“Born into struggle, raised in limitations, but destined for greatness.” This sums up Seema Kumari’s journey from a remote Indian village where girls’ education is a taboo and child marriage is still in practice to a prestigious Ivy League university. Unlike the protagonist Anuja in the Oscar-nominated Anuja short film, Seema made it to Harvard University from the intersection of her small village and her boundless dreams. She earned a full scholarship to major in economics at Harvard.
Seema kicked off her legal journey to America with football. Hailing from Dahu, a small village in Jharkhand near the Indo-Bangladesh border, Seema had little access to education during her childhood. In her village of school dropouts, dreaming of higher studies is a daring act. Her parents had minimal schooling. Her father worked at a thread factory and struggled to make the ends meet for a joint family of 19 members under one roof. Seema once said,
“In my village, girls weren’t supposed to have dreams. They were supposed to help with chores, stay out of sight, and prepare for early marriages”.
In 2012, an unexpected visitor arrived in her village. Yuwa Foundation, an NGO, was looking for local kids for a football program aimed at empowering girls. Seema, only nine years old, didn’t hesitate to join the program. It was a decision that sent ripples through her conservative community. Between fetching buckets of water from a well and attending the local government school, she carved out time to join the team. What started as a simple game became a life-changing journey.
Football took her places. She played in local tournaments, then national championships, and eventually, international programs where she saw a world beyond Jharkhand. For her, football was more than a sport. It was a passport to possibility. “I just wanted to play. I never thought it would take me so far,” she once said in an interview.
While excelling in football, Seema had another battle to fight – education. Her class had 70 students, and learning felt distant and impersonal. Recognizing the potential of girls like Seema, Yuwa Foundation opened a school in 2015, reducing class sizes and bringing in teachers from across India and the US. For the first time, education felt personal, and the prospect of a brighter future felt real.
Determined to steer life to that future, Harvard’s Seema Kumari started working tirelessly. She became a football coach and paid her school fees from the salary, balancing academics and training with unwavering dedication. “There was the pressure of dowry and the cost of weddings in the village. Girls are a burden on their parents. You don’t get to live your education,” she had once admitted. But she gritted her teeth to change this narrative.
In 2018, she was selected for a summer program at Washington University and in 2019, she attended another at the University of Cambridge in England. Following Cambridge, she was one of the 40 students selected for a one-year exchange program in the United States. These experiences exposed her to new horizons, new cultures, new possibilities, and the epiphany that she was capable of much more than she had ever imagined.
Seema Kumari’s academic journey from India to USA culminated at Harvard University. It wasn’t even on her radar until one of her teachers encouraged her to apply. Seema hesitated. But with the support of her mentors, she took the leap and secured a full scholarship to Harvard. A divine blessing for a village girl for whom education is a luxury. Seema became a part of Harvard’s Class of 2025, majoring in Economics.
“I remember when I got the acceptance letter, I was happy, but my parents… they didn’t know what Harvard was. They had never heard of it.” She revealed in an interview. She became the girl who defied traditions and landed where no one from her village had ever dared to dream- the prestigious Harvard University in the USA.
When the news broke, it wasn’t just her village that celebrated. The world took notice. Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas congratulated Seema. News outlets flashed her name. For the first time, Seema wasn’t just a village girl with a dream. She became an inspiration. “It was overwhelming. People I had never met before were talking about me. But deep down, I knew this was just the beginning,” she said.
As she prepares to graduate this year, she is thinking beyond herself. Seema doesn’t want to be the exception. She wants to be the start of a revolution. “I want to go back and create something for the girls in my village,” she says. “A place where they don’t have to fight to learn, where they don’t have to choose between dreams and expectations.” She envisions an organization to empower girls and women in villages through education and financial independence.
