Tanya Kakkade: Chasing Big Dreams

Limitless opportunity and a chance to excel can provide the motivation for even the young to do whatever it takes to improve their lives. Grade eight student Tanya Kakkade believes that her education and growth at the Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad will enable her to pick and choose from the top universities in the world.

The attraction of those possibilities drove her to leave her previous school in Chennai and come to Hyderabad. “I’d always wanted to join a residential school, but the Academy hadn’t been built last year and no grade eight program. This school has a lot of opportunities once you finish; it has a good way of learning and gives you leadership qualities.”

She likes the fact that the AKA doesn’t just focus on education and career development but also on becoming well-rounded adults, encouraging students to participate in a number of activities. Tanya also enjoys being able to try new things at the school during her free time and participating in clubs that will help her in the future, including theatre and publications.

“I want to become a layer; I enjoy fighting for rights and arguing. I can imagine myself getting out of school and getting a lot of job offers or applying for top universities.”

While Tanya left her family behind in Chennai, she hasn’t felt that going to school in Hyderabad has been particularly challenging.

“The school is like a family, so you don’t always miss home [and] they never make us feel homesick. My parents miss me a lot but they say that it’s for [my] education and the AKA is the best school so [they] sacrifice a little fear for [my] good future.”

With her passion for human rights, it’s obvious that Tanya has the makings of a successful professional in the legal field. “I’ve not decided yet, but I’d like to become a business lawyer. I always wanted to go [overseas], maybe apply to a lot of universities and pick from the best.”

In Tanya’s mind, regardless of her future plans, her experiences at the Aga Khan Academy have begun to give her a foundation that she can be proud of.