Students aiming high and wanting to reach the pinnacle of success must cultivate the habit of inquisitiveness and paying attention to minute details of life, says Anurag Das, a 2009 batch student of B.Tech (Mechanical Engineering) of VIT University, Vellore, who recently won the coveted FedEx international student of the year scholarship fund of Rs 5 lakh to pursue MS in Mechanical Engineering in Purdue University. He won the scholarship from among 11,000 applicants. He had filled out an online application questionnaire and two tie-breaker essays within a specified time limit. His name was shortlisted among 10 students. The FedEx international student of the year scholarship was initiated as a means of providing one student the chance to win Rs 5 lakh to fund his/her education abroad and the opportunity to receive the award from Bollywood director Karan Johar and Rakesh Shalia, MD, marketing, Middle East, Indian Subcontintent & Africa, FedEx.
‘I owe my thanks to VIT University for shaping me and several other students both inside and outside classrooms,” acknowledges Anurag. Anurag was born in Cuttack, Odisha, and his father, a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineer, works as vice-president for travel and logistics at Mahindra Satyam. His mother is a homemaker, but had qualified in political science. His younger brother is in class 10. Anurag had four years of schooling in Hong Kong initially and completed class 10 and class 12 from Bishops School and Fergusson College simultaneously in Pune, India. Because his father had worked in different places, the family moved to different places in India and other countries, and Anurag studied in nine schools. “Enjoy the journey of your life: success will follow,” is the slogan of young Anurag.
