SSC exam results: Triumph over tragedy

MUMBAI:Ciana d'Souza had a trying time even before the SSC examination could begin. The 15-year-old scored an aggregate of 79.33% despite losing her mother barely a month before the exams. The Andheri resident had earlier lost her father in December 2008. Her mother was fighting for life after losing a kidney but passed away even as Ciana was preparing for her exams."I was devastated after my father's death four years ago. My mother continued to support me, though she could barely walk in her last days," said Ciana.
The student of Divine Child High School now faces a lonely life at home, along with financial insecurity. She will have to wait another till she is 18 to benefit from the fixed deposit account she inherited from her parents. For now, neighbors help her with household items and money.
But she said one doesn't need to slog 18 hours a day, regular study really does the magic. "I studied regularly right from the beginning of the year. During the exams, I studied not more than seven hours a day," she said. Ciana plans to study science and pursue her dream of being a doctor, which she believes would make her parents smile.