DUBAI // A high achiever who has been accepted into a prestigious international academic organisation hopes the opportunity will become a springboard for a career in medicine.

Deeksha Muralidhar’s successful academic and extra-curricular activities caught the attention of the invitation-only US-based National Society of High School Scholars, and now she is a step closer to realising her dream.

“I couldn’t believe it when I got sent the email to say I had been accepted into the organisation,” said the 17-year-old, a pupil at the Our Own English High School in Al Warqa, Dubai.

“It will give me the opportunity to get a scholarship, which would otherwise be very difficult and I would love to go to the United States to continue with my higher education.”

Deeksha is hoping to get a place at either Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, or Boston University to study biomedical engineering once she has completed Grade 12 at the end of this academic year.

“I would then like to go on to study medicine,” she said.

“There are a lot of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, on which more research can be done and I would like to be involved with that.”

High scores in her SATs and her after-school activities impressed officials at the scholars society, a group that champions high achievers from around the world. She also won this year’s Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award, which recognises the UAE’s brightest pupils.

“I do a lot of stuff outside of school, like painting and creative writing,” she said.

“I started drawing about five years ago and it has progressed steadily and now I paint. Chess is also another passion of mine.”

Deeksha’s parents are delighted by her success in getting accepted into the society.

“We are very proud of her,” said her father, Muralidhar Rao Arcot, a mechanical engineer who works for a Dubai oil company. “This is fantastic recognition for her hard work and hopefully it will encourage her to continue on her path.

“We moved to Dubai about seven years ago from Mumbai and it has been a fantastic experience for us. Dubai has people from all over the world and provides a real springboard and allows people to excel.”

The National Society of High School Scholars was founded in 2002 by Claes Nobel, a senior member of the family that established the Nobel prizes.

“On behalf of NSHSS, I am honoured to recognise the hard work, sacrifice and commitment Deeksha has demonstrated to achieve this exceptional level of academic excellence,” Mr Nobel said.

Members of the organisation are afforded a range of benefits including scholarships, academic competitions and member-only resources.

nhanif@thenational.ae