Noida: After losing her dad to cancer, topper Geeta wants to be a doctor

Despite all odds, 17-year-old Geeta Kumari secured 95% in the class 12 board exams

If adversity strikes a family, it also teaches them to stay strong and prove their mettle in the face of challenges.

Geeta Kumari (centre), who lives in New Ashok Nagar with her family, said the credit for her success goes to her father and brother.

This was proved by 17-year-old Geeta Kumari, who scored 95% in CBSE 12 Board exams in the Biology stream. Hers is a life that had it tough after her father died of blood cancer and her elder brother took up the family business of selling vegetables.

Geeta, a resident of New Ashok Nagar, studied in Mahamaya Balika Inter College in Noida Sector 44 and despite all odds, she managed to deliver a phenomenal performance and became a topper of her school.

She lives in a small house with her mother Sangeeta Devi (40), sister Seeta Kumari (20) and brother Shishupal Kumar (24).

While Seeta is pursuing Bachelor in Arts from Delhi University, her mother is a homemaker. But Sangeeta Devi is the glue that holds the family together in times of adversity and the constant strength of the family.

Geeta stayed in Mahamaya Balika Hostel for two years and did not take any tuition for her Boards preparation. Two years of dedication finally paid rich dividends to Geeta who now has cleared the first step to becoming a doctor.

She intends to pursue her medical studies (MBBS) from the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and she appeared for the medical entrance exam on Sunday.

There is a reason why she wants to become a doctor. Two years ago, her father Naresh Prasad Gupta (45), a vegetable seller in Noida Sector 7, was diagnosed with blood cancer. She was in class 10 when tragedy struck the family.

“My father knew that he won’t be able to survive the disease. He asked me to pursue medicine and become a doctor so that I can treat others like him,” Geeta said.

Gupta did not live to see the day his daughter made an entire school proud. He succumbed to cancer last year.

After his death, Shishupal took up the family business of selling vegetables. He is the sole bread earner of the family and, with his meagre income, he supports the education of his sisters.

“The credit for my success goes to papa and bhaiyya (brother) who have made immense sacrifices for me,” Geeta said.

“I will now fulfil my father’s dream and become a cancer specialist,” she said.