Woman fulfills aunt’s dream by joining IAS

Shanmughasundaram.j@timesgroup.com
 
Vellore: Ilakkiya S, 25, lived up to the dreams of her aunt to become an IAS officer to serve the marginalised and downtrodden.
She stood first among the Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates in the state and 15th across the country. Her overall rank was 298.
"I come from SC community and not everyone from the community gets an opportunity like this. Hence, I want to work for the development of the marginalised, women and children and ensure easy access for the downtrodden to the government welfare schemes," said Ilakkiya, who became the All India topper in Sociology, which was an optional subject.
She was honoured by Vellore collector S A Raman at the Collectorate on Monday.
Ilakkiya's parents passed away when she was studying in Class VII. "My aunt brought me up and she wanted me to become a collector. Since Class XII, my aunty motivated me. Now, I am happy to give life to her vision and dreams," said Ilakkiya. She did BA in English literature from Auxilium College in Vellore and pursued post-graduation in Sociology from Madras School of Social Work in Chennai.


It was her exposure to the socio-economic condition of the marginalised at an early age which helped her to channelise her energy in studies. "My aunt has been running an NGO for women empowerment and child development. I have seen her work for the development of downtrodden. It helped me to understand their needs and demands," she said.

Calling herself as an average student, she gave a word of advice to the aspirants that even average students can be successful, if he or she gets proper guidance, put up hard work and consistency. "I failed in preliminary in the first attempt. But hard work and proper guidance helped me in the second time," she added.

Ilakkiya's aunty P Vedhanayagi expressed happiness for the success of sister's daughter. Ilakkiya has two siblings