From orphanage to Presidential honour, a journey against the odds

Visakhapatnam: Receiving a gold medal from the hands of the President of India is a dream for most students. For Jonnalgadda Divya, who completed her MBA from the Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh (CTUAP) in 2025, it was a dream come true when she received the honour from the President during the university’s first convocation on Tuesday.The gold medal was the culmination of years of extraordinary resilience for Divya. She lost her mother when she was just one-and-a-half years old. She was consequently admitted to an orphanage in Hyderabad, where she was raised, as her father was physically unable to care for her. The difficult circumstances of her childhood, however, never diminished her ambition to pursue higher education and build a better future through learning.Divya, originally belonging to a small village near Rajahmundry, said she is now working as a junior accountant at a private organisation in Hyderabad. “As my father could not take care of me due to his physical disability, I was admitted to an orphanage, where I continued my education. I studied up to Class XII in Hyderabad before joining the Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh for my BBA (2020–2023). I then pursued my MBA (2023–2025),” she said.

A consistently bright student, Divya scored an impressive 95.4% in her Class XII exams before securing admission to CTUAP. During her MBA, she developed a strong foundation in business administration, excelling academically throughout the programme to earn the gold medal.Divya’s education was made possible through financial support from SOS Children’s Villages Hyderabad, where she grew up. Grateful for the opportunities she received, she now regularly visits the institution to mentor and motivate children. She encourages them to stay focused on their studies, believing that education is the most powerful tool to transform the lives of underprivileged children and breaking the cycle of poverty.