Hemendra experienced a transition from a small village to city life which motivated him to pursue his dreams.

Hemendra Pratap Singh Rathore hails from a small village in Chittorgarh. He completed his secondary education from his village and went ahead to pursue his senior secondary from Kota with Science as his subject. Simultaneously, he enrolled himself in IIT coaching and started preparing for competitive exams.  A sudden shift from a small village to a big city introduced him to the realities of life since he met new people and learnt new things. He gives due credit to his father for sending him to Kota for further studies.

Later, he came to Udaipur and completed his BSc from Mohanlal Sukhadia University and MSc from BN College. While pursuing his graduation, he joined NCC wherein he got to know the true meaning of unity and discipline, how to proceed in life and staying organized. He visited different NCC camps across Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad and learnt about one’s culture, language and food habits. Currently, he is pursuing a Bachelor of Education and has joined Aravali Teachers Training College.

For students who wish to take up teaching as a profession, Hemendra shares that one can choose to become a teacher or a lecturer. To become a teacher, students need to undergo a two-year teachers’ training course which is Bachelor of Education, after which they can appear for 1st and 2nd-grade teacher exams. For students who wish to teach in colleges, they have to appear for UGC NET and pursue PhD, he says.

Discussing COVID, Hemendra shares that he went back to his village since there were strict restrictions in the city. He spent time with his family and on the farm, however, he mentions the challenges faced by covid patients to commute to the city hospital from the village.

Between education and experience, Hemendra says that education is foremost, however, one has to struggle to gain experience which is equally important. He feels that experience gives one an opportunity to delve into a practical environment and learn from it.

His role models are his parents and he gives credit to them for whatever he has become today.