Education India Project #39535

Mission: University

by The Good Shepherd Agricultural Mission

Project Report | Jul 5, 2023
Another Year Complete

By John Marshall | Project Leader

Jackie ready to take on the world.

The Mission: University program was started in the fall of 2019 with 8 students. Now, nearly four years later, nearly 30 students are getting the opportunity at higher education that otherwise never would have existed. Without your support and encouragement, none of this would be possible.

This update will introduce you to a few faces in the program, one in her first year and one just graduating. These two students are full of potential that you are helping to unlock. Thank you as always for your support!

Jackie, Bachelor of Commerce - Year 3 of 3

Commerce is a serious degree and honors in International Finance and Accounting with Association of Chartered Certified Accountants brings it up to a whole new level! You know Jackie must be smart to be able to handle such a tough degree like this, just look at the subjects he's currently studying:

Advanced Financial Management
Business Analysis
Indirect Tax Laws
Corporate Reports
Project Management
Investment Management

Advanced Financial Management is Jackie's favorite subject. "It is more project based", he shared over the phone. "It involves loads of calculations related to long term projects & investments. It's ultimately about determining what are good investments and what are not."

In a class of 189 students Jackie is in the top few students, "Most of the subjects are in English," he shared. "And that gives me a huge advantage over others. They're scared to talk and struggle to understand." We're always proud of the great English skills our kids learn at home.

Jackie's considering a career as a Certified Chartered Accountant - it's a tough route, expensive but an excellent career choice. Even after this degree is over there is a lot of further study and exams before that can happen.

Jackie is actually already trading stocks online, but he wanted to be clear that he is just, "having a little fun." When asked if he lost money or made money Jackie replied, "Oh no. I definitely came out on top!" Watch out, Wallstreet - Jackie could be coming for you soon!

Lisa, General Nursing & Midwifery - Year 1 of 3!

When Lisa decided she wanted to be a nurse (just like her older sister Basanti), we knew just the college for her - and it was only 10 minutes away: Swastik School of Nursing. Now, any school that has the name "Swastik" in it might be alarming to a westerner, but here in India the swastika represents well-being, good fortune and prosperity. Actually, Swastik Hospital, which runs the nursing college was the first hospital to give free/discounted care to our large family back in 2004 and we consider them part of the family.

"I love being so close to the farm," Lisa shared. "However sometimes I wish I wasn't in Khatema. There are no parks here, and there is not much to do when I have an afternoon off." Thankfully Lisa does have some good friends at college already, and one of them is her roommate, Shristi. "Shristi is very nice, we both speak English well so it is easy for us to communicate. Her family is from Nainital, in the mountains."

So far Lisa has been really enjoying her studies. She has five major subjects: English, Anatomy & Physiology, Community Nursing, Psychology, and Fundamentals of Nursing - the latter one being her favorite. "In Fundamentals of Nursing we work in a big lab, there are lots of experiments and we practice techniques on dummies and models. It's funny how you think you know something, like why we wash our hands, but then you find out the technical reasons and it all suddenly makes even more sense!" Lisa had plenty more to share... "In the Anatomy Lab there are human skeletons as well as models of hearts and lungs that we learn with. I've been learning how to give intramuscular injections, take blood pressure and insert a cannula - soon we will be doing practicals in the hospital and actually performing on people!"

We're so happy that Lisa is doing well, and we're even happier she's so close to home... even if there are no parks nearby.

Lisa in her nursing uniform

At the doorway of new possibilities

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Mar 9, 2023
A Few Students

By John Marshall | Project Leader

Future Owner of Shane's Bistro

With so many students in the Mission: University program, this report will highlight a few at different stages of their academic careers. Thanks so much for your support and love. These stories would not be possible without you.

Shane, Bachelor of Hotel Management - Year 1 of 3

Sometimes it's easy to recognize when a degree is the right one for a student; when Shane told us which course he wanted to study it just made sense. For years now Shane has been cooking around our kitchens. Inspired and excited by the culinary world, a Bachelor of Hotel Management seemed like a perfect first step for this budding young chef.

“I definitely prefer the practical lessons in the kitchen over the theory in the classroom,” Shane shared about his college. “We’ve been learning about Spanish and French cuisine which is awesome!” Shane shared that during each practical lesson students dress in white chef uniforms and even don the traditional toque (chef hat) making them all feel like the next Gordon Ramsey or Jamie Oliver. “My favorite thing to cook is definitely pasta. We had a competition in the kitchen and one of my dishes got 4^th place. I know it’s not that great,” Shane shared a little sheepishly, but 4^th place still makes us all proud.

Shane shared that the kitchens are huge, filled with all the pots and pans you would expect in a culinary school. “There are big ovens, stoves, fridges and grills – there is even a bar where we learn to make cocktails,” he shared, being sure to mention they made the far inferior “mocktails” there too.

When asked about the upcoming semester, Shane shared that there will be two new practical heavy subjects being taught: Housekeeping and Front Office—which is ok with him. “Even less time in the classroom,” Shane said with a smile.

Coreena, Bachelor of Hotel Management - Year 3 of 4

Coreena has just returned from a 6-month internship as a part of her college degree. She was posted in the coastal state of Kerala in south India, a different world compared to here, with a totally unique climate, language, culture and food. It was most certainly an eye-opening experience for her; the flavor of coconut in every dish a standout struggle. Breakfast was coconut, lunch was coconut and dinner was... you guessed it... coconut too!

Long hours at the hotel saw Coreena exhausted on her one day off each week - if she even got that much! "We had to plead, then only we would get the day off," she said. "They made us work very hard, especially because we were from north India." Coreena explained that she had worked for 2 weeks in the front office of the hotel, 6 weeks in housekeeping (mostly scrubbing toilets) and the rest in the restaurant both in front-of-house service and the kitchen. "Service in the restaurant was tough, I would work until 2:00am. I did 20 days in the kitchen mostly making salads, burgers, fresh juice and sandwiches... sometimes the guests would order unique things and I would have to make that. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, I was scrubbing toilets until way after midnight!" Coreena's internship really did seem like a lot of hard work, many lessons to be learned through backbreaking nights but we're proud of her for sticking through it.

Coreena: Hotel Hotshot

Looking the Part

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Nov 19, 2022
Another Year Complete

By John Marshall | Project Leader

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