Walking on a lot of tumbling stones, switching between multiple career options, Praveen Meena has finally settled on being a Research Scholar.

Praveen Meena hails from a small village near Bhilwara. She did her primary and secondary education from Bhilwara. In school, she took up Science as a subject and wanted to pursue medical studies. She went to Kota for her studies but then realized her inclination was more towards Civil Services. She dropped her Medical studies and started preparing for the Civil Services examination. She went to Jaipur and then to Delhi, to pursue her dreams but just like every other middle class student, had to compromise, as these cities were too expensive. She came back to Bhilwara and even cracked the examination for Civil Services but could not join. She opted to try and crack the NET examinations, which would help her get some financial support by giving her a chance to get a scholarship. She cleared it and finally joined MLSU as a Research Scholar.

Praveen says that research nowadays has become more technologically advanced than it ever was and there is a huge scope for someone who wants to learn. She thinks research is a great career option as a person can apply for diploma and Phd degrees in foreign countries, go there to gain knowledge, and come back to share it with other fellow researchers which can be of great benefit.

During the onset of Covid-19, Praveen and her family were already aware, as her sister lives in a European country, about the virus that was to come to India, and they already started socially distancing themselves. For Praveen personally, the pandemic was a good time because after so many years, she got to spend so much time with her family, which she could not because of her studies.

Praveen was the first woman of her family who was able to pursue her education to an extent. Her mother is her inspiration who always supported her in and out, throughout her journey. Her mother always motivated her to study to gain knowledge and prove that girls are inferior to none.

In her free time, Praveen loves to do activities like gardening, sketching and cooking.

Praveen concludes by saying that education is very important in life, especially for females so that they can be independent. She thinks that if mothers are well educated, so will their kids, and so on we can make a well educated society. She emphasizes on the importance of reading books and says even if education is not easily accessible for a person, they should never stop reading books, because books are a man’s best friend.