"Times are changing and people are changing," says 22-year-old Gayathri, a graduate student who overcame immense obstacles in her childhood with the help of C2C and partner CSS (Center for Social Services). We first shared Gayathri’s story on our blog in January 2021, and since then, she has made extraordinary strides in the fulfillment of her life goals.
Gayathri is proof of C2C’s belief in ““The Power of Her,” as she is using the education and life skills she gained through C2C and CSS programs to create her own future and to make positive changes in the world. After a difficult childhood and the loss of her parents, Gayathri is now earning her master's degree in Computer Science at Wright State University in Ohio. She pinpoints her enrollment at CSS in 6th standard as the moment when she began to concentrate on her education and to realize that she could have goals for herself.
Gayathri recalls that her math teacher helped her both define her dreams and establish a way to achieve them. The teacher was also Gayathri's favorite because she explained the issues girls are facing in the current world, motivating Gayathri in ways beyond academics. Gayathri continues to be influenced by this lesson. While she once dreamed of becoming an astronaut, she has now focused her knowledge on an idea for a computer app intended to help girls with insecurity issues. She is currently thinking about and making plans for developing this app.
From her personal situations as a child, Gayathri has firsthand experience with the barriers girls face in obtaining an education. She recalls that girls were always expected to do household work or were forced into early marriages rather than being allowed to go to school. "The thought that...girls are meant only to do household chores needs to be removed," she says. "That is the main thing, the main barrier...that can be removed only when (girls) become strong. Whenever we are strong, we can remove that hurdle."
Gayathri says such biases and barriers to education can only be broken when people establish equality and work cooperatively together. "If society thinks that men and women are equal, then I think that is a safer… society," she says. "This can be achieved only by working together."
Gayathri has not only discovered her own strength, she has conquered all barriers to her education and success. Her journey is one of immense fortitude, as there was a time when her life seemed hopeless. "After the death of my parents, my life collapsed," she says. "I didn't know what to do. Everything in a second was vanished. I was in a traumatic situation. For days, I was not able to speak even with my sisters."
After further difficulties with her relatives, Gayathri's uncle helped her enroll at CSS, where she gained friends, mentors and role models. "CSS has become a major part of my life," she says. "What I am able to achieve today is because of CSS...and until my graduation, my education was supported by C2C. These are the opportunities God has given me. Because of that, I could achieve more and more and more things."
Gayathri learned how to overcome difficult situations from the founders of CSS, whom she counts as her personal role models. "(They) would always tell us one thing—never stop dreaming," she says. "Never stop asking. I'm never stopping to dream." For her, self-confidence and belief in oneself are qualities necessary for success.
Because she has benefited from positive mentors and influences, Gayathri is committed to giving back to both her own community and society as a whole. In this way and many others, she further epitomizes C2C’s belief in “The Power of Her,” which focuses on empowering young women with the practical knowledge, confidence, and determination to break down barriers and chart their own future.
"I want to help my younger sisters at CSS to achieve their goals," Gayathri says. "I want to become like a role model for them...I want to give back to society in whatever way I can."