“None but the brave deserve the fair,” said John Dryden, England’s first Poet Laureate in the 17th century. This proverb is true about Prem Kumar, a 17-year-old meritorious boy from an underserved community in rural backwaters of India. Prem Kumar, a 12th grader and son of a daily wager who struggles to feed his family of four members, will travel to the US later this year for a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He has earned a scholarship worth Rs 2.5 crore to study Mechanical Engineering and International Relations at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.
Gonpura Village with a little more than 1000 residents in Patna district of Bihar, far from the modern trappings of city life, has been the talk of the (social media) town since the news of Prem Kumar broke out. He is the first not only in his family but in the village and Bihar’s Dalit community to attend college, and that too, in America. His achievement is nothing short of a festive celebration in the village.
What the most remarkable is that he is one of the six students who have bagged the Dyer Fellowship from Lafayette College this year. Located 70 miles from New York City and 60 miles from Philadelphia, Lafayette College was founded in 1826 and is considered a hidden Ivy in the northeast US. Students of Lafayette College from around 60 countries get access to more than 200 clubs and organizations, including ‘Engineers without Border’ that received a grant of $75,000 from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for implementing sustainable, gravity-fed water systems in neighboring villages.
Lafayette College awards the Dyer Fellowship to meritorious students with an extraordinary problem-solving attitude to impacting human lives and improving the socio-economic condition of various communities. The ₹2.5-cr scholarship will cover all the expenses that studying in America usually incurs to foreign students, including travel from India to USA, health insurance, tuition fees, accommodation, books, etc.
Needless to say, Prem Kumar is thrilled over what he described as a ‘dream come true’ for him. “My parents could never go to school. Getting this scholarship and the opportunity to study abroad is incredible to me,” he said with tears of joy in his eyes. He credits his success to Dexterity Global, a non-profit organization that helps rural youths from underprivileged communities and groups with educational opportunities and upskilling programs. Dexterity Global has empowered over 7 lakh students by fulfilling their educational aspirations, according to Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development.
Sharad Sagar, the founder and CEO of Dexterity Global, is committed to bringing deserving students from the gloomy world of India’s economically disadvantaged communities to the light of education and enlightenment. Forbes featured him among ‘30 Social Entrepreneurs under 30’ in 2016. Students including Prem Kumar (when he was 14), who Dexterity Global recognized for their merit, have earned scholarships worth Rs 100 crores in total. The Mahadalit children in Bihar is one of the focus groups that Sharad Sagar and his organization are working for.
Travel Beats strives to promote achievements of young Indians through the continued series of inspiring stories. Travel Beats is an overseas community portal by Indian Eagle, a most trusted travel-booking partner of Indians abroad.
Prem is a #DexterityToCollege fellow from Gonpura village in Bihar. His father is a daily wage earner. Prem has been selected to study at the prestigious Lafayette College in US on a ₹2.5 crore scholarship. He is likely the first Mahadalit student in India to achieve this feat. pic.twitter.com/q5XZAgnvQZ
— Sharad Vivek Sagar (@SharadTalks) July 7, 2022