Lakhs of students in the country write the IELTS exams every year for further studies abroad, and aim for the best scholarships possible. This year Chakshudaa Masih is the only one from Hyderabad to win the British IELTS award, which won her a scholarship of Rs 3 lakh.
Having grown up with dogs and being from the family that runs Commando Kennels at Medchal, for Chakshudaa it was but obvious that she would go on to study animal behaviour.
“I leave this Sunday to study animal behaviour at the University of Chester, UK. I had to go through two stages of exams for the scholarship, a written part and an interview. I had almost given up hope and before sending the tuition fees, I decided to call them once. Right before I called, I got an email saying I had won. I remember I couldn’t stop jumping for 15 minutes,” she says.
Ask her why animal behaviour, she says with a laugh, “I have grown up with around 300 dogs, who are in the kennel. I remember when I would go to the zoo, I would always be fascinated. Someone I know is actually training a cheetah and that’s what I want to do as well, train a wild cat one day,” she says.
“We will have a work-based learning programme in the college, where I will be able to work at the famous Chester zoo,” she adds. Talking about how the scholarship has helped her, she says, “It gives me this sense of achievement, that I was able to fund a part of my tuition fees.”
