Sreedhanya Suresh, 26, who fought penury and adverse living conditions, to become the first person from a tribal community in Kerala to crack the civil services exam is all set to join as Assistant Collector (Training) in Kozhikode.
She will serve under IAS officer Sreeram Sambasiva Rao, who incidentally, helped revive her dream of becoming an IAS officer. Sreeram Sambasiva Rao is the present district collector of Kozhikode
Wayanad native Sreedhanya Suresh met with IAS officer S Sambasiva Rao four years ago when he chaired a tribal event organised in Kalpetta four years ago. Then he was Mananthavadi sub collector and Sreedhanya was the programme coordinator.
Now four years later, Sreedhanya has become assistant collector in Kozhikode where Sambasiva Rao is serving as the district collector. Sreedhanya, daughter of Pozhuthana Idiyamvayal Ambalakolli native Suresh and Kamala, secured 410 rank in civil service examination to attain IAS. She is under training in Mussoorie.
She informed her family that she has been appointed as assistant collector in Kozhikode the other day. Along with achieving IAS, she also bagged many records. She is the first Wayanad native to obtain IAS through civil service examination and first member of Kurichiya tribal community to become an IAS officer.
Sreedhanya’s father Suresh said that her date of joining has not been finalized yet. “She can return only after the lockdown ends on May 17. We are all happy that she is appointed in Kozhikode. Her first appointment is under Sambasiva Rao whom she has been familiar with since 2016,” he added.
Sreedhanya completed her schooling from Thariyode Nirmala High School and Thariyode Government Higher Secondary School. She graduated in Zoology from Kozhikode Devagiri College and postgraduated in the same subject from University of Calicut.
Sreedhanya completed IAS coaching with scholarship from Fortune Civil Service Academy in Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam was her optional subject. M T Vasudevan Nair is her favourite author and she is happy for being appointed as assistant collector in Kozhikode where MT also lives.
Feature Image – Matrabhoomi.com