Sreedhanya Suresh, the first woman from a tribal community in Kerala to crack the UPSC civil services exams, is all set to join as assistant collector in Kozhikode district.
The joining date has not been confirmed due to the nationwide lockdown following the coronavirus outbreak.
Sreedhanya is now undergoing training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie. She will have to reportedly undergo a 14-day quarantine in Kerala before joining.
Sreedhanya had scored 410th rank in the civil services exams of 2018.
She belongs to the Kurichiya community and hails from Pozhuthana panchayat in Wayanad.
In Kozhikode, she will be under the tutelage of district collector Sreeram Sambasiva Rao, whom she had termed her inspiration to join the civil services.
"I had worked as a project assistant in the Scheduled Tribes department in Wayanad for a few months after I finished my PG. During those days, I got a chance to interact with Sreeram Sambasiva Rao, who was then Wayanad sub-collector and present Kozhikode collector. I was inspired by the respect he got from the people around," Sreedhanya had told Onmanorama in an interview last year.
Asked what would be her priorities for Wayanad, a district with a large population of tribespeople, as a civil servant, she said improving the education of the tribal children was a priority.
"I firmly believe that only education can bring change in our living conditions. I will also work towards ensuring the land rights of the people, women's safety and conservation of the environment apart from trying to bring some sort of financial security of the people."
Sreedhanya had her schooling at Nirmala High School, Thariyode. She did her higher secondary at Thariyode Government Higher Secondary School and graduation in Zoology from St Joseph's College,
Devagiri in Kozhikode. She completed post-graduation (Applied Zoology) from University of Calicut.
Sreedhanya's parents Suresh and Kamala are daily-wagers.
