Rakshitha Ramesh, Karnataka girl who secured 41 ranks in the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) 2017 conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), aspires to become a neurologist.
Rakshita traveled 16 kilometers to and from her home and BASE integrated Sri Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain College in Vishweshwarapuram where she studied from 7.30 am to 4 pm. While traveling was tedious, she ensured when she got back home, she would brush off the exhaustion and study for at least four hours each day.
"Clearing NEET was important to me so there was no time to be tired," she said adding that she would take a break by watching TV while having dinner. It was only on Sunday that she allowed herself a longer break when she would play with her brother or go cycling.
The topper comes from a family of four in Nagavara, Bengaluru. Her father works as a software engineer while her mother is a homemaker and her younger brother is in class 10. She is the first in her family to pursue medicine as a career and hopes to do great things.
"India lacks doctors and above all, good doctors as everything is getting too commercial. Many hospitals recommend unnecessary operations to patients just to make money. I want to be a doctor who serves those in need," she said when asked why she wants to pursue medicine. She recommends that anyone who wishes to follow the field or crack NEET have a passion for the subject and should work towards it.
Rakshita kept away from distractions of social media and only accessed WhatsApp once her mother had filtered through and passed onto her whatever was important. "I had to use WhatsApp at times because our teachers would send pictures from the biology labs. Otherwise, I feel social media is a waste of time," she said.
When she heard that she had secured the top rank in the state Common Entrance Test (CET) she was happy but did not let this news distract her from preparing for NEET.