DEHRADUN: In times of salary cuts and loss of job opportunities due to the Covid pandemic, the Rs 21-lakh annual pay package offered to Uttarakhand girl Priyanka Bhatt certainly bucks the trend.
The 22-year-old, a native of Uttarakhand’s New Tehri, pursued her engineering in electronics and communication from Doon-based UPES after passing out from Purkal Youth Development Society (PYDS), which provides education to children from underprivileged families. PYDS factored in her entrance exam marks and her economic background before sponsoring her education.
Incidentally, several of the school's alumni -- mostly sons and daughters of maids, labourers and casual workers -- have got scholarships after passing out and have gone on to study in premier universities abroad.
Priyanka also hails from a humble background. Her mother is an anganwadi worker while her father works in the maintenance department at Tehri dam. The family is thrilled at the pre-placement offer that their daughter has got from an American MNC to work at their Hyderabad office. On her part, Priyanka attributes her success to the grooming she got at PYDS. “I first heard about PYDS through a friend. I was thrilled to get in there for my 11th and 12th. The school helped me realise my dreams and encouraged me to pursue them. Their support went a long way to help me get into UPES Dehradun from where I pursued my engineering in electronics and communication, wherein they sponsored my studies and paid for campus hostel fees, laptop etc,” she said.
