GREAT ACHIEVEMENT BY A TAMANG GIRL

Prakritee Yonzon from Nepal is the first Nepali to do LLM from the prestigious London School of Economics.

Her focused journey so far -

Back in school she always took her studies seriously. She was confident and able but never seemed to be studious and always had time to have fun.This is how Rani Kakshapati, Founder Principal/Director of Shuvatara School, recalls one of her students Prakritee Yonzon, the first Nepali to obtain LLM from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She has passed with merit from LSE and Prakritee “looks at law as a platform to fulfil her dreams of serving my country”.

Paving her path to LSE She is the first student from Nepal to pursue LLM at LSE. And the 24-year-old thinks it was possible because of her “intent to pursue legal education further in the UK”.When in the last year of BBALLB in Symbiosis Law School, Pune, India she applied “on my own merits to the LSE with great excitement and aspirations”. At that time, her desire was strong, her intention to pursue this one-year course was serious and she was a meritorious student who had passed BBALLB with cumulative percentage of 69.94, First Class — all these qualities made her eligible for the course, which is why she received an acceptance from LSE. But besides LSE, she had got invitations from Cornell (US), Kings College and UCL from the England. However, LSE was her “top choice”.With this success of the daughter, her father Prabhat Yonzon feels “wonderful, proud and humbled”.

Real education at LSE

“LSE has been the beginning of my real education. It has taught me how to think, and more importantly how to think critically. It has stretched the contours of my intellectual thought process,” says Prakritee about her education at LSE in an email interview. During the one-year course at LSE, she got opportunity to attend public lectures by two Nobel laureates, Aung Saan Suu Kyi and the Dalai Lama, among many other public figures. “Both role models were awe-inspiring and I feel honoured to have been able to attend these events,” opines Prakritee.Besides that, she was also taught by eminent faculty such as QC Conor Gearty, (ranked in 100 most influential lawyers in the world) and having the opportunity to argue and discuss with them while they humbly listen to your opinion which is neither novel nor obscure, has been a truly humbling experience, Prakritee further writes.Though the course was fiercely competitive and well-qualified candidates were daunting at times, she “enjoyed the coursework immensely”.

A bright student

The path that Prakritee paved for herself back in Nepal during her school-days was one of the important factors that opened doors to LSE. Had not she been a meritorious student from her school-days, she might not have excelled in her studies and her dream to make it to such a distinguished university might have remained a dream. But the 2004 SLC graduate of Shuvatara School “always stood first in her class so she used to receive full tuition scholarship,” according to Kakshapati.While her father recalls, “Finishing homework always was her priority” and Prakritee “still is an insatiable reader”.

With encouragement from teachers and support from parents, she did her A Levels from Malpi Institute in May 2006 in Business Studies, Accounting and Economics. But her heart was in law as she was fascinated by “law as an instrument of control”. So, she joined BBALLB at Symbiosis Law School Pune in 2006 and graduated in 2011. Now a graduate of LSE, Prakritee feels, “Studying law has made me more organised in my thought process, articulate and objective. It has also given me a sense of empowerment, and the impudence of yearning for more.”Besides these courses, she also did Diploma in Intellectual Property Laws and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Laws from Symbiosis Law School and National Law School of India University, Bangalore respectively.And to back up her education, she interned in a number of places, The Himalayan Times being one of them. “Every work experience taught me something new, and gave me perspective in the respective field,” explains Prakritee.

Besides academics

While in school, Prakritee fulfiled the responsibilities as a “confident and very capable Head Girl” according to Kakshapati. “Then, she always kept her decorum with peers as well as seniors,” she recalls.Probably because of such qualities, she was fortunate to be blessed with very good friends wherever she went and “LSE was no different”. At LSE, she would engage in political discussions with friends after every dinner. “It seemed we were indeed at the gateway to the political thinkers of the world. LSE would not have been the same without the friends that I made this year.”But how did she feel in the foreign land amidst new faces? Prakritee replies, “Although at times I felt the responsibility of representing my country, at other times I felt no different from the other students, in terms of language, thought and calibre, showing that we Nepalis are truly global citizens of the world.” Also she is interested in nature, photography, music, plays the piano well and has a good voice, but loves to spend most of her time in bookshops, as per her father.

After academic achievement

Having reached the end of her graduate studies, Prakritee feels privileged that all the windows of opportunity are still open to her. “Since the courses I have taken are a good mix between human rights and dispute resolution, they show my diverse areas of interest. I therefore have a foot on both the human rights and the corporate world,” explains Prakritee who “still is in the process of deciding”.But what does it take for any student to reach this height? Prakritee says, “Other than dedication, I think it is necessary to remain focused on your aims and objectives, and contextualise your studies with your aims every now and then to make sure you are on the right path.” And talking particularly about LLM, she adds, “As any other course, I think the LLM requires focus, determination and hard work. But law in particular is a way of thinking, reading and writing. A legal education sharpens your mind, and allows you to see both sides of the equation, and if you are smart enough and willing to go a step further, to recognise the weak and the strong points of both sides.”

At the end, she suggests, “Seriousness aside, I think it is important to have fun with your friends and outlets for your creativity. For we all know, how ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’.”