Udupi : Neha D Shetty (595) from Jnanasudha PU College, Karkala, is excited and also unable to digest the fact that she is the second topper in State. Speaking to Neha said, she is stunned with happiness and has no words to explain her excitement. She adds, “It was an unexpected achievement. Although I had expected around 590, I did not expect to grab the second position. It is really wonderful that I could achieve it.”

Neha, who worked hard during exam holidays and studied four hours everyday, would relax by sketching on papers. She is interested in paintings. The daughter of a mechanic who works in Qatar and homemaker mother, Neha said she wants to be a chemical engineer and take up the course at any one of the NITKs. She added that she had scored 10th grade in her SSLC exams. She is waiting for her JEE results.

Neha says that everyone should believe in oneself. Being confident is the only way to reach success, she added.

Prajna (594) from Vidyodaya Pre-university College, Udupi, said she concentrated on NCERT text books. She had expected above 90 percent but not 594. She had scored 98.88 % in her SSLC examinations. She adds that she wants to take up computer science engineering course in NITK Surathkal. She has also written JEE exam and waiting for the results. She had no tuition facilities and would work for 4-5 hours a day, but would also watched TV as she liked Hindi channels. Bharatnatya and playing badminton are two things she likes the most apart from studying.

Pooja B Nayak (593) from Jnanasudha PU College, Karkala, says that she achieved success only through dedication and hard work. “One should not have negative thoughts as everything is possible in the world,” she adds. Giving credit of her success to her teachers, Pooja says that there were 6-7 preparatory tests, which helped immensely. “There were no regular holidays, and the students were trained round-the-clock by the dedicated teachers. A group of students was selected for rigorous study-cum-coaching, which was the major turning point in my life,” she cites. She wants to be a doctor if she scores well in CET. She wants to pursue medicine in Government Medical College.

Akshay G Rao (593) from R N Shetty PU College, Kundapur, travelled from Kelapete in Siddhapur to college, covering nearly 56 kilometres everyday. The lad, who wants to become an electronic and communication engineer, says that he was determined to achieve the goal and worked accordingly. The success of Akshay lies in concentrating on everyday lessons. He too did not take up any external coaching classes, but studied at home. Working hard on such lines has yielded him the better results.

Raksha Shenoy (593) from Jnanasudha PU College, Karkala, who scored seventh position in the Commerce stream, adds that she did not expect the rank. She worked very hard, to the extent of ignoring her food. Her college would offer her classes even during weekend holidays. Her only relaxation was watching TV barely for a few minutes after coming back from the college. She wants to be a chartered accountant and adds that she is happy living up to the expectations of her teachers.