Lucknow :

At 17, Sushma Verma is used to earning accolades for academic excellence. She is India’s youngest girl to enrol in a PhD programme, that too, at 15. She was also recognised by the Limca Book of Records as the youngest student to pass class X at the age of 7 years, 3 months and 28 days old, in 2007. Yet, being called ‘extraordinary’ by President Ramnath Kovind was an experience in itself.

So stunned was Sushma that she couldn’t focus on whatever else Kovind said about her. “This was so unexpected. I feel humbled and blessed to have him compliment me,” said Sushma.

TOI has been following her since 2005 when she was just five and had enrolled in class IX at the UP Board-affiliated St Meera’s Inter College. Post her graduation, she joined MSc in Microbiology at BBAU. Not only did she complete her course but was the topper and was given medal by PM Narendra Modi in 2016 at the university’s convocation.

Lauding Sushma and Neelu Sharma, who in April won the UGC’s Swami Vivekanand single girl child scholarship, Kovind said, “Babasaheb (Ambedkar) samaanta ke paksh me the, par betiyan aaj unke sapno se aaagey nikal rahi hai (Ambedkar called for gender equality but girls are surpassing his expectations).” Neelu said, “I felt so important when people from President’s secretariat inquired about my work.”

Neelu enrolled in BBAU’s PhD in mass communication in 2015.

She is also a recipient of ‘Films for Change’ fellowship by a London-based Television Environment.

Both Sushma and Neelu were chosen by the university to share their experiences with the President.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / by Isha Jain / TNN / December 16th, 2017