Queen's welcomes Karta Scholars

Queen's welcomes Karta Scholars

The international Karta Initiative provides access to university for promising students from rural India.

November 30, 2021

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Photograph of Karta Scholars at Queen's.
Sahana Nayaka and Akshay Desale are the first two students to join Queen's through the university's partnership with the Karta Initiative. (카지노게임사이트 Communications)

Talented students are everywhere in the world, but, for many, a university experience is well out of reach.

Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s has committed to a range of programs to help address this challenge, including its partnership with the , an international charity that works to transform the futures of students from developing and emerging economies. In 2019, Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s signed an agreement with the Karta Initiative to support up to five Karta scholars from under-resourced areas in rural India to study at the university each year. Although the pandemic has limited this number so far, the university is pleased to be supporting two scholars this year.

Sahana Nayaka joined Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s as its first Karta Scholar in 2019, and Akshay Desale became Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s second Karta Scholar this fall. Since arriving on campus, they카지노 게임 컬렉션ve been busy adjusting not only to life at university but also to life in Canada more broadly. The Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s Gazette connected with Sahana and Akshay to learn more about how they came to Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s and where they hope their education will take them after they graduate.

The Karta Initiative offers a wide range of programs for students in rural India. You카지노 게임 컬렉션re both a part of the Karta Catalyst Scholars program, which provides students with financial and personal support to study at leading universities. It is open to only a select group of talented and community-oriented students. What was your path to becoming a Karta Scholar?

Sahana: It started for me in grade 11, when my school was selected to take part in the Karta Initiative. Several of us were selected to apply based on our grades, then later we had a series of interviews with the Karta mentors and had to write about ourselves, our background, and why we want to be part of Karta. A few of us were then officially selected as Karta members, which opened up opportunities like summer school and workshops on English. After two years of being members, we were then assessed again to determine if we could move on and become Karta Scholars. The main thing you카지노 게임 컬렉션re assessed on is your values, specifically flexibility, integrity, perseverance, and service. Not every member is able to become a scholar. If you카지노 게임 컬렉션re selected, you카지노 게임 컬렉션ll have an opportunity to study at a university. It was a very proud moment to find out I카지노 게임 컬렉션d been selected to become a Karta Scholar.

Akshay: My path was very similar to Sahana카지노 게임 컬렉션s. I became a Karta member in grade 10, which gave me the chance to learn a lot about life at universities and how they work. Then I became a Karta Scholar in grade 12.

As a Karta scholar, you had the option to pursue an undergraduate education at many universities in Canada, the United Kingdom, and India. Why did you choose Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s for your studies?

Akshay: Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s is a world-class university, and it provided me with a very good scholarship. I also knew that Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s was going to be a very supportive environment to study in. Through Karta, I got the chance to speak with Sahana about her experiences at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s and she told me how welcoming the community is here and how much mentorship you can find.

Sahana: I didn카지노 게임 컬렉션t know much about Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s except what I found on Google. But I knew I liked the subjects offered here, and I liked the flexibility Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s gives you in the first year find out what you want to study. I come from a science background and really enjoyed taking classes in all subjects, like physics, chemistry, biology, and math. So I wanted to continue to explore different subjects until I found out which one fits well for me, and Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s offered that opportunity.

How have you been settling into life at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s so far? Sahana, you카지노 게임 컬렉션ve been here a few years now so maybe you feel like you카지노 게임 컬렉션ve been comfortable here for some time.

Sahana: I do feel comfortable, and in large part that카지노 게임 컬렉션s because Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s has a great ecosystem of support for us. It makes us feel like we are a part of a community. Coming from a very rural area in India, it카지노 게임 컬렉션s a big transition to study at a university in Canada. For myself, and I think for Akshay too: we never imagined we would be here when we were growing up. To help us make this transition, Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s has provided us with support throughout our journey, especially from the Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s 카지노게임사이트 International Centre (QUIC) and other units in Student Affairs. At the beginning there was definitely some culture shock and language adjustment, and Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s has helped us through it all.

Akshay: My experience has been pretty similar to Sahana카지노 게임 컬렉션s. I also come from a rural background in India, so studying at a university like Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s is huge for me. And it카지노 게임 컬렉션s a very huge transition. The cultures are different. People and perspectives are different. Everything is different here. But people come to Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s from very different backgrounds. And everyone is open to every kind of background. This has helped me a lot. So I feel I have been settling in really well in terms of making friends here, and sharing my culture with them and learning about their cultures. And like Sahana said, we have access to all kinds of resources and moral support at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s through QUIC, Student Affairs, and other offices on campus. We카지노 게임 컬렉션ve been getting help whenever we need it.

Since you카지노 게임 컬렉션re feeling so supported that probably helps you have the energy to focus on your coursework. What subjects are you studying at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s? Have you had any favourite courses yet?

Akshay: I am in the computing program, and I really enjoy coding. So one of my favourite courses this term is CISC 101, where we카지노 게임 컬렉션re being introduced to coding and learning Python, a programming language. What I really enjoy about coding is the sense of completion I get from it, the sense I카지노 게임 컬렉션m really building something and creating something of my own. I find that very satisfying. When I study other subjects, I feel like I need to take a break after two or three hours. But when I study coding I feel like I can do it forever. Everything can be done in different ways when you카지노 게임 컬렉션re coding. That카지노 게임 컬렉션s one of the best things about it.

Sahana: I am a mathematics major, and one of my favourite courses has been one I카지노 게임 컬렉션m taking this term, Introduction to Finance. I like working with numbers and learning how money works. It카지노 게임 컬렉션s really interesting to see what happens when money moves from one place in the economy to another. Finance also gives me the chance to blend my interests in math and economics together. I took economics courses my first two years and really enjoyed them. Since I카지노 게임 컬렉션m in third year, I feel like I need to start figuring out what I want to do, and my interests are starting to move more towards finance.

So you카지노 게임 컬렉션ve started to talk about what you might want to do with your life. You both obviously still have a lot of time to figure things out, but as of now where do you see your career or education going after you graduate from Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s?

Sahana: For now, I카지노 게임 컬렉션m not really sure, but I think I want to pursue graduate studies. Maybe a master카지노 게임 컬렉션s in finance or an MBA. I would also be open to working. I still need to figure out my path and where I want to be after graduation.

Akshay: Within the computing program, I카지노 게임 컬렉션ll be focusing on artificial intelligence. And I카지노 게임 컬렉션m also learning data science. By the end of fourth year, I카지노 게임 컬렉션m hoping to start studying higher level machine learning and other subjects related to data science. After I graduate, I카지노 게임 컬렉션d like to try to find a job working in data science for a big tech firm like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, or Amazon.

Earlier, you both noted how coming to Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s from rural India was a big transition for both of you. What카지노 게임 컬렉션s one thing you were really surprised by when you arrived in Canada?

Akshay: I knew a lot about Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s and Canada from Sahana before I got here. But I was still surprised by how warmly accepted I was by the other students. I knew everyone would be kind to me, but I still wasn카지노 게임 컬렉션t sure if I카지노 게임 컬렉션d really be accepted and make friends easily. But I was surprised that my background made no difference when it came to making friends. People welcomed me and included me from the start.

Sahana: Coming from a huge country like India with one of the highest populations in the world, I was surprised by how few people there seemed to be here when I first came. I remember asking myself: 카지노 게임 컬렉션where are the people?카지노 게임 컬렉션 And like Akshay I was surprised by how nice the people are. Then winter was a big surprise too. The first time it snowed, I was very excited. But each time it카지노 게임 컬렉션s snowed after that I think I카지노 게임 컬렉션ve found it less exciting.

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