Delhi topper wants to be a doctor

NEW DELHI: After a nail-biting wait, it was at 3pm on Monday that Shivika Dudani logged on to check her Class X result. The next few moments in front of her laptop were spent in disbelief. Later, flooded with a stream of congratulatory phone calls, the 15-year-old described these moments as the best ones of her life till now.
Shivika, a student of Amity International School in Pushp Vihar in south Delhi, found herself in the highest league, topper in the capital and second on all-India basis, after scoring 498 marks in the exam. She got full marks in English, science, and social studies, and missed a mark each in Hindi and mathematics.
Speaking to TOI, the elated girl said that she had worked hard but hadn’t imagined she would be the Delhi topper. “They say an accomplishment has to be accompanied by intense hard work in order to make that achievement worth the recognition,” she said a tad philosophically.
Her penchant for hard work and the desire to succeed saddled her with a systematic schedule. “I studied for about 12-14 hours a day during the exam period,” she disclosed. “On other days, I gave equal time to studies and extracurricular activities. I believe that breaks are important if one wants to study such long hours.” She added that conversing with friends is also very therapeutic and she made sure to set aside time for this. “I also listen to music and have an interest in arts and crafts,” she said.
Her father, Jaideep Dudani, is an engineer. Though he is an inspiration to Shivika in terms of work ethic, the daughter wants to go a different way. She wants to pursue a career in medicine and has opted for science with biology in the higher secondary course to facilitate this.
When asked about her motivation for working so hard and her choice of career, she said, “My main motivation is to help people. However, I’m also interested in researching and studying diseases and human conditions.” She said that providing help to someone brought a special kind of happiness and satisfaction and she hoped to experience these through a future medical practice. Her ideal choices of colleges are the capital’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Maulana AzadMedical College.
Grateful to her institute, Shivika said, “My schoolteachers were very supportive and always walked the extra mile for me. I plan to continue studying in the same school till Class XII and I will make sure to continue my hard work so that my result in the next board exams meets the mark.”