#Repost @ashokaunivalumni
Vedika Gupta (@vedika.gupta), UG’19, recently graduated from the Air Force Academy and is on the way to start her training in the transport stream. Vedika is the first UG alumni to join the Indian Air Force.
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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗶𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲?
My late grandfather was a master warrant officer in the Indian Air Force. My father retired from the Indian Navy. Throughout my life, I have been exposed to the military atmosphere. I always felt motivated by it. I was also pursuing Tennis and wanted to take it ahead professionally. I always had a very disciplined and regimented life. You may expect patriotism to be the primary reason for my decision to join the Air Force, but it was not the only one. The camaraderie in the fraternity is what I really value and always desired. When I was in 10th standard, I got a chance to sit in a SU 30 cockpit. That was the moment I decided this is what I wanted to do.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
Just before graduation, we are trifurcated into three streams: Fighter, Transport, and Helicopters. I have got Transport. We will be training for a year in Yelahanka, Bangalore, after which we will be allotted our squadrons and fleets based on the aircraft we get.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗸𝗮?
It takes a certain level of lunacy to chase your dreams. It took me four board (SSB) attempts (2 years) to clear the board and get selected for the flying branch. It takes a lot of courage, strength, willpower, and determination to go behind your dreams. It may sound impractical but sometimes not having a backup plan shows your determination toward your dreams. Flying was what I always dreamt of. All the decisions I made since class 10th were keeping my dream at the core. I did was what was required to achieve my goal.
#AshokaUniversity ...
