Meet a girl from a small village living in a United Family who studied English at the age of 15 and later received a full scholarship, she is…
Seema Kumari is a girl from a small village in Jharkhand who overcomes the poverty and social barriers of studying at Harvard University.
Meet a 15-year-old girl who speaks English, travels the world, and is now a senior at Harvard University
Seema Kumari’s journey from a small village in Jharkhand to prestigious Harvard University is inspiring. Born in Dahu, a remote village where most people rely on agriculture and girls to continue their education, Seema breaks down barriers that once could not have been crossed.
Her parents had never received a formal education. Her father works at a local thread factory where they live in a house shared with 19 family members. But her life took a new direction when she was nine in 2012. That year, a non-governmental organization named Yuwa came to her village. NGOs use football as a way to empower young girls – Seema joins immediately. Football became her escape, giving her strength and confidence.
In 2015, Yuwa opened a school in the village. Seema’s classroom size increased from 70 students to six, which gave her personal attention and a quality education. This helped her not only grow in academia, but also in terms of confidence.
Through football, Seema begins traveling, first participating in India and then participating in international camps. These experiences opened up her world. At the age of 15, she began to learn English. Over the next few years, she continued to travel to Seattle, joining summer schools at Cambridge and the University of Washington, and dreaming of studying abroad.
She hadn’t even heard of Harvard until Maggie, an English teacher in the United States, joined Yuwa school. With the help of teachers, Seema is used in top universities. She can’t afford the exam fee or exam trips like the SAT. But in 2021, during the pandemic, Harvard abandoned its testing requirements. That gave her a real chance-she grabbed it.
One night, she received an email she would never forget: she received all the scholarships and was accepted. She was so shocked that she woke up seven times that night to recheck the news.
Now, in her final year, Seema is studying economics and is part of several student groups at Harvard. Her goal is not only personal success—she wants to return to her village and start a program to help girls become financially independent.
Even before she arrived at Harvard, she was fighting social norms – refusing to get married early, directing football to pay for it despite criticizing shorts. Today, Seema is showing the achievements of dreams to rural girls across India, no matter how far they seem.
Even celebrities like Priyanka Chopra and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw praised her journey. But for Seema, the real achievement will be that she can help more girls change the future like she does.
