This was a lady who nearly didn’t go to highschool. This was a lady who grew up in a small village in Maharashtra’s Solapur district, the place her father was a safety guard. This was a lady for whom the considered going to check within the UK was so unattainable that she didn’t even dream about it. Until, in fact, she did.
Dhanshree Gaikwad’s journey to success started from small-town Solapur. As her father’s job as a safety guard in a faculty was not sufficient to make ends meet for his or her household of six, her elder sister took up a job whereas her mom took up tailoring. They determined to shift to Pune for higher prospects.
“We used to outlive off Rs 4,000 a month after we first got here to Pune in 2015,” Dhanshree, the second amongst 4 siblings, mentioned whereas chatting with The Indian Express from the UK. “My father didn’t have a job for the primary few months. We regularly labored our method upwards.”
What labored for her was a close-knit household and a mom as a staunch supporter.
Dhanshree accomplished her Class 10 with a commendable 75 per cent marks and pursued a diploma in IT. After graduating with 81 per cent marks, she moved on to learning pc expertise at MIT World Peace College with a scholarship. (Specific Picture)
“My father and my grandparents have been initially not very eager on even sending my sister and me to highschool. It was the mindset of the 90s. They believed in saving up for marriage as an alternative of teaching their lady little one,” mentioned Dhanshree, who studied in a authorities college until Class 4 till her mom intervened to make sure she and her sister went to the identical college as their two brothers.
“My mom herself didn’t have the prospect to go to highschool. Her dependency on the male family members for the smallest of issues irked her, which is why she wished my sister and me to be unbiased,” she added.
Dhanshree accomplished her Class 10 with a commendable 75 per cent marks and pursued a diploma in IT. After graduating with 81 per cent marks, she moved on to learning pc expertise at MIT World Peace College with a scholarship.
“Transitioning from Marathi to an English syllabus was a hurdle. I had difficulties understanding the syllabus, which resulted in a backlog,” she mentioned.
In 2016, Dhanshree joined Tech Mahindra to help her household. Juggling a full-time job and her research hindered her participation in faculty. “I misplaced all my confidence and I began missing in my data on programming. That is why I couldn’t sit for campus placements,” she mentioned.
Regardless of these setbacks, she managed to graduate in 2018 and took up a job at DBS Financial institution to clear off her household’s money owed.
Challenges and alternatives
The Covid pandemic introduced a brand new set of challenges and alternatives. Dhanshree’s household, desperate to see her settled, started encouraging her to think about marriage. Then got here alongside a non-resident Indian pursuing a master’s degree in the UK. Although the connection didn’t work out, it opened her eyes to new prospects. Motivated by his steerage, she started exploring alternatives to fulfil her dream of working in a tech-based area.
Decided to pursue this purpose, Dhanshree navigated the bureaucratic maze to acquire a passport and scholarships. Initially, she visited authorities places of work alone to keep away from bothering her household. She mentioned, “Touchdown a authorities scholarship was unattainable due to the corrupted system. I nearly gave up however my youthful brother and father helped me with an schooling mortgage.”
In 2022, Dhanshree lastly secured admission to Plymouth College in England for a grasp’s programme in information science and enterprise analytics with a scholarship.
Unbeknown to her, nonetheless, this was simply the beginning of a sequence of different challenges.
“I had paid round Rs 70,000 for lodging. After I lastly landed within the UK at 9 am I realised no such landlord or handle exists. I used to be scammed and homeless on my first day of arrival,” Dhanshree mentioned. She recalled dwelling in buddies’ homes and inns with out telling her dad and mom about her newfound hardships.
In Plymouth, she discovered the small-town atmosphere appropriate for her research and inexpensive dwelling. She mentioned, “You must select your community correctly. You’ll by no means know your true potential till you haven’t risked all the pieces. I additionally knew my obligations. I didn’t have anyone checking on me however I by no means went clubbing or shopping for pointless issues as a result of I knew that I had finances constraints. Actually, I by no means went to London as nicely.”
Isolation and the stress of job searches and the gap together with her household additionally frightened Dhanshree, however she didn’t surrender. “I by no means blamed the job market. The recession has all the time been there. I all the time believed that I had to enhance to do higher after each interview,” she added.
The expertise taught her resilience. And it was not lengthy earlier than she secured a job in an IT firm. Right now as she lives a whole-new life, not solely has she made her household proud but additionally proved some extent to all of the naysayers.