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Dubai teen bags NRI of the Year Award

Dubai - Simran Vedvyas was 12 when she was chosen as the youngest from the region to carry the Olympic torch during the London Olympics in 2012

A Dubai-born Indian teenager described by her mum as "an overachieving but regular teenager who likes to do things beyond her academic pursuits and spend time campaigning for the youth and environment," has bagged this year's NRI (non-resident Indian) of the Year Award in the Academics Category.
Simran Vedvyas, 18, born and raised in Dubai received the prestigious award given on Tuesday in Mumbai, India. The NRI of the Year Awards, now in its fourth year and presented by Times Now, ICICI Bank and Global Indian International School, gives recognition to expat Indians who are considered as "heroes who make India proud and inspire millions back home to further hone their skills and chase their dreams."
"Simran is persuasive, ambitious and dependable - an achiever who thoroughly enjoys doing projects with big impact," Swati, Simran's mother, said.
"Simran is the youngest Emirates Women of the Year - Young Achiever in the region. She has remarkably led over 75 successful youth engagement campaigns through her youth group SynergY- including 'Green Space New Life' that witnessed 3,000 trees planted at landfills across UAE and 'Convoy to Feed' that distributed food supplies to nearly 4,000 workers at various landfills," Simran's mum noted.
"Success for her lies in the belief that at the end of the day her actions have a positive effect on those around her," Swati underlined.
Aside from doing community projects, Swati said her daughter holds the record of receiving six highest national academic distinctions in the UAE, including winning three times the Sheikh Hamdan Award and thrice the Sharjah Education Award.
Swati told Khaleej Times that her daughter's involvement in community projects in the UAE and India started when she was seven years old. "She (Simran) was seven when we started bringing her to Lucknow, India to spend time and support the orphaned children housed by Missionaries of Charity" (founded by Mother Teresa).
"Simran was 12 when she was chosen as the youngest from the region to carry the Olympic torch during the London Olympics in 2012. And since then she has been greatly involved in various social and environmental projects," Swati added.
Swati also describes her daughter, who is currently pursuing her undergraduate Honors Degree at the University of Toronto, Canada, as a global youth citizen.
With all the accolades received by her daugheter, what's Swati's advise to parents like her and other teenagers? "To those who wish to take inspiration from Simran, I would say that there are no elevators to success and you have to take the stairs because the starting point of all achievement is desire, so if you really want to do something, you will find a way."
angel@khaleejtimes.com