Hard work and determination can take you to the achievement; you always dreamed of. Nothing can stop you from becoming what you aspire to be, if you are determined. Making her way to the prestigious Oxford University, Pratishtha Deveshwar has scripted history by becoming the first wheelchair-bound Indian to study at the prestigious University. Yes, the final year student of Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, has scripted history with the achievement and she is now the first wheelchair-user from India who will study at the University of Oxford. Her thrilling news that she shared on Twitter has inspired so many people and Indians at the moment are celebrating her success. From Labourer’s Son Prakash Fulwariya to Domestic Help’s Daughter Nandita Haripal, These Students’ Achievements Prove Limited Resources Cannot Stop You From Scoring Well. 

Pratishtha is originally from Hoshiarpur, and she is staying at the LSR college hostel in Delhi. At the age of 13, when she was travelling from Hoshiarpur to Chandigarh, Pratishtha met with an accident. She was paralysed from the chest down. “I stayed in the ICU for around four months and 3 years post the surgeries, I was completely bedridden because of which I was home-schooled. I scored 90% above in both class X and XII boards. I always knew that I could overcome my situation only with education,” she was quoted saying in Education Times report.

Overcoming all the challenges, the young girl now made it to the prestigious University in the United Kingdom. Taking to Twitter, she shared, “Thrilled to share that I'll be pursuing Masters in Public Policy from the University of Oxford! From the ICU where I fought for my life, to being the first wheelchair-user from India to get into Oxford-it has been a rollercoaster ride! I want to thank you all for your support!”

Pratishtha Deveshwar Shares the News on Twitter

Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh as well took to Twitter to congratulate Pratishtha. Meanwhile, netizens are excited and inspired to know her achievement. They congratulated Pratishtha on her new beginning. She also started a fundraising campaign, urging her Twitter followers to contribute to her dream, as studying at the University is expensive.

Fundraising Initiative To Support Pratishtha

While talking to ET, Pratishtha also expressed her disappointment that over all these years, no wheelchair user from India was given this opportunity. She intends to start a YouTube channel, while studying at Oxford to share her learnings and encourage more differently-abled people to study at the reputed University. She will soon be a student of Masters in Public Policy at Oxford University.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 22, 2020 07:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).