Neha Shetty
With my dreams fading away
a friend introduces me
to U-GO
Career: Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Meet Neha Shetty. The school bell rings at the end of another day at secondary school. Neha waits patiently for her younger brother to meet her. Together, they must travel 20 kilometers on foot, over dangerous hilly terrain of paved roads and dirt tracks, to their home in the village of Narikombu. Although her father arranges transportation for their morning school commute, the steep cost of an auto-rickshaw ride, over 100 rupees ($1.20) one-way, is too much for the family to bear daily. The three-hour trek home is the sacrifice she and her brother endure every day so that they can continue to afford school. This is the price of an education.
Neha looks out across the schoolyard, scanning for her brother; she sees him approaching. As the oldest, she knows she must do her part to help the family. In the heat of the late afternoon sun, she and her brother set out on the arduous route home.
After all, she thinks, walking makes more sense financially.
The long journey home affords her time to think about her future. She is keen to go to university to study computer science, but her family’s financial situation is worrying her. Every day she sees her parents working tirelessly to support her and her brother. Her father, a sales executive, with sales quotas to meet, sells air conditioning systems and kitchen appliances. Her mother is a nurse, working long hours at the clinic. Despite both being employed in stable jobs, they’ve stretched themselves thin financially, caught up in the endless cycle of repaying personal and educational loans. Every bill due puts them deeper in debt.
Her brother asks if they can stop to rest by the side of the road. She agrees but only for a short break. She wants to make it home by dark. She has chores and homework to do. With only a few more kilometers to go, she reflects on her hometown, the peaceful, close-knit farming community of Narikombu, steeped in religious significance. Neha feels fortunate to have grown up in a place of such rich history and culture with its temples and shrines that attract devotees from far and wide. But she dreams of new horizons with exciting new opportunities. She urges her brother to continue. She has work to do to finish secondary school and apply to university.
After all, she thinks, a university degree makes sense.
Now in her second year at Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management, Neha is pursuing a Bachelor of Engineering degree, specializing in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning. She enjoys the rigors of university, working on projects to solve real-world problems, with a particular interest in the field of cybersecurity. She is proud of herself, and on her way to realizing her dream.
One day her situation takes a drastic turn with a stark warning from the university: pay your fees immediately. The thought of dropping out, after all her efforts, is heartbreaking. She must find a way to come up with the money. But how? Already behind in payments, the accumulation of daily interest is quickly adding up. Like her parents, she is now facing the prospect of loans leading to crushing debt. With her dreams fading away, a friend introduces her to U-GO, a source of financial aid previously unknown to her. Neha applies through U-GO partner, Buddy4Study, a leading scholarship portal in India. The day she receives her acceptance, relief washes over her. She can continue her education.
With the financial burden eased, her academic journey continues with renewed purpose. It reaffirms her belief in the power of persistence, to never give up on the long road to reaching her goals. Inspired by U-GO’s mission to support young women, like herself, she hopes that in the future she can contribute to society by creating a nurturing place where young women can receive guidance, access learning materials, and find the inspiration to excel in their respective fields.
After all, she thinks, educating young women makes sense.