It was a proud moment for Kochi on Saturday when the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) declared the results of its Class 12 examinations.

City student Maehal Barthwal emerged as the commerce stream topper in the Thiruvananthapuram region of the board. A student of Navy Children School, Naval Base, Maehal was on cloud nine when The Hindu wanted her to share the secrets of her success.

“There is no secret to success. Just keep working hard. It’s okay even if you are not able to score well in your exams at school. Just keep working hard. Don’t give up. Have a good timetable fitting everything [enjoyment, studies etc.,]. Have everything in the right proportion,” said the young talent.

Daughter of Lt. Col Rakesh Barthwal at the Station Headquarters (Army) at the Naval Base here and Alpana Barthwal, a former Army Captain, Maehal said she never expected this result. She won an overall percentage of 99.2 (496/500). “I was expecting somewhere between 97 and 98%. This was an added bonus,” she said.

Asked whether the re-test of economics paper following the question paper leak had put extra pressure on her, Maehal said it was slightly better for her compared to the exam that got cancelled.

A girl who loves to pursue a career in finance and accounting, Maehal said she had applied for B.Com (Hons) course at Delhi University and was hopeful of joining the prestigious institution.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – May 26th, 2018