From a small village Wadhona, in Latur district to a metro like Mumbai, it has been a dream run for Damini Parsewar
Damini Parsewar never wanted to be like other village girls, but wanted to move out of the village. Starting her academics from the Zilla Parishad School in her village, Damini stepped out of her house to do her diploma from Yavatmal district, and then engineering from the College of Engineering in Pune where she successfully completed her B Tech. Determined and willing to go through the grind, Damini did face rejection in her first attempt during the campus placement, but did not lose hope, and made amends to the flaws and came out with flying colours in her second interview. Today placed at BPCL, her childhood dream to become an engineer in the technical field has been achieved. As she becomes nostalgic, she cannot believe that she has become an engineer and is the only girl from the village to have achieved this feat. “I have made my parents proud, and most importantly my village, and I am proud to be called a village girl. Hard work and determination helps people to achieve their dreams.” It was tough in the beginning, but there is always success after hard times, and this hope was the reason for Damini to have reached the pinnacle in her life.
"I have made my parents proud, and most importantly my village, and I am proud to be called a village girl. Hard work and determination helps people to achieve their dreams"
“I will support my family as because of them that I am something in the society. It is my duty to be with them,” says Damini. Being a topper throughout school and also in the board exam, she went on to do her polytechnic from a Government Residential women’s college in Yavatmal. “It was during this period that I was left to do everything by myself, which changed my life style. Washing clothes, keeping the room tidy and other things made me change my way of life,” says Damini.
Damini was one of the favourites in college as many students would come to her for guidance and she was ever ready to help them. “I used to help the students in studies which helped me enrich my knowledge,” says Damini. Being an outstanding student, getting admission to the College of Engineering in Pune was an easy task. “COEP was the turning point in my life. The college ambience and the teachers were all very helpful, and I am sure because of this the college is known as one of the best colleges in Maharashtra when it comes to engineering,” recalls Damini.
She came from a joint family, wherein members in the family shared each other’s viewpoints. Grandparents, uncles, aunties and their children kept the house always noisy. Her grandfather was the principal of the Zilla Parishad School where she did her schooling. “We are a joint family and my father is a farmer while my mother is a house wife.”
“Admission to the COEP was the happiest moment of my life. Many were of the opinion that it would be a big task to get into the college. However, being an outstanding student throughout school and college and with just one seat available for lateral entry students in the open category I had no option but to top Maharashtra. And it was the happiest moment in my life, as I succeeded in achieving the first rank in diploma and getting that seat in my dream college.”
Like many students, the first interview during the campus placement was not good for Damini as she was rejected by Sun Pharma. “That first failure created slight fear in me regarding the following interviews. I was emotionally shaken up as I could not accept the first rejection since I had consistently good results since my childhood. I thought to myself that I need to prepare well for the upcoming interviews.” Being strong and staying positive, Damini got placed at BPCL as an executive manager. “After my placement at BPCL, I understood the importance of the adage, “Failures are the pillars to success.””
Getting into one of the best PSUs changed Damini’s approach. “I am extremely happy that I got into one of the most reputed PSUs, but I cannot be complacent since I still have my whole life in front of me.” Now it was time for Damini to adjust herself into the new corporate world. “I have my task cut out as I need to adjust to a new place, a new organisation, new people and doing everything on my own which is a challenge in itself. My main aim is to excel in every field and explore new opportunities in the long run”.
“It was my parents who always supported me and encouraged me for further education, despite the financial crunch and also my teachers, especially at the government residential women’s Polytechnic College, Yawatmal.”
"First failure created slight fear in me regarding the following interviews. I was emotionally shaken up as I could not accept the first rejection since I had consistently good results since my childhood. I though to myself that I need to prepare well for the upcoming interviews"
By Joe Williams
