IT RUNS IN THE BLOOD
Prevena not first in family to bag international award
AN SMK Sultan Badlishah student, R. Prevena, made the nation proud when she bagged the Best Speaker and Best Position Paper awards at the 2017 International Model United Nations (IMUN) conference in the United States recently.
However, Prevena, 14, is not the first in her family to win a major award.
Prevena said she was inspired by her two brothers who had bagged major awards in local and international innovation competitions. Her eldest brother, Sri Ahrivesh, 18, won a prize in the GENIUS Olympiad 2012 International High School Project Fair on Environment in New York five years ago.
Prevena, her brother, R. Rasyikash, 16, and friend, V. Sushmeetha, did the nation proud when they bagged the Double Gold Award in the British Invention Show in London three years ago.
Even her younger brother, Ruthirash, 10, has shown a keen interest in science by appearing in The Souped Up Land — The SMART Refugees Camp video, which landed Prevena the runner-up place in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation worldwide multimedia competition and an invitation to the IMUN conference.
“I was inspired by my brothers who had won awards in local and international competitions. They have proven that nothing is impossible if you work hard. I am happy to follow in their footsteps,” Prevena said at her homecoming by teachers and schoolmates at SMK Sultan Badlishah.
Present were her parents, R. Ramakrishnan and S. Jaya Devi, her brother, Sri Ahrivesh, the school’s principal Yazid Yusof and teachers.
Prevena, who aspires to be a scientist, said the three-week stint at IMUN’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics summer programme had improved her confidence, particularly in public speaking.
Sri Ahrivesh, a student of Robert Bosch United World College in Freiburg, Germany, said he was happy with his sister’s achievement and wished to see her bag more awards in future.
Ramakrishnan, an engineering manager, said he hoped his children’s achievements would inspire students in the country to take part in invention and innovation competitions.