GIIS World spoke to three of the ten scholars selected in 2011.

Here are excerpts from talk with Mayank Kumar, CBSE Class 12, GIIS Queenstown Campus, Singapore.

I hail from the small town of Purnea in Bihar, India. In CBSE Class 10 exams 2011, I secured 99.99 percentile and was one of the five CBSE national toppers. After being scrutinised as one of the top 100 meritorious students of India, I was invited to witness the Republic Day parade 2012 in New Delhi from the box of Prime Minister of India. What I had been watching on TV for so long, all of a sudden, it became a reality. Sitting next to the Prime Minister of India Mr Manmohan Singh, then President Ms Pratibha Patil and the Chief Guest Ms Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, was an incredible experience for me. It filled me with a surge of pride and motivation.

Since childhood, I have been blessed with an ability to secure the top position in my class and meet the expectations of my parents and teachers. Growing up in a small town meant that there was a limitation for good quality schooling and my passion for studies outweighed the existing facilities. I received the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) scholarship to pursue my Secondary and senior secondary studies from JNV Purnea, one of the best schools of the region.

Recognising my exceptional performance in NTSE, NCERT invited me for a workshop in BIT Mesra.

Apart from academics, I have excelled in cultural and extra-curricular activities. I was a member of the Delegation to Japan under JENESYS (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students) Programme, where I was able to learn much about the culture of Japan and the integrity of the Japanese towards their work. It left a lasting impact on my mind.

Studying at GIIS has helped introduce me to the world outside and undertake an impressive quality of education at the same time. Being here has given me a better understanding of combination of the essential requirements for a junior college student and has clearly benefitted me in being what I am today, though it has just been a year since I joined the school. The school has entrusted me with the responsibilities of a Head Boy, which will not be an easy task given that I will have the duties required by the position along with my studies, but I take it as a challenge - a new venture which will help me learn more and improve myself. I am excited as this responsibility will help in developing a leadership spirit. I take it as a part of my training to become an all-rounder.

I dream of flying through the stars and aspire to be an astronaut by pursuing aeronautical engineering in the in future. However, I believe that life is meaningless if one doesn’t serve the society one belongs to. Especially, for someone like me, who originates from a very small town of a yet-to-develop state like Bihar, where age old beliefs and traditions prevail, I would like to look at it as my moral duty to help the people in some way. I always learn from what I see and try to improve myself.

I believe: “Have faith in yourself; have faith in God; just do your part of work and you will find all the doors opening for you. Let adverse circumstances not affect you, for they are meant not to weaken you but to give you an inner endurance, persistence and strength.”

Kalyani Subbiah, IB Diploma Year 2 student, GIIS Queenstown Campus, Singapore

For Kalyani Subbiah, her school career completed a full circle upon selection as a GIIS Scholar in 2011. In 2003, her parents were based in Singapore when she joined GIIS as a young girl a year after its inception, in Class 3. It was special selection as she had won a scholarship! In 2011, history repeated itself when she won another scholarship to GIIS, this time for IB Diploma studies. A trained Carnatic vocal singer who also plays the Western Classical violin and electronic keyboard, Kalyani Subbiah is not just in tune with the world of music, she went through stringent selection rounds and tough competition to be chosen as a GIIS Scholar.

She says, “The school has evolved and changed a lot from its small, humble Mount Sophia beginnings to its present state. Further, I met a lot of old friends whom I had not seen for years, which felt nice. I have been in Singapore before and wanted to come back ever since. I love the country, and it feels great to be studying IB Diploma in such a good school. So how has she fared as a student in her career and the reply is not surprising, “I have come first in my class since I was in Class 3, with the exception of Class 6 when I was second.” The daughter of a Senior Consultant for Asia Pacific at an MNC father and a homemaker mother, she adds, “My parents were elated that I had the privilege to receive this wonderful scholarship. They were also pleased that the scholarship programme provided for all the needs of a student studying in Singapore.”

Kalyani points out that there are several unique advantages for a GIIS student and those are: great teachers, numerous opportunities for extra-curricular activities, consistent academic record of the school and various arts to learn at GICC classes. With her keen interest in performing arts, it would be natural to assume that her future plans will keep that in focus, but she has a clear aim to pursue either physics or economics.

Adithya Rajan, IB Diploma Year 2, GIIS Queenstown Campus, Singapore

A global Indian, Adithya Rajan hails from the southern part of the country, but has spent his growing years in Gurgaon, near New Delhi. This has equipped him with a better understanding of different cultures.

In spite of an excellent academic track record, it was not easy to get selected as a GIIS Scholar says Adithya, adding, “The huge number of shortlisted students at each level makes it evident how hard the selection process would have been. Moreover, the expectations from family members made it a lot harder than it would have been. Still, I managed to stay calm throughout the interview and till the end due to which I think I made it to GIIS Singapore. Studying at GIIS is a certainly good choice for me. One gets a mix of Indian culture and global exposure. On one hand there are teachers with high level of expertise who though more liberal than their counterparts in India, provide the right guidance to us. The IB Diploma Programme in GIIS has helped me to become inquisitive and develop into a self sustaining individual. I tend to think twice before taking any decision, at each step trying to do something new, venturing out into new areas that might help to learn something different in life. Another aspect of being a GIIS Scholar is living in hostel. Here, I have met people I could not have been able to meet up with anywhere else, who inspire me and serve as exemplars for different aspects of life.”

Though more inclined towards academics, Adithya’s interest in cricket was enough to take him all the way to his school cricket team in Gurgaon in junior classes. He plays football and badminton with equal passion and abilities. Apart from sports, Aditya was the winner of the prestigious CBSE Heritage India Quiz 2010 at a national level.

About his future career interests, Adithya says, “Science has intrigued me since childhood, and to fulfil the passion to know more about it has been my aim throughout. And I wish to pursue a career in physical sciences which could help me in the fulfilment of this desire.”