Sharon Fiona, daughter of a vegetable vendor in Telangana, is poised to pursue the Master of Science in Finance from The Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas in Dallas, USA.
Fiona, the 22-year-old girl, had never dreamt of studying overseas when she was young because of her poor financial condition, as per the report of The News Minute.
The daughter of Buchimallu, 60, and Mariamma, 50, Sharon Fiona said that her father is a vegetable vendor, who works as a night watchman as well, as he is the sole breadwinner in a family of four. While her mother is suffering from breast cancer and lives in their native village.
“My parents have always encouraged me to pursue higher education and with that in mind I have always managed to top my class,” said Fiona.
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Additionally, her sister is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Technology after completing her studies at the Telangana Residential Educational Institutions Society.
Though Sharon is satisfied with her achievement, she feels discouraged as she cannot afford the education at the university.
In fact, she completed her school and college education through sponsorships and scholarships. Sharon finished her Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance) at Queen Mary College in Hyderabad holding the highest score.
This time as well, she had been selected among thousands of applicants and was granted a one-time scholarship of 1,000 USD.
Besides, Fiona has been shortlisted for the Telangana governments’ foreign education fund for minorities, offering a scholarship of Rs 10 lakh each year.
Despite the assistance, Sharon is struggling to pay the course fees that would cost her approximately Rs 27 lakh. Apart from the scholarship, she requires Rs 17 lakh for the first year.
Sharon aims to research microfinance using her knowledge in helping people in India. After exhausting all resources available to her, she started seeking help by raising funds. Through Impact Guru, a crowd funding platform, she has managed to raise over Rs 29,000 so far.
