Hemavalli Padmanathan, Sinda Excellence Award

1st Class Honours – HSS Convocation 2009

A translation of an article featured in TAMIL MURASU:

Hemavalli, on the path of success

Over the past four years, Miss Hemavalli's tasks were to manage between studying for a bachelor's degree in Sociology, being the co-president of the NTU Sociological Society, and working as a research assistant as well as a tutor. And managed she did. At yesterday's convocation ceremony at the Nanyang Technological University, she graduated with First Class Honours in the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.

Just so she wouldn't burden her parents, Hema worked as a research assistant at the Division of Sociology at NTU, as well as tutored free-lance on a part-time basis. The income she derived from the two jobs, she explained, was used primarily to finance her living expenses, which included costs related to transport, food, textbooks and course materials.

She admits that, at times , she felt so overwhelmed that she considered withdrawing from the course. There were other times when she felt guilty that she had decided to pursue her education when she could have easily worked as a nurse to help out at home. However, it was at these moments of tribulations, that the support she received from her family, particularly her parents, that helped her pull through.
 Hema is testament to the fact that it is possible to manage between studies and co-curricular activities. In 2005, together with other like-minded students, Hema founded the NTU Sociological Society.

When asked what the key to her success was, she put it simply: self-motivation and hard work.