ALL of the hard work and long nights have eventually paid off for Anusha Doodnauth. The beautiful 21-year-old has just completed her law degree with the University of London through the Nations University and is currently basking in pure joy and feelings of accomplishment.

Anusha attended St. Gabriel’s Primary, where she topped the school for the National Grade Six Assessment before pressing on to Queen’s College. She then furthered her education at School of the Nations, where she wrote the ‘A Levels’ and achieved awards for outstanding performance in law.

After A levels, she attended the University of London to pursue her law degree. “I knew I always wanted to be in the legal field, but as I grew older, the vision of being a lawyer became clearer. My family has a business-oriented background so I saw it merging well and complementing that area of my life,” she related in an interview with Pepperpot Magazine.

Though currently involved in her family business, she does have plans to further her studies in the near future. “It was a sense of relief after all the hard work and long nights, to now be able to acknowledge that I have achieved one of my goals of earning my LL.B. It feels very satisfying at this point in time,” she shared.

“This is something that I anticipated for so long and to be able to reach this point in my life… I feel very accomplished. Nevertheless, I do look at it as a stepping stone and encouragement to achieve more,” she continued.

Balancing Study and Dance

Anusha, also a trained classical dancer with the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, has been dancing for the past nine years. After so many years, dancing has become an intrinsic part of her personality.

“The lessons I’ve taken from dancing about discipline, precision and working towards a cause have transcribed themselves into my academic life as well. Preparing for a show entails so many things – understanding choreography, working with peers, knowing placements and when to react and just all around character building activities,” Anusha observed.

She’s found these skills to be very applicable in approaching her studies; from organising her study times to understanding how to react to the challenges of her field of study.

Anusha plans to continue dancing because it has become a considerable part of her life, but going forward, time management and prioritisation would have to come into play. “I understand that while dancing is close to my heart, my academic success matters more and this would entail the sacrifice of having to miss a performance or two.”

Meanwhile, Anusha said her brother has been a great inspiration throughout her studies. “He is a licensed attorney in the USA. His zeal and openness to tackle challenges have inspired me to have the same approach not only to academics, but also to life.”

Her advice to youths would be to prioritise what’s important. There’s much good, she noted, that comes from making a plan or a list of goals and then focusing on that. “Plan your time wisely,” she urged.

“There were many dance performances I had to skip out on despite wanting to participate in them badly but I had to remind myself that dancing was just my hobby and as much as it became my passion, my academic life needed my attention and dedication in those times,” she continued.

It’s also important, as Anusha pointed out, that persons not be too hard on themselves as time management takes time to master.

“If you can, engage yourself in an extra-curricular activity. The dancing studio is a place where I can go and have an escape from reality in my stressful times but dancing also boosted my confidence in ways that required me stepping out of my comfort zone and finding out my true potential,” she shared, adding, “As cliché as it sounds, believe in yourself; you can have a great support system but at the end of the day you still have to be able to motivate yourself. Once you have a positive outlook you will see positive results.”