As a child, I was very quiet and disciplined. I lacked the mischievousness, which is otherwise evident in children of my age. My uncles say that I was very inquisitive and asked questions they had no answer to. At one point, I got interested in the military and wanted to become a spy. Later when I was old enough to make decisions, I found science to be a better career option for me than the military. Securing admission at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and qualifying in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) are the major accomplishments that I am proudest of. IIT was a dream that I had never thought would come true. GATE is probably the only exam that I cleared solely based on my retained knowledge and without studying. The decision to drop out of Army School has totally changed my perception of success. It made me more resilient and ceased my fear of failing. Had I not dropped out, perhaps I wouldn’t have been where I am today. The IIT dream might not have been ful…

I completed my schooling from a public school. Having attended a public school, I faced humiliation and subjugation by the hands of my own friends who, on the other hand, had studied at a private school. They held a perception that the students from public schools are basically worthless. That experience prompted me to bridge the gaps between private and public education and its students. When my friend mentioned Teach For Nepal for the first time, I was really amazed. I then tried to gather more information about it through their website and Facebook page. I was intrigued by their motto that envisions, “One day all children in Nepal will attain an excellent education.” The movement’s remarkable work in the education sector encouraged me to apply for the Fellowship. My first meeting with Teach For Nepal was wonderful. I still remember my interaction with Anu Karki, who had an encouraging personality. Her kindness and friendly nature aided in strengthening my confidence. I want to e…

I was born in Thecho which is a small village located in Lalitpur. Around 200 households settle there and a mixture of various cultures and ethnic groups binds the village together. My father has completed secondary schooling and is working as a supervisor. My mother on the other hand, has never attended school. She owns a clothing store and can be found working there. Overall, most of my childhood hovered around music, sports and hanging out with friends. I was very much into sports and music. When I represented my school in an inter-school solo singing competition, I emerged as a winner. Despite the victory, my proudest accomplishment would have to be the one where me and my team worked on a water supply project by building a reservoir tank and an individual tap stand in Gorkha. My motivation of making an effort to invest my time for the nation made me apply for the Teach For Nepal Fellowship. I have a zeal to contribute something for my country and I am positive that Teach For N…

My father is a hard working person who has always made his family his first priority. He is a retired teacher who served Nepal Government for 25 years or so. His first school was located in Jajarkot away from our village- Gaughat in Banke district where I was born. Later I started going to a nearby school and my father was the head teacher there. As he was transferred frequently, my school kept changing. My home changed, so did my community and my friends. I remember studying in class five in a government school and thus being ‘downgraded’ to four in a private school. My mother was always busy with household activities until she ran a shop in Dolpa, my father’s new work place. There again, I was sent to a new school. Till my S.L.C. I already had the experience of two private schools and three government schools and felt the difference in the quality of education in public and private schools. Despite that, every new place presented new challenges and I learned to cope with them. I …

Soon as I landed in the US, I realized how much my country had been left behind in the developmental race. During my time there, I got involved in civic engagement through my college student association and I met many passionate people who wished to see positive changes in others and not just themselves. I remained concerned about Nepal, its people, politics and economics. I started writing, reading about it in many of my classes as well. By the time I was graduating, I had an increased understanding and I was looking for ways to put my education into use. When I interviewed for various jobs, I realized that I wanted to work in my own country where my help was needed the most and to work with those whom I could connect to the most. I wanted to come back with a plan and some savings. But the April earthquake happened and I felt like nothing was more urgent than Nepal. I was awake day and night, trying to chat with friends and family collecting information about resources and help an…

Education has always has been the first priority in our family, so my parents gave (me, my elder sister and my two brothers) the best they could for our growth and learning. During my +2 days I started to help my friends to understand different lessons and found it very pleasing experience to share the knowledge I had. Since then, I have been helping my friends from +2 and bachelors in different subjects and lessons. After working in IT sector for about 1 and half years,and looking at my past,I asked questions to myself, “Am happy from my life? Have I done anything to be proud of ? Have I been doing my dream job ?” And the answers to these questions were “no.” Asking this sort of questions to me by myself, now I have stumbled upon this platform of TFN that is giving me once in a lifetime opportunity to share the knowledge I have learnt with the students who are in the most need. As a Teach For Nepal Fellow, along with improving my leadership and communication skills, I will h…

I was born as the eldest daughter of my family. I would describe my childhood as happy. After my grandfather passed away, we moved to Kathmandu. My father was in the army and my mother ran a shop in the neighborhood. But everything changed when my father lost his job. Business was very slow at the shop. We reached a point where my parents couldn’t afford to pay our school fees. But my mother didn’t give up, she started doing laundry for people and worked as a warden in a school. My brother and I joined a new school. It took me nearly a year to get used to the new environment, friends and teachers. But I started doing better in studies and secured the second position in grade nine. My mother was the happiest person that day. I earned a scholarship to pursue higher studies and started working at Drishti Nepal while completing my undergraduate degree. I joined Teach For Nepal with the aim to help students like me who for whatever reason haven’t been able to perform well in studies.…

I never had a clear figure of what I wanted to become as a child but I had always imagined myself working for a greater purpose rather than just for making a living. Whenever my friends would talk about their future aims and the career they would be in I would always question myself about the very purpose of my existence. Going deeper in the society we get to realize that there is uneven availability of resources and services to the students studying in different schools of the country. Every nook and corner of the country has such schools and institutions where the students do not enjoy what they should be in terms of education. I have always been visualizing myself working for such an organization that focuses on having an impact on society. Since Teach For Nepal, as well all know directly intervenes in the sector of education I found it fulfilling my idea of a career. TFN Fellows touch the life in the community and touch the life in the community in various ways. The Fellows teac…

I was born in Bhuj, a city in the state of Gujarat. I belong to a small village called Kyakmi located 4 hours away from Syangja. My father is an ex Indian Army personal and my mother is homemaker. The phrase “jack of all trade, master of none, though of times better than master of one” perfectly sums up my school days. As a child I was very shy and would spend my days drawing and playing with my brother. Nonetheless I would participate in the competitions organized by the Family Welfare Association of the cantonment. Through this, I slowly started becoming a competitive person which reflected in extra-curricular activities at school and academics. I was blessed with amazing teachers throughout my educational journey. They have mentored me, provided me with correct exposure of the world outside the boundary walls of school. They gave me the freedom to explore my way through academics and just the amount of optimum pressure to mold me into the person I am today. What encouraged…

I was born in Okhaldhunga, and lived in Inaruwa, Sunsari until I was 7 or 8. For the last 20 years, since Grade 1, I’ve called Kathmandu home. When I was a child, I only wanted to play. I did well in school, but I never remember studying. Even during the SLC, I don’t remember studying that much, or a single day when I wasn’t playing cricket. There was a 1-day holiday before the math exam during the SLC, and we set a cricket match for that day. Even at Pulchowk, where I received admission with merit scholarships, I wasn’t someone who studied constantly. From when I was a child, my father talked about me becoming an engineer. I studied Civil Engineering mostly because that was where I received admission – but it was only around my third year that I understood the importance of Civil Engineering in the context of Nepal, and felt interested in the subject. Until I started working, I’d never left Kathmandu. I had always wanted to work somewhere rural, to leave the city and work. So …