Canteen boy from city office earns scholarship to US college

The canteen in the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) building at Fort is abuzz with excitement. The staff is thrilled for Santosh Shetty, 27, a canteen attendant, who will head to the United States of America (USA) on a summer school scholarship from May 22.

The canteen in the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) building at Fort is abuzz with excitement. The staff is thrilled for Santosh Shetty, 27, a canteen attendant, who will head to the United States of America (USA) on a summer school scholarship from May 22.

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Shetty, a third-year commerce student of St. Xavier’s College, will spend two weeks at the Leonard N Stern School of Business at the New York University to study ‘Bollywood and Economics’.

Shetty is part of a group of 40 students from St. Xavier's and HR College heading to the US college. “Nobody from my family has ever stepped into an airplane,” said Shetty, who attends evening college after his nine-hour shift at the canteen. It took him two weeks to convince his parents, who are farmers in Udipi, that his airplane would not be “hijacked” by terrorists.

“I got my passport in March and have my visa interview on May 12,” said Shetty, in his broken English.

College authorities and friends are helping Shetty better his computer and English-speaking skills. “A student is helping him with the research and in preparing the power point presentation,” said Dr Rajendra Shinde, director, Council of International Programmes, St. Xavier’s College.

“I am proud of Santosh. He is very hardworking,” said Jairam Sapaliga, the LIC canteen in-charge.