview, UPSC CSE AIR 2 Animesh Pradhan said “perseverance and patience” helped him overcome the adversities. “I knew that she only had a few days as she was suffering from terminal. I wanted to crack it (the exams) as soon as possible so that I could make her proud,” Animesh told ‘The Indian Express’. He started preparing for the civil services exam in 2022 and used to study for 6-7 hours. Pradhan lost his father in 2015. Animesh is now posted to his home cadre, Odisha. After mains, Pradhan had less time to prepare for the interview, however, he focused on mock interviews as much as possible to boost his confidence and focused on preparing the background of hobbies, places and other aspects. Despite this, he scored one of the lowest marks in the interview and that too 175. From Bihar’s Chhapra to Haryana, how Anmol Kumar navigated his NEET-UG journey Another NEET UG success story of a native of Bihar’s Chhapra district, Anmol Kumar Singh could not think of clearing NEET UG without shifting to another state. The primary issue was the lack of quality educational resources that made it difficult to prepare effectively for competitive exams like NEET apart from his ailing father and financial constraints. Belonging to a family of farmers with significant financial challenges, he could not afford to pay the college and coaching fees. His uncle then stepped in and provided the necessary financial assistance. He cracked NEET this year. Pawan Kumar who cracks UPSC Civil Services exam celebrates success in his mud house A native of Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr, Pawan Kumar secured 239th rank in the UPSC Civil Services exam. Son of a poor farmer, his father wanted him to get any job that would aid him to reduce the financial crunch. His parents also asked him to do part-time jobs, but he refused and focussed on his preparation. Pawan from his childhood dreamt of being an IAS officer and completed his dream this year when the UPSC released the CSE 2023 results. Mother of two and a Rajasthan child bride Rupa Yadav cracked NEET UG Rupa Yadav, the child bride from a small village in Rajasthan, hit the headlines after clearing NEET UG 2017. Yadav is now a full-time doctor, a mother of two children, and a NEET PG 2024 aspirant. She did all this while being commissioned as a medical officer at a primary health care centre in the Khariya village of Nagaur district. During her preparation journey for NEET, she had to work on her farms or slog in the kitchen and then take time to study. She was just eight when she was married to Shankar Lal, who was four years older than her. Her zeal for education was noticed when she scored 84 per cent in Class 10. Despite having limited resources, the family agreed to let her pursue further studies. However, Yadav had to finish household chores and farm work before she left for school that was 6 km away from her village — at Kareri in Chomu near Jaipur. Determined to become a doctor after her uncle died of cardiac arrest due to lack of medical assistance, Yadav scored 84 per cent in Class 12. Student with muscular dystrophy ready to take on any new challenge that comes her way Another student from Hyderabad, Mehar Khatoon stands as an inspiration for many as despite having muscular dystrophy she is now a BTech student at IIT Guwahati. Having an active lifestyle, a major blow came to Mehar's life when at the age of 12 she was forced to use a wheelchair because of muscular dystrophy. After her issue, she stopped going to family functions because people there including her relatives would feel pity for her, and say things that would hurt her. Her journey in engineering started after Class 12 when she was fascinated by technology and got enrolled in JNTUH. ‘Fought depression, Covid to fulfil father’s dream,’ says AIIMS Rishikesh student Financial constraints became a roadblock for Sristi Saha's father when he wanted to become a doctor, but he made sure that his daughter did not have the same. West Bengal's Saha is now pursuing an MBBS from AIIMS Rishikesh. She recalls her batchmates were judged based on exam results but she was evaluated based on how her sister performed in the same exam the previous year. This lowered her self-confidence in her childhood. Srishti fought depression after she missed appearing for her NEET UG 2021 attempt because she tested positive for Covid. Just because of the missed exam, her sadness evolved into depression and she started taking antidepressants for two months straight. Those times her parents stood with her and she resumed her preparation with a set timetable, appeared for a mock test and analysed her mistakes. She cracked NEET UG in 2022. A cancer survivor from Tripura cracks NEET UG 2024 in first attempt Despite being in the hospital for majority of the days, Madhurima, a cancer survivor from Tripura, fought with odds and cracked NEET UG in her single attempt. Born and brought up in a small village in Tripura, Madhurima was adamant about becoming a doctor, but her life took a twist when she got diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma - DLBCL type, stage 4, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. She underwent treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. Despite the daunting challenges, Madhurima's determination to continue her education never wavered. During her days in the hospital, she used to study for the exam and took guidance from Allen Online. Having won against this aggressive cancer, she was able to crack NEET UG 2024 and is now pursuing her MBBS degree at Tripura Shanti Niketan Medical College.
