Page 131 - SOMERVILLE SCHOOL GREATER NOIDA

THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSON I KNOW

The most influential person I know is Dr. A. P. J. Kalam advocated, “Dream is not that you see while

Abdul Kalam. He was born on 15 October, 1931 in sleeping, it is something that does not let you sleep.” He
th
Tamil Nadu in a Muslim family of Rameshwaram. was the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government

His father Jainulabdeen was a boat owner and Imam of India in 1999 and later on became the 11 President
th
of a local mosque and his mother, Ashiamma was a of India in 2002. In 1998 he proposed a countrywide
homemaker. His family used to take Hindu pilgrims plan called Technology Vision 2020 and suggested

back and forth to Rameshwaram. His childhood was nuclear empowerment, various technological
full of struggle and he had to support his family by innovations, improvements of agricultural productivity

selling newspapers and tamarind seeds. But his etc. “A leader must have a ‘Vision’ for an organization,
quest for learning couldn’t stop him from getting ‘Passion’ to work for achieving goals, ‘Curiosity’ to

educated. He believed that’ ‘Education gives you the travel an unexplored path and ‘Courage’ to take
wings to fly. Achievement comes out of our mind that decisions.” His life was synonymous to his ideology.

‘I will win’. He didn’t give up in life and never He was truly a People’s President. Life of Dr. Kalam is
succumbed before failures. He would often say, ‘If an inspiration for everyone. He was a humanist in his

you fail, never give up because FAIL means ‘First dealings with the society. Dr. Kalam’s life ignites the

Attempt in Learning’. After schooling Kalam minds of every Indian and provides him the wings
completed his degree in Aeronautical Engineering which could help him to fly and that’s why whenever I

from Madras Institute of Technology. He also served feel low in life, I remember Dr. Kalam and reiterate, ‘To
at DRDO and ISRO and was known as the ‘Missile succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded

Man of India’ due to his significant contributions to devotion to your goal’ and tell myself ‘Failure will

India’s Pokhran-II nuclear tests. never overtake me if my determination to succeed is
strong enough.’

-S. Ashika
VII-D