For nearly two years, Sreeja J S had the words “Sreeja JS IFS, AIR 15 UPSC 2025-26” written on a white paper pasted on the wall of her modest three-room home at Naruvamoodu village in Thiruvananthapuram district. Through hours of study and days of dejection, the words kept her going.
This week, those words came true. Sreeja secured the 57th rank in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination (CSE), the results of which were declared Friday. It marked the culmination of years of toil — not only Sreeja’s but also that of her parents: her daily wager father who rides his cycle several kilometres in search of construction work, and her homemaker mother, who was determined that her daughter become a civil servant as revenge for the government job that never became hers.
Although she was aiming for the top 15 rank, she never realistically expected it. But others never lost faith in her, she says.
“’Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars’ was my motto. Whenever I felt lazy, I would draw inspiration from the wall writings.”
A post-graduate in Political Science from Madras Christian College, Sreeja decided she was determined to make it through in the first attempt. Although she started out dreaming of becoming an IAS officer, that changed after she studied politics, international relations and diplomacy in college.
The habit of writing her goals on the wall was one she carried over from her younger days. “In Class 10, I wrote ‘full A +’ and I got it. In Class 12, my goal was to achieve the full 1,200 marks. I wrote the words on the wall in May 2024, when I began studying for the exam,” she says.
Her father Jayakumar says it was her mother Sheeja’s dream. “More than two decades back, Sheeja, a post graduate in history, had figured in the rank list of lower division clerk with the state water authority. But she did not get the job at the last minute. She was determined to overcome this loss through her daughter,” he says.
The idea, first planted when Sreeja was in Class 7, stayed in her head. But the desire to alleviate her parents’ situation also made her determined.
Sreeja’s younger brother Jyothish Kumar is still in college.
“I have grown up watching the struggles and sacrifices of my parents. One thought guided me in life — that the hardships must end, and I wanted to be the person to bring that change,” she says.
A daily wage worker who makes a paltry Rs 1,100 a day, Jayakumar knew his dream for his daughter would be difficult. But he was determined to make it come true.
“Sometimes I cycle 40 km up and down for work. We wanted to ensure the children attain their academic dreams, and that money should not be a constraint. I pledged our gold — including my wife’s tali [mangalsutra] — to secure a loan of Rs 8 lakh for my daughter’s civil services. At times, relatives helped.”
Jayakumar owns only seven cents of land and a three-room house that took a long time to complete. “For us, the children’s dreams came first. After returning home from work each night, I would help my wife in the kitchen since she has breathing problems. I wanted to make sure my daughter never lost study time.”
The family now has a promising future to look forward to — one that eclipses all their troubles.
“I’m sure my daughter will become a well-known officer. Our efforts were not in vain,” he says.
