Tough times create tough people...

Greetings to you this Monday Morning!!
Last weekend as I was recruiting at some of the engineering colleges in the state, I had a very interesting experience. As we announced the results, one of the students in the hall asked me an interesting question-"What role does a student's family background play in the selection process?"
As I formulated my response, my thoughts went to a quote that I had read sometime back. It said, "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life but by the obstacles, which he has overcome to achieve it", and this captured the essence of my response.
As I travel across the country for my work, I meet a large number of students in connection with our campus recruitment programs. While most of them are much younger to me in terms of age, I often come across some remarkable success stories that make me feel like an extremely ordinary individual.
I am fortunate to be in a profession that keeps me in touch with the reality that I am among the blessed few who have received a lot of support from their family and have lived in circumstances that are very favorable in achieving a decent level of education. In contrast, there are students who face far more difficult circumstances, who are not so blessed to have highly educated parents, who do not have so much financial support, but who still make it to some of the top colleges in the country, where they work hard to create a tomorrow of their dreams.
In the last twelve months I have encountered some very inspiring success stories that have started in small villages in rural India and are now on the verge of entering the Indian software world.
I salute the spirit of such young people who rise above difficult situations through hard work, who nurture a dream of a better tomorrow, who exhibit strong determination and persistent efforts to meet their goals. And more importantly, I am thankful that I get ample opportunities to meet such people.

Have a great week!