Driver's daughter earns US varsity scholarship

A daughter of a driver employed with the Haryana government has bagged a scholarship of USD 50,000 for pursuing a PhD in Chemistry from University of South Carolina, USA.

Poonam Dhull (24), daughter of Sureshpal, working as a driver in the Public Relations Department, hails from Bhana village in Kaithal district.

The young woman completed her senior secondary from OSDAV Senior Secondary School, Kaithal and pursued her B.Sc. (Medical) and M.Sc. in Chemistry from Panjab University, Chandigarh, before taking up research work on "Structure-activity relationships in a-fluorohydrins and their derivatives: A structural investigation."

Congratulating Poonam, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, expressed hope that she will excel in academics and bring laurels to the state.

Poonam gave the entire credit of academic success to her father and mother Sheela Devi.

"Despite coming from a humble background, my parents supported me and my younger brother and sister and always encouraged us to put in our best efforts," she told reporters here.

A structural investigation". Hailing from Bhana village in Haryana's Kaithal district, 130 km from here, Poonam studied in the DAV Senior Secondary School in Kaithal before coming to Chandigarh to complete her graduation in chemistry.

"My family supported me in achieving this. They encouraged me to study further and never let any financial difficulties bother me," Poonam, who has two younger siblings, a brother and sister, said. Suresh Pal said that he was proud of his daughter's achievement.

PTI