A teacher, Smriti graduated from the science stream and initially worked as an oncologist, but now she has switched her profession as she connects with kids. She has been working in the field of teaching for the last year and is enjoying it a lot.

Smriti K. Joshi is an English teacher at Curious Kids School in Udaipur.

Smriti was born in Kerala and brought up in Rajasthan. She completed her BSc and MSc in medical sciences. She initially worked as an oncologist after her medical studies. However, after marriage, she had to spend more time with her family; hence, she shifted from a medical to an educational career. Eventually, she completed her BEd and began her career as a junior high school teacher.

Recalling her childhood, Smriti says that she reminisces about some of her childhood memories, such as playing with cousins in her native place. She enjoyed her childhood thoroughly with her family and siblings.

Smriti’s role models are her parents. She saw their struggles, and she has immense respect for them. She credits their efforts for her professional achievement, and she strives to work as hard as they did.

Sharing her COVID experiences, Smriti says that during the COVID-19 pandemic, online education was the only option as physical classes came to a halt. From a professional perspective, it was difficult to deliver instruction due to the lack of adequate communication between students and teachers. However, she was also delighted to spend her time in the company of her young students, even though the classes were held online. On a personal note, she enjoyed spending time with her family. The risk was there, but she was really enjoying the lockdown period.

Advising aspirants in her field, Smriti advises that one should have patience with kids and the passion to teach. She feels that maintaining a positive classroom environment helps students better pursue their academic goals.

In her free time, Smriti likes to travel and explore new places. Her father was in the army, and hence he had to transfer from one place to another often. She enjoyed visiting new places with him.

Comparing education and experience, Smriti says that both are important and go hand in hand. She believes that education is important as a foundation for building experience.

If given a time machine to go back in time, Smriti would want to relive her childhood days when she played with her cousins in Kerala.